What about that recent study which showed that the highest quintile in household income actually had a proportionally higher representation in the armed forces?

The heritage foundation study that was released three days after a study that came to the opposite conclusion. The rebuttal to this study was that looking at zip codes can be very misleading. Because dorm rooms are full of young people with no income.

I think if you ask any person in the military, the idea that the enlisted ranks are teeming with middle class is ridiculous.

Define "Middle Class".

C'mon Mike, argue the rich don't serve in the same proportion as the other classes. Maybe you can make that argument. To say the military is made up mainly by the poor shows your lack of cognitive skills unless of course the poor are any incomes below say $150,000 a year.

I think there are a lot of definitions. In my mind, however, it is the sort of family with non-blue collar jobs (though I know that blue collars can sometimes make big $$$), where the kids are expected go to college, home owners, 2 cars, etc.

tell me about the kids among the children of your close personal friends and family that are enlisted in the military.

So you're really referring to upper middle class, right? At what percentile of household income does this subpopulation begin?

I don't have any close personal friends who are in the middle class.

I also live in a Mormon community and associate with active mormons. There kids go on missions instead of serving in the military, even the poor ones.

He doesn't know. It is a popular slogan and he can't back it up with figures or facts.

Do you mean Captain Bill Jacobsen?