Vanishing vets
Used to be, military service highlighted the resumes of the vast majority of members of Congress. No more. The Military Officers Association of America notes this year’s elections likely will continue a trend that has seen the percentage of House and Senate members who served in the armed forces fall since peaking nearly 30 years ago. Then, the association says, 78 percent of the Senate and 74 percent of the House had served in the military. Today the figure is below 30 percent for each. It suggests a context — or lack thereof — in which members of Congress will debate and decide issues affecting the military. While non-veterans certainly can make decisions about funding and deploying the armed forces, there’s an appreciation for the challenges facing the men and women in uniform that’s possible only when someone has worn that uniform themselves.
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