What would a sociologist say about how society shaped Americans’ decisions to join the military?

Question

What would a sociologist say about how society shaped Americans’ decisions to join the military?

Answer 1

Probably that the backlash against the Viet Nam war made it undesirable for a large part of the population to join the armed forces.  Resentment toward the draft - some protesters had taken to burning their draft cards - and our ensuing pull out from the war led the government to shut down down "selective service".  

These two actions left the American military low on personnel for a number of years.  To raise enlistment numbers, the Department of Defense revamped their incentives for joining up voluntarily, and the individual branches of the military began aggressively campaigning for enlistment with action-packed commercials that were in tune with styles of advertising that young men and women were more likely to respond positively to.  

The result was a well-stocked, all-volunteer defense force of service personnel who were much more motivated to fight than the previous generation.

Answer 2

Benefits offered by the military coupled with the lack of threat of war influenced large numbers of American youth to join up.  The threat of war brought in young people who feel that it is their duty to sacrifice for their country.