All-volunteer military may desensitize US to war, some fear
(Sunday 1-6 release)
(PHOTOS, GRAPHIC) (HAS TRIMS)
By Matthew Schofield
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
WASHINGTON _ Before a roadside bomb in Baghdad burned and tore apart Jerry Majetich, before 62 operations put him back together, even before he volunteered for the Marines, then the Army, there were five older brothers who’d enlisted and a mother who’d served as an Army nurse in Korea.
His family background shaped former Staff Sgt. Majetich, who’s now 42, a single father and an investment firm vice president in Jacksonville, Fla. Despite the torment since the 2005 blast, that history is part of what moved his 21-year-old son to consider leaving college to pursue a military career, and his 17-year-old daughter to join her high school Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.
“I’d be thrilled if they chose to serve,” he said. “Despite everything, I believe in military service.”
This month marks 40 years since the United States ended the military draft, and an ever smaller slice of the population appears to share Majetich’s belief.![]()
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