In the Shadow of Service: Veteran Masculinity and Civil–Military Disjuncture in the U nited S tates

In the period since the abolition of the draft the number of soldiers and veterans in the United States, in both absolute and relative terms, has declined. At the same time the United States has become increasingly militarized at home and dependent on the global projection of force. In this article I explore the impact of these apparently contradictory developments, focusing on the post-service lives of what I call mobilized veterans—those veterans actively involved with veterans’ organizations. In the context of such veterans’ organizations the consequences of militarization in a context of increased alienation of civilian life from the military as institution become visible in the gendered performances and identities of veterans struggling to inhabit subjectivities that at once demonstrate normality and yet draw upon the potential authority of military masculinity.