THe Urban Scholarship:
There is a deep desire to make the Army very representative of the overall American Society, demographically and geographically. This is not just coming from one party in power but many civilian and military leaders alike. The fights we engage can not be ignored by 99% of our population. Everyone should and must have a stake in it. Aside from mass conscription which we cannot afford this is the Army's way of working toward that goal.
Stanley McChrystal, the general who commanded U.S. troops in Afghanistan, has worried about an army that is “unrepresentative of the population.” He added, “If a nation goes to war, every town, every city needs to be at risk.”
“The small percentage of our population in uniform, and with other parts of our society not involved, is a profound issue,” says Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat and alumnus of West Point who served in the 82nd Airborne Division.
“In a democratic society, if you don’t feel some obligation of defending the country, you’re creating a problem,” says Senator Lindsey Graham, the Republican from South Carolina, who serves as a lawyer in the Air Force Reserves.
It will be interesting how this scholarship progresses and what it achieves.