An article in the Village Voice discusses the difference between the socio-economic backgrounds of those in charge of the military and those fighting on the ground.

One thing that is clear from this is that the myth that Americans are not hampered by pedigree like our cousins in Europe is just that — a myth. Many of the people in the military are there because college is increasingly returning to being the domain of the rich, and risking their lives in the military is their only hope of making a better future.

Yet we see that, though they are the ones taking the greatest risks, they are rewarded far less than those running things from the comfort of a command and control location in the horrible conditions of Florida.