IN the wake of September 11, the United States has undertaken a range of new and expanded military commitments, especially in Central Asia and the Middle East. The military occupation of Iraq is likely to last longer, and require larger forces, than civilian leaders in the Department of Defense had predicted prior to the war. The rising demands on U.S. military personnel, including lengthy overseas deployments and the increased risk of casualties, may well put pressure on current recruitment strategies. This is an appropriate moment, then, to review the military manpower decisions we made a generation ago.