The morale shift from a draft army to a volunteer force.

Luke Harding
UWRT 1101-90
Due 13 OCT 2014
I spoke to Harry B. Howell, a retired LTC (Lieutenant colonel) in the US Army. I spoke
to him about his experience in a post-draft Army and about the morale shift he witnessed
during his twenty two years of service. LTC Howell was my JROTC senior instructor while I
was in high school and gave me advice for my Basic and Advanced Individual Training for the
National Guard. He has been a mentor of mine for around five years, and has taught me many
things about leadership and professional conduct. He is a combat veteran and was involved in
nearly every conflict between the Vietnam War and The Gulf Wars. LTC Howell was a pilot of
rotary and fixed wing aircraft for most of his career, but started out as an Infantry Officer.
Harding: How do you view your overall experience in the military?
Howell: It was very rewarding to serve with men and women, have the chance to train and
lead, and through that, have the opportunity to serve the people of the United States.
Harding: Did you go into the military expecting to be a leader? Or did you join for a technical
position?
Howell: Truthfully, I went into the military because my uncle advised me to take ROTC in
college. Vietnam was going on at that time and he had just gotten back. He suggested that if
you were going to go to Vietnam, you should go as an officer. So, being a good nephew, I
listened to him.
I got into ROTC at Appalachian State University, with the intent to go in as an officer.
The war was still going on strong in 69 so everyone was being drafted. You could get a college
deferment if you were in ROTC and that was an incentive to also do ROTC so I could at least
complete my four years of school. Shortly after freshman year they came out with the lottery,
some people got out of ROTC because they had high numbers in the lottery. I probably would
have been one of those except my lottery number was 89 so I said Well thats pretty low and
remembered that If I am going to go might as well go as an officer. I remembered what my
uncle said. That's all what got me into ROTC, I wasn't planning on making the Military a career.
Actually I got a scholarship at the end of my freshman year that paid for my last three years of
college, I went in because I was obligated for four years, to pay back my scholarship, but once
I got in I discovered I enjoyed it, and was good at it, and started flying helicopters. One thing
led to another and next thing you know twenty two years had gone by. That was kind of it. It
wasn't anything I had planned out as a child that I was going to be an Army Officer and was
going to make a career out of it, it just happened that way.
Harding: Being a teenager and then a young adult during the war, what was your perception of
peoples views on the war.
Howell: At Appalachian you had representatives... well really from both sides at that time. You
had the youth that were very upset with the war and how the war was being fought. With all

the killing that was taking place. You saw it every night on TV on every news channel. It was
the first time you really saw first hand at the supper table what the American Soldiers were
facing over in Vietnam. The tide began to turn against the military. In respect to that the
military was being blamed. Instead of the politicians who were sending us over there. We were
simply doing our jobs because that is what we are supposed to do.
Harding: Legally obligated.
Howell: Yep, when the Commander and Chief and Congress tells us to go, we go and do the
best that we can to defend the nation and at the time we thought we were defending the nation
by trying to stop the spread of Communism from North Vietnam to South Vietnam. The country
was divided and lost, the drug scene was really big at that time. At my time in high school the
big thing was beer. Within a year or two of me getting out of high school in '69 it was all
marijuana. And all this other stuff that was coming into being there. It was a drastic change in
the morals, like the lack of respect for authority, and that had a lot to do with the politicians not
being the kind of leaders they needed to be. You know men of moral character, as well as
women of moral character. It was a very difficult time.
Harding: I guess we'll go back to the beginning for a bit of elaboration, what did you enjoy the
most about your time in the military?
Howell: I think it was working with the people. In around 1973 or 1974 the draft was ended and
it became an all volunteer force. So you began to get those men and women who chose to
serve rather then were drafted and forced to be in. Thats a completely different caliber of
person who willingly and wantingly serves their country. So when you have that kind of
camaraderie it makes your job a lot easier and it makes the people you work with much more
enjoyable to associate with. There was quite a difference between when I joined in 1973 and
in 1976 and became a volunteer military.
Harding: So, you do attribute that morale spike to the fact that it became purely volunteers?
Howell: Volunteers, yes you have to choose to serve your country and put on that uniform.
Harding: So now I have to give the opposite of the question, What did you enjoy the least
about your time in the Military?
Howell: Leaders who were out for themselves. Ones that were using their junior officers and
soldiers as a stepping stone for their personal ambitions. You still see that today. That seems
to be a common thread among men who are selfish versus being selfless. That was a difficult
time, at around my ten year mark. I had this Colonel who was the Squadron commander who
had a zero defect mentality. In that it was his way or the highway. It was all about him. He was
the complete opposite of what I was taught a leader should be. As a young cadet at
Appalachian, Captain Beaver told me that if you take care of your soldiers they will take care
of you. And by that you serve others first. The belief is that they will carry you. That is the

