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Spain The Military in Society
Officers of the Spanish armed forces have tended to
regard
themselves as highly patriotic, self-denying, and devoted
to
service. They attach importance to the symbols of Spanish
unity
and historical continuity. Sensitive to criticism and
extremely
conscious of perceived slights to honor, they have
constantly
sought reassurance that their role was appreciated by the
government and by the public.
The military careerists' sense of forming a community
set at
a distance from civilian society has been heightened by
their
style of living. They usually have been housed on military
compounds; they have shopped in military outlets, have
obtained
free education for their children at military schools,
have used
military hospitals, and have taken holidays at special
facilities
made available only to the armed forces. This isolated
life has
not been entirely a matter of choice, but has been
necessitated
by low wage scales. Until 1978 the majority of officers
could
maintain themselves only by holding second jobs, after
finishing
their military duties at midday.
Rates of intermarriage within the armed services
community
have always been high, as has been the ratio of sons of
military
personnel choosing military careers. As of 1979, about 67
percent
of those entering the army military academy were following
their
fathers into the service. The corresponding ratio for the
navy
was 81 percent, and for the air force it was 54 percent.
The
future of the officers' group, as a distinctive social
class,
appeared to be in jeopardy by the mid-1980s. Uncompetitive
salaries, greater career opportunities in the modern
civilian
economy, and reduced prospects in an officer corps that
was faced
with dramatic staff reductions presented a discouraging
prospect
to the sons of officers. A newer source of entrants to the
military academies was developing among the sons of
noncommissioned officers (NCOs), however, for whom the
free
education and the potential for social advancement were
important
inducements.
In terms of its status as a profession, military
service has
traditionally ranked high, below that of doctors and of
engineers, but higher than that of lawyers, of deputies of
the
Cortes, and of members of the priesthood. In an opinion
poll
taken in late 1986, concerning the prestige of nineteen of
the
leading institutions of the nation, the armed services
ranked
seventh, below that of the monarchy, the Roman Catholic
Church,
the press, and the internal security forces, but above the
Cortes, the central government, the courts, unions,
universities,
and the business community.
Data as of December 1988
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