civil military divide

The "civil military relationship" is one of those things that people often write or talk about. For those of you who don't know, a short explanation is that there is a military culture, and a civilian culture, and the two exists in separate spheres. The further those spheres become removed from one another, the more dangerous it is for the country. The idea is that, the further removed from civilian life the military becomes, the less careful civilian leadership is to use the military properly, and the more isolated military leadership becomes from the people they're sworn to protect and defend.

This weekend, the idea came up twice, in rather tangible form to me. The first was at the "K-State Drag Show". The show is one of the biggest in the area and was a lot of fun. Besides seeing so many people come out to support the LGBT community in an area that isn't that supportive, it was a festive atmosphere and a rare moment of levity when LGBT people and allies could get together and just...be. And be happy.

Toward the end, there was a serious moment when a look back at the last year began and of the Queens introduced people in the audience who had made a difference. First was the celebration over Manhattan, Kansas passing an anti-discrimination ordinance and then there were shout outs to the gay and lesbian sorority and fraternity (who knew the only school in the US to have both was K-State?) But what was missing in the review of the year and thanks to those in attendence? There were "special thanks" to allies, to older people, to straight boys and gay girls...but who was not thanked? What was NOT mentioned? Soldiers!

Seriously...it wouldn't have bothered me other than there are as many Soldiers here in Manhattan, Kansas as there are students! The most significant LGBT legislation to pass in the last year was repeal of Don't Ask/Don't Tell. Soldiers, who serve every day, who came out to support the students sat there idly and ignored. Why? Because of the widening gap between civilian and military spheres. Even with Fort Riley not six miles away, the worlds of difference between those who serve and those who don't was too large for one group to recognize the other even within a special community as tight-knit and as familial as LGBT groups. Sad...very, very sad.

The second part of this civil military relationship that I thought about today stemmed from a work party I had to go to. At the party, hosted by a Military Police Lieutenant Colonel, there were two ROTC Cadets who were branching Military Police. Talking to them and their two girlfriends, and being around K-State, I realized something though--while K-State is HUGE, it is rather homogenous. Most of the kids here grew up in Kansas and will stay here in Kansas. Most, not all.

One of the things I learned the most from at USMA was other cadets. While we were homogeneous in our accomplishments (at least, those straight out of high school), by virtue of needing a Congressional Nomination, West Point pulls from as wide a geographical selection as possible. I met kids from Queens and from no-where Alaska...from San Francisco and Tomball, Texas. Each has a VASTLY different upbringing and experience to bring to the table. At K-State, I feel like I meet a lot of kids that have VERY similar upbringings.

So, one of the ways that's often mentioned to "bridge the gap" between the two worlds is to expand ROTC to get more Officers with "well rounded" educations who interact with the civilian world around them. The flip side of that argument, often used against West Pointers, is that ROTC cadets are more "worldy" than us since they didn't go to school with all other future Officers.

My experience at K-State would argue otherwise, for the second point at least--that going to a school like K-State, where everyone comes from the same background as you, does less than going to West Point to expose young Officers to world views and experiences beyond their own. I would argue that going to WP, where my friends came from all over the country, and from whom I learned, does more to make me empathetic to experiences different than my own than had I gone here, where while I know thousands of other civilian students, their experiences are similar to my own.

(disclaimer before anyone jumps on that second half: I know there are international students at K-State, and that it is a big AG school so people come from everywhere to go here, but the vast majority of students DO come from Kansas. And yes, there is a wide variety of experiences within Kansas, but the differences pale to the difference between, say, Manhattan and Manhattan.)