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. 2008 Jul;34(4):682-713.
doi: 10.1177/0095327X07310336.

The Privileges of Rank: The Peacetime Draft and Later-life Attainment

Alair Maclean  1
Affiliations

The Privileges of Rank: The Peacetime Draft and Later-life Attainment

Alair Maclean. Armed Forces Soc. 2008 Jul.

Abstract

This article examines the effects of peacetime cold war military service on the life course according to four potentially overlapping theories that state that military service (1) was a disruption, (2) was a positive turning point, (3) allowed veterans to accumulate advantage, and (4) was an agent of social reproduction. The article argues that the extent to which the effect of military service on veterans' lives corresponds with one or another of the preceding theories depends on historical shifts in three dimensions: conscription, conflict, and benefits. Military service during the peacetime draft era of the late 1950s had a neutral effect on the socioeconomic attainment of enlisted veterans. However, it had a positive effect on veterans who served as officers, which partly stemmed from status reproduction and selection. Yet net of pre-service and educational differences by rank, officers in this peacetime draft era were still able to accumulate advantage.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Multiple Indicator Multiple Cause Model of Effects of Early Life Characteristics and Experiences on Later-life Socioeconomic Outcomes
Figure 2
Figure 2. Effect on Log Earnings by Age Relative to Nonveteran High School Graduate (Multiple Indicator Multiple Cause Model Estimates)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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