Even though neither major party nominee for president has a military background — one of them avoided service through a series of deferments and a claimed bone-spurs disability — and U.S. armed forces are not currently involved in any ground wars, military matters are playing an outsized role in this year’s election.
That role has four dimensions. First, is the country in a position to apply military force, if and when needed, beyond our borders? Second, what, if anything, will be the armed forces’ role in the event the losing presidential candidate’s supporters seek to contest the results through civil disorder? Third, is military service a particular qualification for public office? And finally, if the answer to the third question is Yes, is some military service more salient than other service?
