Many veterans tend to think of today's military as the same as the one they served in, and civilians may think of the military in terms of the pictures painted by Hollywood or in stories from veterans. Regardless, the military of the past is gone.

Today's military is better equipped and a more powerful force than it has ever been. That force includes about 1.4 million active duty personnel and 800,000 reserves. The total force equals about 1 percent of the population between 18 and 65. For comparison, the WW II military included about 15 percent of the same population group. We do not need and cannot afford an equivalent size military today. When compared to the WW II model, the modern military is not as representative of the general population and never will be.

In an article titled "What Americans Don't Understand About Their Own Military" on the Defense One website, Harvey M. Sapolsky discussed why ideas such as reinstating the draft will not equally distribute the responsibility for the nation's defense. He says that many expect the president to use the military to react quickly to world events. Aside from the costs and logistics involved in getting a force into a trouble spot, there must be an understanding that few events will be short term and may require committing military forces for an extended period of time. We must be selective of where and when we send our forces.

Sapolsky writes, "Bad wars aren't the product of a military that is too easy to commit and too small to count politically. Rather, the bad wars are the result of America being the global policemen, seeking to guarantee the security of too many others -- and creating the expectation that America will intervene in every dispute where force may be involved."

He also discusses the shared burden of military action. "The domestic political constraints on the use of force are only casualties, and not a growing financial burden on taxpayers. The costs of wars are passed to future generations, those not yet with a vote. This is not a good development. Few citizens are warriors or need to be, but all should pay for their country's wars."

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.