The Columbia Journalism Review has published a thoughtful article by Ben Kesling on the paucity of military veterans in newsrooms. Although they make up 7% of the general population, only 2% of them work in journalism.  

It’s a discussion that is long overdue.  

On the one hand, "The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan brought newsrooms a surge of journalists with time spent in combat zones, and a new generation of military veterans taking up jobs in media," Kesling writes.  

But he continues, that earlier this year, “several military-oriented publications under the banner of Military Times laid off half their staff, including a number of veterans."

There are several good arguments for hiring service veterans, including some of those who lost their jobs. 

“From a purely practical standpoint, veterans in a newsroom bring firsthand familiarity with the terminology and taxonomy of weapons and equipment,” Kesling points out. “They know the complex structure of the military.” 

They also know military pay grades (which might be of use in writing about the service records of our vice presidential candidates). And they surely have a grasp of military history and that of the country itself.  

Finally, they surely know how to work hard under pressure, not to mention battle.

You might wonder why military lifers would give up the security and structure of the service to enter a profession where they can be downsized at any time. 

They have to that career. Look at Kesling: he was a 33 year-old journalistic intern.  

He made the right choice.