Where Are the Leaders?
Joe Galloway, the war journalist made famous by his coverage of the Ia Drang Valley, comments on a modern state of affairs concerning America's youth and their lack of military participation. The origin of his thoughts center on a book, AWOL : The Unexcused Absence of America's Upper Classes from Military Service -- and How It Hurts Our Country, that focuses on dwindling military service from the Ivy League elite, down from 400 graduates a year to a mere 9. Joe extends the author's questions and conclusions about the steady decrease in our national leadership's military experience and the implications upon their decision-making process. Ultimately, he laments that, 'It's enough of a shame that less than 1 percent of the 300 million Americans are charged with protecting and defending all the rest of us.'