The history behind America’s military has certainly proved, over the years, both intricate and relentless in its efforts to maintain the motto of the United States: with liberty and justice for all. Over the years, we have changed our foreign policy quite a bit ever since we have become established as our own nation. From the political isolation we maintained following the Revolutionary War, to avoiding the dominating European superpowers, to the Mexican-American War in which we acquired the states we have today, and finally leading up to an ongoing and treacherous war with the Middle East. Easily searchable on the Department of State website, the official United States foreign policy aims to: “Protect the United States and Americans; advance democracy, human rights, and other global interests; promote international understanding of American values and policies; and support U.S. diplomats, government officials, and all other personnel at home and abroad who make these goals a reality.” However, this leads to the most important question: How do we uphold this foreign policy? In order to achieve this, the United States has simply implemented the largest-scale military that the globe has ever seen. In 2020, the U.S. had spent around $714 billion in order to provide for the salaries, equipment, vehicles, training, and other expenses needed to upkeep America’s reputation as the leading global military force. However, how does the American military convince people to enlist and potentially risk their lives? Along with this $714 billion budget comes benefits for uniformed personnel. Benefits such as free healthcare, free housing, and tuition assistance make the path of becoming a soldier worthwhile. And from the looks of it, these perks seem to be working; in active duty alone, America boasts an impressive number of about 1,417,000 military personnel, with a reserve and guard count just shy of 858,000. However, with all good things comes a catch. There is always the chance of getting deployed to a combat zone, the increased rate of sexual assault, and the physical and mental ramifications that can occur after being discharged. The question is: Is it worth it?

Having such a large military has provided America with an extreme amount of protection and a reputable image across the globe. By having one of the largest militaries, other countries are forced to cnsider peaceful options of diplomacy in order to avoid military conflict. Not only this, but we are able to adequately defend the best interests of America; even if that means we may have to deploy troops to other countries in order to preserve these interests. As we mentioned before, becoming an individual in uniform comes with many benefits, one of them being tuition assistance. This is one of the larger reasons why recruiters often target high school students— using a common fear of suffocating student debt, recruiters emphasize this benefit to increase enlistment. With tuition assistance for Active Duty personnel, all branches cover 100% of tuition within certain constraints: $250 per semester hour, $166 per quarter hour, and a variation in the amount they can spend each fiscal year (3,000-4,500). This assistance seems to be effective, as 32% of soldiers listed tuition assistance as their primary motivation for joining the armed services. Another large reason why people join the military is for the healthcare benefits. Over 28% of  people do not have dental coverage in the U.S, and only 56% seek care for serious dental issues. When you join the military Active Duty, dental is 100% paid for. General healthcare is provided through Tricare Prime which usually includes a doctor that is located on-base, whose services are available for a small cost every month. Other reasons that have persuaded personnel to serve are providing expense-free traveling and on-base living, and a low tax rate (if any) on certain benefits such as bonuses. 

What’s the catch, you ask? Well, there are a few catches, actually. Past foreign policy decisions have increased the likelihood of deployment in regions such as the Middle East. For instance, 9/11 was orchestrated by Osama Bin Laden in retaliation to America’s actions during the Persian Gulf War. The Persian Gulf War was a month-long conflict led by the United States, provoked by disputes surrounding the rise in oil prices. Because of ongoing war in the Middle East, there is still a high chance that military personnel can be deployed to a Middle Eastern country such as Kuwait, Afghanistan, or Iraq. However, with the recent election of President Joe Biden, the likelihood of continued U.S involvement in the Middle East can change based on his foreign policy. As of 2019, statistics have shown that approximately 60% of the military is deployed in a combat zone, and of that 60% only 10% end up fighting in a combat zone. However, those that do fight within a combat zone often return from their deployment with mental illness. One of the most common is PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from being exposed to and witnessing rape, dead/exposed bodies, deaths of friends, or violence against civillians, and according to the Millenium Cohort study, (a longitudinal cohort study stationed at the Naval Health Research Center that determines long-term effects of military sercvice), about 2.4% of members had self reported symptoms of PTSD at baseline. In addition to this, many veterans are also prone to depression and substance abuse after their deployment: 14% being prone to depression and one in 15 veterans having a substance abuse disorder. Furthermore, there is also an elevated risk of sexual assault within the military Although there have been attempts to lower sexual assault rates with integrations of training such as SAPR (Sexual Assault Prevention Response) training, vast amounts of uniformed personnel continue to face sexual assault. Between April 2018 and March 2019, 20,500 service members were sexually assaulted or raped, including 13,000 women and 7,500 men. Corruption in leadership also contributed to this high number as 59% of the victims were taken advantage of by someone of a higher rank. Because of the strict hierarchy within the military, many men and women are afraid of reporting these crimes and approximately 76% of victims did not report their assault. Disciplinary action is a large deterrent for reporting sexual violence as well, as one third of victims had been discharged after making a report of sexual violence in fiscal year 18.  

As we have come to the conclusion that U.S. foreign policy has influenced the size of our military, this does not mean that we are safe from criticism from both civilians and uniformed personnel. With one of the largest militaries comes a lot of issues that need to be addressed so that we are able to uphold an honest and pristine reputation of obtaining liberty and justice for all—which includes our past and present military personnel.