definition of a leader that I shared with you as a cadet. It is The Art of Influencing People in
Such A Way That They Willingly Follow You. With this guy [The Squadron Commander] I did
not willingly follow him. I followed him because he was a commander and I was loyal to the
commander in that if he gave me a lawful order my duty is to perform it to the best of my ability.
That doesn't mean that I liked him or respected him, but I did my job to the best of my abilities
by taking care of my people. I did my best to protect them from people like him. Even though
that was difficult for me personally.
Yea, That was probably the most difficult thing,
Harding: I understand that. In my unit my Platoon Sergeant is very good at shielding us from
the higher ups who are more focused on leading very large groups. They all have that
abstraction rather than having that personal level like for example a Squad Leader or a
Platoon Sergeant
Besides that, do you have any recommendations for people wishing to commission or
enlist?
Howell: The first thing, I think, you have to want is to serve your country in a way where your
country comes first. Your country will come before your wife, before your child, and if you are a
religious person, sometimes before that. There may be things that are conflicting that you have
to do in order to defend your country. You have to make that decision for yourself. If you are
willing to do that and, of course, if you happen to be married, is your partner willing to make
those sacrifices and that will occasionally have to play second fiddle. The country will come
first your men will come first, their families will come first because you have to take care of
them. Then you try and make time for your own family. Thats not easy, that is actually very
hard. But if you do what you are suppose to do, which is to take care of your people, that will
very difficult.
Harding: Yes sir, What was the hardest part of retiring?
Howell: I think the fear of going out into a world that you have been away from for twenty two
years i.e: being a civilian again. You've been in a world where you have been very comfortable.
Where you have trained and lived in that world. You understand that world. You feel safe and
secure in that world and now you are going into the unknown. A new career. Who is going to
want someone who is forty five years old. It's like getting out of college at twenty three. Who is
going to hire someone who has a piece of paper that says I have an Engineering Degree but
Have Never Had A Job but I've got a piece of paper. Hire me and I'll be a good engineer!
And they say We want someone with experience!
Well how can I get experience if I can't get a job?
That's an awful loop to be stuck in. And you go back twenty two years back to right after
college where its What is it going to be like to be an officer? I know what the book says but
how do you do this? Am I really good enough? It's a common fear of man, the unknown. This
time though you have a wife of twenty years, kids who are almost in college, and your pay is
about to get cut literally in half.
That is what it was like to retire.
Harding: Do you feel like your career had any defining moments?

Howell: I think... finding myself at various points in history in my lifetime. Like being in
Germany a few years before the cold war ended. You know before the wall came down we
went in, in November of '87. We were still training as if the Russian herd was going to come
across with the Warsaw Pact nations and we were ready to defend there in the gap. That is
what we had been doing ever since the war ended in '45 and when the cold war really started
to develop over there. You almost literally had that Iron Curtain all the way from the Baltic to
the Mesopotamian sea. It went through places like Bosnia that don't even exist anymore. You
saw the fences and all the guard towers. I remember flying into Berlin. Berlin was in Eastern
Germany and we were talking to Russian controllers. Overflying East Berlin into the west side.
It was like doing a bombing run in World War II. Looking at East Berlin and then suddenly
seeing the wall, and the across that, it was like looking into New York City. It was that
significant of a change in the environment. We saw the significance of West Germany and
East Germany. Then in '91 when the wall came down west became east. Germany was
reunited. It was like you blinked your eyes then suddenly the world was a totally different place.
As I look back on it now I am sure it was not that quick, but when I look back it really felt like it.
When we came back in 1993 we had gotten to see all the significant things that had changed.
Then the Cold War was over with. The Warsaw Pact Nations begin to dissolve and break up.
They formed their own Democracies.
To have been there and to have seen that happen was amazing, and for my kids to be
there too, and for them to see that. I think that is something I will always remember, and I hope
they do too.
Harding: Now here's the time for that Ahhhh question...
Howell: I thought that was a Ahhhh question.
Harding: Well, whoops. Anyway, If you had the opportunity to would you change anything?
Howell: Wow
Yea there are times where you think you would like to be able to go back and do things
over again and you wonder what your life would be like if you had made a different choice at a
different time in your life. As I look at it now and all those things that happened to me, I tend to
think that it happened for a reason. It made me the man that I am and the husband and father
that I am. Am I perfect? No. Did I make all the right choices? No. I think I am a good man, a
good husband, a good father, but could I do better? Yes. But changing things? I would have
studied better in high school. I think I appreciate an education better now than I did. I didn't
realize the significance of being a good student. Looking back that would be the only thing I
would change. Even with all the bad I like who I've become.
Harding: That is great, that is a good life to lead. Being able to look back and say: Yep, I'm
good with how that turned out.
Howell: Yep, I would strive for it.

