Champagne unit

Champagne unit

Champagne unit is a pejorative term used to describe US military units that had been staffed by celebrities or people from wealthy or politically powerful families. Such units were often part of the National Guard, and assigned to lower-risk duty inside the United States. The connotation is that such units were havens for those with connections who wish to avoid conscription into more dangerous duty while still gaining the prestige afforded in the United States to military service. Over a century earlier, a term used to describe the same type of unit was silk-stocking regiment after the New York's 7th Regiment, whose well-heeled members actually built their own armory, the Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue in the upper East side of Manhattan.

Contents

Vietnam War

During the Vietnam war, service in the National Guard and Reserve components were seen as a way to avoid combat. Although some number of Guard and Reserve units were in fact "called-up" to combat duty in every US war since they were founded,[1] the risk was especially low in the 1970s. Only 8700 of these soldiers were sent to Vietnam, 0.3% of the personnel who served. Furthermore, a greatly disproportionate number of famous, wealthy, and/or politically connected young men received slots in the Guard or Reserves during Vietnam, including 360 professional athletes such as Bill Bradley and Nolan Ryan.[2]

Commenting on this disparity, General Colin Powell wrote in his autobiography, "I am angry that so many sons of the powerful and well placed and many professional athletes (who were probably healthier than any of us) managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units. Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class discrimination strikes me as the most damaging to the ideal that all Americans are created equal and owe equal allegiance to our country."[3]

147th Fighter Group

The most infamous champagne unit was the Texas Air National Guard 147th Fighter Interceptor Group, at Ellington Field in Houston. During the Vietnam War many well-connected sons landed in this posting, sometimes with the help of politicians such as Ben Barnes.[4]

No More Champagne

The Total Force Policy, implemented in the aftermath of the Vietnam War by General Creighton Abrams, has eliminated the Guard's and Reserve's shelter from combat. In 2004, National Guard and Reserve units comprised 40 percent of all US forces serving in Iraq.[5] As of 2006, 270,000 Guard members (60% of the total force) had been deployed overseas for the maximum amount of time allowed by military regulations.[6]

See also

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Champagne, Switzerland — Champagne Champagne village Country Switzerland …   Wikipedia

  • champagne — /sham payn /, n. 1. (cap.) the sparkling, dry, white table wine from the region of Champagne in France. 2. a similar sparkling wine produced elsewhere. 3. (formerly) the nonsparkling, dry, white table wine produced in the region of Champagne in… …   Universalium

  • Champagne — /sham payn /; Fr. /shahonn pannn yeu/, n. a region and former province in NE France. * * * Historical and cultural region, northeastern France. The terrain is interrupted by low hills and by the Marne River valley. It was an important medieval… …   Universalium

  • Donna Champagne — is a former politician in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She was a member of city council from 1985 to 1988, and campaigned for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a candidate of the New Democratic Party (NDP). Champagne was a librarian before… …   Wikipedia

  • Capsule de champagne — et bouchon Laurent Perrier cuvée Grand Siècle. Une capsule de champagne, également appelée plaque de muselet, est la rondelle métallique qui se trouve au sommet d une bouteille de champagne. Sa fonction est de reprendre l effort de maintien du… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • David B. Champagne — David Bernard Champagne    …   Wikipedia

  • TER Champagne-Ardenne — SNCF Name=TER ColourName=#dddddd Logo=TER Champagne Ardenne is the regional rail network serving Champagne Ardenne région, France. TER Network Rail * Reims Châlons en Champagne Vitry le François Saint Dizier Joinville Chaumont Langres Culmont… …   Wikipedia

  • Centre Vinicole - Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte — The Centre Vinicole Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte (CV CNF) is the oldest union of producers of champagne. It comprises 82 winemaking cooperatives representing more than 5000 vineyards, situated on a hill in the commune of Chouilly, on the road… …   Wikipedia

  • Kenneth Champagne — was appointed to the Provincial Court of Manitoba on April 14, 2005.Judge Champagne began his legal career by articling in the Manitoba Crown attorney’s office in 1993. For many years he worked in Thompson, reaching the position of supervising… …   Wikipedia

  • Conscription — Conscript redirects here. For other uses, see Conscript (disambiguation).   No armed forces …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”