13 - The U.S. Military and Dissenters in the Ranks

Summary

This chapter outlines the contours of dissent in the U.S. Armed Forces in West Germany between 1970 and 1975. It discusses a dramatic increase in the enlistment and re-enlistment of blacks in the army. Moreover, it was an increase in the face of extensive notoriety accorded to violent racial ruptures that took place within the military during that period, particularly upon U.S. naval vessels. Such violent outbreaks did not often bear a direct or easily identifiable relationship to dissent, either organized or sporadic, among black enlisted personnel. Intertwined with the subject of dissent within the military during this period was the issue of drug use and control. An unparalleled army program against drug use began at bases throughout Europe in December 1972. The interest among GIs in joining together to make their collective voices heard against such commander initiatives as the anti-drug program quickly rose to the surface.