Harding: How do you think the media is handling current military actions and goals?
Howell: Oh lord you're going to get me started on politics. Oh my word. I don't think the media
reports on what is really the News and lets the people form their own opinions. I think the
media manipulates the news so that the people who watch it will reflect their opinions to
whatever that network wants them to think. I am not a fan of the News people or the people
involved in the media. Personally I think they are a propaganda machine. I watch, but I do not
reflect their spins on things, I watch and form my own opinions and frankly they don't often
agree with me. Or I should say I don't agree with them.
Harding: Oh. Yikes. Why did I even write this question down: What is your opinion on the
issues with the VA?
Howell: The issue is bureaucracy. They try to do the best they can for the service member.
That being for the people who physically work with the vets; the doctors and the technicians
really do care, but the bureaucrats, all the paper pushers, the quota manipulators, and the
managers are control people who don't care about the servicemen. They care about quotas
and looking good to their superiors. Those are the major issues. It's not just the VA, it is
anyone who has become too comfortable and know that they have almost nothing to worry
about when it comes to being fired. And that's what I think.
Harding: Okay, lets move back into the history you have witnessed: Can you compare and
contrast the American perception of Communism versus Terrorism?
Howell: When we were going to take on Communism it was perceived that the threat would be
force on force or army on army in large battles like in WWII. That was how we were going to
stop the spread of Communism. Now with Terrorism it is a completely different rules of
engagement. We still try and fight from the perspective of a Geneva Convention compliant
military. We don't want to shoot up hospitals and schools. They see that as a weakness in us,
that they are happy to exploit. So, that is where they put their ammo and their command and
control centers. Then it goes back to the media where it was Oh no, they blew up a school or
a mosque. Well yea we did, and thats because that is where the enemy placed themselves,
and it is used against us. You are either in the fight to win it or we are in the state of confusion
we are in now. This has been going on since 2001 and we still have no plan on how to get this
thing done. The American people and our Government do not have the will... to do what needs
to be done. I don't think the rest of the world does either. These[Terrorism and Communism]
are two completely different issues with how to defend against it. We are spending billions and
billions of dollars and not fixing it. We didn't spend a fraction of this amount of money and
completely stopped Fascism and Nazism. And it only took four years. Then afterwards we
helped rebuild two great nations, Germany and Japan; even then we helped rebuild Europe.
So, we know how to do this, but our politicians won't let us take the necessary steps. We didn't
do it in Iraq and they wouldn't do it in Afghanistan. We need to take a look at history
especially the Marshal plan.
Harding: I'm not sure if it is a new thing or not but the military has a program called Lessons
Learned.

Howell: Yes that is because the military studies war. The Chairman of The Joint Chief of Staff,
The Commandant of the Marine Corps, and all those men who have long military careers act
as advisers to the men in suits who don't study war but feel as if they know more. They look at
weather or not their party is in power, or if they are going to get re-elected. They don't however,
look at the long term. Especially for the sake of my children, grandchildren or greatgrandchildren. We don't look at that, or do that.
Harding: I apologize, I haven't done any research before here, but has the military gone
through the same sort of downsizing that it is currently going through?
Howell: Certainly, when the Paris Peace Treaty was signed in the February of 1973, to draw
the Vietnam War to an end. I came in around May of 73 and we were still fighting at certain
points and places, but we were still forcing people out. That process is called a RIF a
reduction in force. They said to all those Captains and Majors and those senior NCOs that
We don't need you any more. So just like now they were forcing people out. They wanted a
smaller military. Having a smaller military means less is spent on defense. When I graduated
only three of us got commissioned to active duty. It was wild Bill Clinton who created the great
peace dividend. The walls coming down. We don't need to spend so much on defense. And
here we go 1973 all over again downsizing, forcing people out, less money spent. People just
two or three years away from retirement were essentially fired and given a small separation
allowance. The same thing is happening with all the soldiers coming back from Afghanistan
and Iraq. They don't want to spend the money on defense and we are still at war. That makes
a whole lot of sense.
Harding: The military is currently battling PTSD and suicides. We seem to be in the same
situation that you keep describing. Troops are being let go of, the economy is bad and there is
social change going on. Now, specifically, has PTSD and suicides always been an issue and
we are just now addressing it? Or is a new thing to be happening so often?
Howell: I know you hear a lot about it now after Desert Storm, Desert Shield, and the Gulf
Wars. I think that its always been there, you've just never heard so much about it until now
because the media is twenty four seven and we are constantly bombarded. All you have to do
is pick up a cell phone or get on a computer or a TV. You can't get away from it. We didn't
have all that in the fifties after Korea; we didn't have that in 1945 after World War Two.
But was it happening? Probably.
Did we know about it? No.
You would probably have to go to the Army's medical records and see if that kind of data was
kept. I would suspect that it has always been there. We know now about all that because of
how the world works.
Harding: How interconnected everything is.
Howell: Yea, sometimes thats good and sometimes it is a pain in the derrire. They are
thinking those problems are new, but they have always been there. We just dealt with it. Life

