Does Nebraska bear an unfair burden in Iraq?

No one wants to return to the days of a military draft, but a survey by the Associated Press shows a downside of the all-volunteer force, especially during time of war.

The impact is fresh in the minds of McCook-area residents, only days after the funeral for a young local soldier in Iraq.

According to the AP survey, nearly half of the more than 3,100 U.S. military deaths in Iraq have come from towns of less than 25,000 population, and one in five from hometowns of less than 5,000.

On a per capita basis, Nebraska has suffered unfairly, with 9.3 military casualties per 500,000 residents through Feb. 3, 2007 -- the day before our own soldier lost his life to a roadside bomb in Baghdad.

That puts us fifth in the per capita ranking in the nation, behind Vermont at 14.8, South Dakota at 11.3, Alaska at 10.4 and North Dakota with 10.1 deaths per capita.

An AP story that was distributed Monday pointed to fewer rural economic employment opportunities as one reason young people feeled compelled to join the military. For example, from 1997 to 2003, 1.5 million rural workers lost their jobs, most of them in manufacturing.

That is no doubt true in Nebrakska, but the story also notes that patriotism and military tradition runs high in America's heartland, and we agree. We know that's true among the proud military personnell we've encountered.

Still, it adds a sense of urgency to local economic development as well as efforts to improve educational opportunities.

Fortunately, McCook has been successful in both.

But we must redouble our efforts to ensure that the opportunity to join the military remains just one of a number of good options available to our young people.