The military are predominantly *poor*. Rich people don't have to join the military to make a living - the poor have the option of military or Wal-Mart, and the military leaves you with education, training, experience, future career options, and a nest egg.
The cost, of course is that if you join the military *now*, you get shot.
Urban areas are wealthier areas, yes. However, I suspect those statistics predominantly represent the poorer people in the wealthier areas.
It's also worth noting that that a good chunk of that great big blotch on the East Coast could probably be labeled "People who knew someone who died on 9/11 and want to avenge them".
No, it's showing the *most populated* areas getting shot.
Most of those places are *expensive*, not wealthy, and most of the people in those places are crushingly poor, even if the average gets thrown way off by a few billionaires for every ten thousand homeless.
Lots of people joined the army in late 2001 and early 2002, long before "We're invading TOTALLY unrelated countries!" became policy. Those people, with the *smallest* enlistment length, are there until 2010.
I was going to say, the first map corresponds mostly to population, not so much to political affiliation, though the arguement can be made that larger urban centers tend to vote Dem more often.
The last two maps, though, seem a better comparison because they account for historical propensities.
I don't really see any correlation at all between the first two maps. Some concentrations of servicemen deaths are in the blue counties, others in red, and there doesn't seem to be a particular pattern much.
About the second pair: What does "Territories open to slaves" mean? Is it legal to own slaves there, but not to buy and sell?
Most of the dots aren't actually on top of home towns, they're clustered around them. The vast majority of the dead are from "blue counties" in "blue states". Compare the first and the fourth maps, if you want another look at that.
The second pair: "Free States" meant slavery was illegal. Slaves taken into those locations were free, period. "Territories open to slaves" meant that buying and selling was illegal, but you could still be owned.
Those people, with the *smallest* enlistment length, are there until 2010.
Okay, let me explain to you the way that Individual Ready Reserve works. When someone enlists in the U.S. Army, s/he enlists for three, four, five, or six years as active duty. The remaining years are as part of the Individual Ready Reserve. What this means is that they are usually discharged after their active duty term.
If a unit needs men as a stop-gap, IRR members are recalled. As of now, around 5,000 (out of 110,000) members have been recalled. They are not recalled all at once, but rather, as the needs of a unit dictate. The recall of an IRR soldier is limited by law to a maximum of 24 months. Usually, though, a call up lasts for 18 months.
All of which is to say that the minimum period of enlistment is *not* eight years except by the broadest possible definition.
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 02:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 02:59 pm (UTC)The military are predominantly *poor*. Rich people don't have to join the military to make a living - the poor have the option of military or Wal-Mart, and the military leaves you with education, training, experience, future career options, and a nest egg.
The cost, of course is that if you join the military *now*, you get shot.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 03:00 pm (UTC)That should be "shot at."
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 03:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 03:11 pm (UTC)It's also worth noting that that a good chunk of that great big blotch on the East Coast could probably be labeled "People who knew someone who died on 9/11 and want to avenge them".
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 03:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 03:14 pm (UTC)Most of those places are *expensive*, not wealthy, and most of the people in those places are crushingly poor, even if the average gets thrown way off by a few billionaires for every ten thousand homeless.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 03:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 05:46 pm (UTC)The last two maps, though, seem a better comparison because they account for historical propensities.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 05:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 09:02 pm (UTC)About the second pair: What does "Territories open to slaves" mean? Is it legal to own slaves there, but not to buy and sell?
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-26 09:48 pm (UTC)The second pair: "Free States" meant slavery was illegal. Slaves taken into those locations were free, period. "Territories open to slaves" meant that buying and selling was illegal, but you could still be owned.
Individual Ready Reserve
Date: 2005-08-27 03:49 pm (UTC)Okay, let me explain to you the way that Individual Ready Reserve works. When someone enlists in the U.S. Army, s/he enlists for three, four, five, or six years as active duty. The remaining years are as part of the Individual Ready Reserve. What this means is that they are usually discharged after their active duty term.
If a unit needs men as a stop-gap, IRR members are recalled. As of now, around 5,000 (out of 110,000) members have been recalled. They are not recalled all at once, but rather, as the needs of a unit dictate. The recall of an IRR soldier is limited by law to a maximum of 24 months. Usually, though, a call up lasts for 18 months.
All of which is to say that the minimum period of enlistment is *not* eight years except by the broadest possible definition.