States That Defend Us—Where Do Our Military Volunteers Call Home?

[rangerrebew]

States That Defend Us—Where Do Our Military Volunteers Call Home?
Chuck DeVore


United States Army Ranger Getty

There’s no end to fun surveys that purport to measure patriotism among the states, with military enlistments often part of the criteria.

However, using enlistment rates to gauge the regional willingness to volunteer for the armed forces betrays a common misunderstanding of the way the U.S. military operates. What matters is accessions to the military, not enlistments. Accession is a term used when a civilian joins the military, having passed mental, physical, educational and legal standards, and swears an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Enlisted personnel—in other words, not commissioned officers—enlist for a term. When that term is up, they can leave the military or choose to reenlist. Thus, states with a large active duty presence will also then see many enlistments.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckdevore/2020/02/19/states-that-defend-uswhere-do-our-military-volunteers-call-home/#7fa21060534c

[PeteS in CA]

Hoping this works:

[Fishrrman]

I can understand New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and D.C. in the "bottom five", but why North Dakota...?