Why We Need Service Members in Congress

One of the oft-used clichés as it pertains to military service is that we are a microcosm of the larger civilian population and society. Stale as the saying may be, I agree with it completely, but wish to take it a step further. I believe that if the general public can produce quality Congressional candidates, then the military can positively produce an exceptional ones. The unfortunate fact is that candidates with military backgrounds are not running for office, yet when they do, they aren’t being elected at the national level.

We are not merely a microcosm of society. The military strives to be a self-policing organization. When we make mistakes, we tend to admit to them and learn from them. I know of no other profession where they intentionally communicate issues and faults that they are working to resolve. Integrity and forthrightness are not just aspirational buzzwords; they are objectives that are identified and targeted by every facet of the force. If we were merely another part of society, then the need to “shape” young minds and bodies would not exist. We would take civilians as they were and not train them to the standards that we expect. We would not have diversity and opportunity training, and we surely would not worry about the fitness or technical capabilities of our personnel. We absolutely come from society, but by no stretch of the imagination are we merely a reflection of it.

That society that we were once a reflection of also trusts us. I am quite sure Congress has the worst public confidence rating while the military has the best. There is a reason for that. The public absolutely believes that we will not only do what we say, but that we will support the orders of our civilian leadership regardless of anticipated outcome. The public also believes we can win any fight that we are in because of our trained personnel and technological edge. Service members have almost a 70% lead in the public’s confidence over members of Congress. It is time for our veterans to make a stand and start leading our country as civilians once we complete our service.

You might think that there already would be a lot of former military personnel holding elected office, but you would be surprised. Shortly after the Vietnam War, 420 of the 535 Congressmen had prior military service. As of 2014, that number was down to merely 101, with the anticipation of a continued decline. Congress is marked by lack of cooperation, political in-fighting and little tolerance for peers outside of their party lines. Teamwork, coalition-building and open-mindedness are characteristics that service members are required to have and are even evaluated on. It is time that we reverse the decline of service members in Congress and start using our skills to make this country better and more functional.

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Picture Source: MOAA