goes on.
Harding: Can you describe how the morale changed from pre-conflict to during conflict and
then post-conflict?
Howell: When I got in right after Vietnam we were in the transition from the draft army to
volunteers, drugs were a huge problem, racial relations were horrible, morale was really low.
These were all going on as we were trying to address the social issues of discrimination and
segregation. So morale was pretty bad. The military had felt as though it had lost the respect
of the American people. We were spit on, called baby killers, we were called all kinds of
names, and there were some things that soldiers had done that they shouldn't have;
Unfortunately the American people viewed it as if everyone who wore the uniform had done
those things and was guilty of that. So, morale was pretty bad. But then, thank goodness, we
started working on the development of the Officer Corps.
We got rid of the Officer politicians. Thank goodness we had people like General
Powell who remained after Vietnam and General Schwarzkopf who were young Lieutenant
Colonels at the time, who were determined to change the Officer Corps and make it a more
professional Officer Corps. Our profession was to be soldiers and not politicians wearing a
uniform. Over a period of time and years we began to view ourselves as a professional army
and that we were a volunteer army. Then things happened where we were able to prove that.
Like when we went into Panama to get General Noriega.
That was a very successful military operation. We went into Grenada where we were
able to lead the medical students that were there and stop the spread of Communism. Then
there was Castro in Cuba. And after those successful military operations we were beginning to
show how professional our military was, and we begun to see an increase in our morale, our
pride, in ourselves and in our nation. The American people began to see us from a different
perspective. Then the towers happened.... correction, Kuwait was invaded we had Desert
Storm and Desert Shield which General Schwarzkopf was able to do in four days with the
bombing campaign that took place with our Air Force and our Allies which happened like 100
days before the actual land operations begun. I think they had somewhere around the fifth or
sixth largest army in the world and we were able to defeat them in a matter of four days.
Unfortunately for us we didn't finish the job. We were held short of Baghdad around
twenty-five miles. Then the Coalition said the war was over with because we had gotten
Saddam Hussein from Kuwait and that our mission had been accomplished. Unfortunately we
were looking shortsighted and ignoring the long term. History has proven that true. That has
cost us thousands of lives and billions of dollars because of that mistake. At the time though
we were at an all time high when it came to morale. And I think our lowest point was postVietnam. That was a lot of information, sorry buddy.
Harding: That is totally fine. The more the better.
Howell: That may have been a novel.
Harding: That could have been a doctoral thesis.

Howell: I don't know, anyhow.

Harding: Okay. It is unfortunate looking at history and knowing that Baghdad was once the
Scientific Capital of the World. Then seeing what it is now.
Did you get your Ranger Tab before or after The Battle of Mogadishu?
Howell: I received my commission in may of 73 and went down to Fort Benning, Georgia
because I was commissioned as an Infantry Officer. Of course at that time I was still expecting
to go to Vietnam so I wanted to be as qualified as I could be. There was fighting still going on
even though the Treaty had been signed in February I believe it was. So I went to Airborne
School first before I went to Infantry Officer Basic Course. Then I volunteered to go to Ranger
School. I wanted to be as prepared as I could, so I could have as much confidence as possible
before actually leading men. I finished all that training if I remember right in the summer of 74.
Then I went to Fort Lewis where I had an Infantry Platoon for thirteen months. So that was way
before the battle of Mogadishu.
Harding: I was wondering if you had done that later in your career or if you had done that right
off the bat.
Thank you for your time sir, is there anything else you would like to say for the record?
Howell: I think for the sake of our nation, and for our nation to endure, I think our youth must
learn to understand the sacrifices that have been made for the blessings that they have had by
truly understanding their history. I saw that thing the other day where only thirty three percent
of the people interviewed knew the three branches of the government. It is so sad that people
can't even tell you the number of senators there are, and much less how many there are from
each state. They are locked up in their own little worlds of mass communication and the
mindset of what's in it for me. That is my fear for this nation. I see it literally changing in a
way that scares the hell out of me. It is not the same nation that I grew up in, with people who
loved it and were willing to die for it. Our values are falling to pieces. My dad use to say it's all
going to hell in a handbasket I know what that means now.
From this oral history I have learned about my information collection skills and that I
generally follow my interviewee down rabbit trails and distractions. I feel that I picked a very
good person to interview because of the sheer amount of history he has witnessed firsthand.
He also gave me a huge amount of material to write. If I could change a few things about the
circumstances of the interview I would have picked less general questions, and would have
given myself much more time to conduct the interview itself. I did not know that LTC Howell
would be so verbose with how he answered. In conclusion I feel I have done well in
interviewing LTC Howell, and that I picked a great representative of his time period.