Interesting report, I'd missed that. I do wonder if that data isn't rather dicey to draw on - I mean if you're poor or find yourself with few prospects in a well-off neighbourhood, you might end up in the wrong part of that graph. You might realize that you should go to college, but you can't afford to, etc. Still, it's hard to deny it paints a rather different picture than the location of recruitment centres gives.
The entire US military is huge, and even with the explosion in military contractors, most roles are surely non-combat roles. Even more so with the focus on special forces on the ground (I seem to recall the ratio is something like 10 to 1 currently). That doesn't mean non-combat roles can't be dangerous, of course. It would be interesting to see more details.
[ed: thinking more about this, even with the death of the US middle class, it's a little mind-boggling to see so many people eager to go to war in a country that's arguably at peace.]
The entire US military is huge, and even with the explosion in military contractors, most roles are surely non-combat roles. Even more so with the focus on special forces on the ground (I seem to recall the ratio is something like 10 to 1 currently). That doesn't mean non-combat roles can't be dangerous, of course. It would be interesting to see more details.
[ed: thinking more about this, even with the death of the US middle class, it's a little mind-boggling to see so many people eager to go to war in a country that's arguably at peace.]