Jewish Culture and the American Military

摘要

This study explores the Jewish experience within the American military. The history of military service by persons of the Jewish faith corresponds roughly to that of persons from many other ethnic or religious groups: military service has been a patriotic calling, especially in periods of war, as well as a path during earlier times toward full assimilation into American society. This study concludes that Jewish military personnel, overall, have consistently performed well in service, given current measures of success; and, this trend is likely to continue. Further research should seek to examine additional measures of success in the military for Jewish personnel. More generally, research should examine the possible relationship between military performance and a person's religious faith, since religion is such an important part of individual identity. This information would add to existing knowledge of the various background and demographic factors of military members that help to shape a diverse and highly effective force. Information sources include a review of the literature, interviews with 19 Jewish service members, and the data files of officers and enlisted personnel who were on active duty as of October 2005. Data files were provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center in Monterey, California. Chapters cover the history of American Jewish military personnel from the 1600s to the present, contemporary issues, religious identity in America, the U.S. Military and religion, Peter Karsten's study of Protestants and Catholics in the military, the relation of American Jewish culture to military success, Karsten's success model according to Jewish sects, the Jewish propensity to join the military, Jewish political beliefs and how they compare to the military's political preferences, the Jewish recruitment experience, Jewish trust in the military, military religious demographics, and the results of interviews with Jewish enlisted and officer personnel.