The warrior is being overtaken by the technologist, and in the pursuit of opportunity for all, the fighting elites are now being targeted as no longer relevant to accomplishing the objectives of war. In fact, war itself is losing its meaning among the current crop of both uniformed and civilian leaders. The word war has become almost unspeakable. To be sure, many such operations are valid applications of U.S. military strength in support of national security objectives. But they do not fulfill what soldiers see as their reason for being.
Soldiers see their relevance as warriors being questioned.
Despite all the rhetoric about all that is being done for the warrior, those who want to be real warriors feel betrayed. They signed on to be part of the force that clashes with and destroys the enemy. They know the risks of war, but never expected that wanting to be warriors would pose a risk to their military careers. This attitude toward the warrior ethos is pervasive and dangerous. There is no question that training standards have been lowered.