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AWOL: The Unexcused Absence
of America's
Upper Classes
from Military Service – and
How it Hurts Our Country
Published by Collins Books, of Harper Collins, May 2006. Download a sample chapter!
AWOL exposes a critical but hidden issue : the absence of the leadership classes from the military and how that absence creates a failure of democracy. When those who make, support and protest defense policy to the greatest effect have the least actual experience with military – either through their own service, or the service of those close to them – America does not get the best policy possible. Moreover, the class gap harms our nation's solidarity and ability to sustain engagements.
AWOL's authors speak from both sides of the divide. Kathy Roth-Douquet is a former Clinton White House and Pentagon appointee, now married a Marine Corps officer who has deployed twice to Iraq; she lives on a military base in North Carolina. Frank Schaeffer is a writer living in Boston whose his son enlisted in the Marine Corps out of prep school, deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, and is now back in college.
AWOL urges a broader sense of ownership and participation in the military among those in the privileged classes. Moreover, authors Kathy Roth-Douquet and Frank Schaeffer argue that military service is not bitter medicine, that those who experience it – including the most privileged – often find it to be inspiring and sustaining, and it can reaffirm their connection to their country. AWOL makes a policy argument, using surveys and current research, but it is also tells the personal story of the journey of two American families.