Who serves in the military? When the United States ended conscription and began to acquire its military personnel voluntarily, significant concerns were voiced. Would the military attract sufficient and appropriate personnel? Would the self-selected force reflect American society in terms of demographics, socio-economic origin, and ideology? Or would the force become increasingly separate and alienated from American society, maneuver to become politically independent from civil authority, and perhaps endanger the polity? We address these issues by discussing the underlying choice made by the U.S. government when it opted for an all-volunteer force, reviewing many of the concerns raised about consequences of this choice, assessing the degree to which these occurred and whether they still affect the force through an analysis of its demographic profile, and discussing concerns raised about the current force by the leadership of the Department of Defense.