What distinguishes HOME FIRES BURNING from other press coverage on the military?
Most current media coverage focuses on the military as a fighting force. I’m looking at the military as our nation’s largest employer–one that in wartime has increasing powers of persuasion. HOME FIRES BURNING puts the military’s corporate culture under the microscope. With an annual budget of $371 billion (compared to Exxon Mobile’s $200 billion budget, or Walmart’s $227 billion), and 2 million employees (compared to Walmart’s 1.4 million or Exxon’s 97,000), the Department of Defense is the largest “company” in the United States. In some ways, the military is a progressive company. It does better than Starbucks with employee benefits, for example. Though they probably wouldn’t put it this way themselves–the military is also a massive welfare state. Health care is free for the entire family; housing is free or subsidized; quality childcare is subsidized and affordable; mental health, financial, even some legal counseling is free. The military has bought an idea which has been a hard se
