Volunteers to Fight Our Wars Series

In his farewell speech of 1989 President Ronald Reagan asked us to remember the resurgence of national pride he called the “New Patriotism.” Patriotism and love of country, he said, are closely related to our national memory and have given our nation’s history a deeper meaning. Approximately two-thirds of Americans consider military service patriotic, ranking it second only to voting in elections and ahead of reciting the pledge of allegiance or wearing an American flag pin. Army service has historically been a lineage obligation. To prove their worth, kings and rulers had to embark on campaign within a short time, normally a year after ascending the throne. Family tradition has further compelled commoners to don the uniform in the service of their country. A need for revenge along with the effects of social and political pressures are other factors that influence an individual’s decision to join the army and go to war. This book examines men and women who have made war their prime call of duty for real or perceived patriotic reasons; commoners enlisting voluntarily as a matter of family tradition or kinship obligation; and others serving to avenge a wrong, or because of social and political pressures. The material in this book is excerpted from For God, Gold, and Glory: A History of Military Service and Man’s Search for Power, Wealth, and Adventure, also by Martina Sprague. The full series comprises the following books: 1. The Forces of War: Patriotism, Tradition, and Revenge 2. The Financial Incentives of War: Poverty Draft, Mercenaries, and Volunteers in Foreign Armies 3. The Propaganda of War: Personal Transformation and the Search for Adventure 4. The Glory of War: The Way to Historical Immortality 5. The Reality of War: Boredom, Disillusion, and Desertion

There are essentially two ways to staff the armies of the world: conscription and voluntary service. Military service is a genuinely popular choice for young men in districts afflicted by poverty. Financial incentives, such as enlistment bonuses or promises of an education, may also lure those from slightly more favorable economic backgrounds into the armed forces. Perhaps not as common knowledge is the fact that governments have used similar tactics in their attempts to get foreign governments to commit forces to war for a common objective. Some men also volunteer in foreign armies because of ideological reasons, to flee a life of crime, or to satisfy some personal aim. Well-paid mercenaries, however, are motivated by their personal acquisitions, mostly in the form of money and not in what they can do for the state. This book examines poverty and the effects of financial need on voluntary military enlistment; financial incentives such as promises of enlistment bonuses and an education; and mercenaries and private contractors lured into military service by the promise of large sums of money. The material in this book is excerpted from For God, Gold, and Glory: A History of Military Service and Man’s Search for Power, Wealth, and Adventure, also by Martina Sprague. The full series comprises the following books: 1. The Forces of War: Patriotism, Tradition, and Revenge 2. The Financial Incentives of War: Poverty Draft, Mercenaries, and Volunteers in Foreign Armies 3. The Propaganda of War: Personal Transformation and the Search for Adventure 4. The Glory of War: The Way to Historical Immortality 5. The Reality of War: Boredom, Disillusion, and Desertion

Individuals tend to seek adventure through war to counter the effects of boredom. The wars of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have found many men and women who cannot imagine life without combat. They enlist because of the power war brings them and the knowledge that they literally hold life and death in their hand. Governments, too, seek adventure through war. Propaganda is the manipulation of ideas to influence the beliefs of the masses and bring about a specific action. War propaganda has been used widely throughout history and for a broad variety of purposes, often to inspire military enlistment and a hatred of the enemy. This book examines military enlistment as a result of boredom that comes with everyday existence, or as an element of hopelessness and the desire to escape from intolerable pressures at home; recruitment propaganda and its relation to the promise of adventure, marketable skills, and personal transformation; and the inability to chill and leave military life behind after one’s time in the armed forces has ended. The material in this book is excerpted from For God, Gold, and Glory: A History of Military Service and Man’s Search for Power, Wealth, and Adventure, also by Martina Sprague. The full series comprises the following books: 1. The Forces of War: Patriotism, Tradition, and Revenge 2. The Financial Incentives of War: Poverty Draft, Mercenaries, and Volunteers in Foreign Armies 3. The Propaganda of War: Personal Transformation and the Search for Adventure 4. The Glory of War: The Way to Historical Immortality 5. The Reality of War: Boredom, Disillusion, and Desertion

What motivates men to go to war? The answer is the desire for recognition and the opportunity to gain eternal fame. War is perhaps the most common way in which a man can become a hero. We tend to romanticize war. War is portrayed as a daring adventure for a sacred cause, where the soldier will ultimately reach the highest level of self-actualization. As demonstrated by the great military figures in history, the promise of honor and heroism can help a man conquer the world. Persuading talented officers to forsake field command for a desk job has historically been difficult. Foot soldiers, too, know that their way to glory and historical immortality lies with the sword and not the pen. This book examines the dream of membership in an elite society and battle as the supreme test of the individual; promises of great rewards and military training as a “pleasant pastime”; and the tendency to grow fond of the pleasure/pain dichotomy of war. The material in this book is excerpted from For God, Gold, and Glory: A History of Military Service and Man’s Search for Power, Wealth, and Adventure, also by Martina Sprague. The full series comprises the following books: 1. The Forces of War: Patriotism, Tradition, and Revenge 2. The Financial Incentives of War: Poverty Draft, Mercenaries, and Volunteers in Foreign Armies 3. The Propaganda of War: Personal Transformation and the Search for Adventure 4. The Glory of War: The Way to Historical Immortality 5. The Reality of War: Boredom, Disillusion, and Desertion

Although large numbers of men and women volunteer for military service, astoundingly few soldiers actually achieve their dream of going to war and emerging as heroes. When not battling for survival in its purest sense, military service and war are for many soldiers a tedious period of their lives that does not compare to the colorful images of action and adventure the recruiter promised them. Desertion was always a possibility for men who found army life intolerable. Yet each new generation walks into the recruiter’s office with the same ignorance of war’s reality only to discover, when reality strikes, the terrible price they have to pay for believing the myth of war. This book examines military service as 90 percent boredom and 10 percent action; the search for the “real” army while discovering the cost of war; and climbing the “mountains of life” in search of the “Holy Grail.” The material in this book is excerpted from For God, Gold, and Glory: A History of Military Service and Man’s Search for Power, Wealth, and Adventure, also by Martina Sprague. The full series comprises the following books: 1. The Forces of War: Patriotism, Tradition, and Revenge 2. The Financial Incentives of War: Poverty Draft, Mercenaries, and Volunteers in Foreign Armies 3. The Propaganda of War: Personal Transformation and the Search for Adventure 4. The Glory of War: The Way to Historical Immortality 5. The Reality of War: Boredom, Disillusion, and Desertion