There is widening gap between the American people and their armed forces, and this is not a good thing, according to Karl W. Eikenberry, a retired Army lieutenant general, and David M. Kennedy is an emeritus professor of history at Stanford. Writing in The New York Times, they note:

Less than 0.5 percent of the population serves in the armed forces, compared with more than 12 percent during World War II. Even fewer of the privileged and powerful shoulder arms. In 1975, 70 percent of members of Congress had some military service; today, just 20 percent do, and only a handful of their children are in uniform.

This is just one of the developments that, according to the authors, "present a disturbingly novel spectacle: a maximally powerful force operating with a minimum of citizen engagement and comprehension." You can read more here.