The unemployment rate in the United States as of January 2012 stands at 9 percent. When sifting through the classifieds most jobs require a degree in that field of work but most importantly, most companies prefer to hire someone with prior experience in that field. The notion is that more experience one has, the less time they will have to train that employee to be proficient. Imagine if “experience preferred” was not only for regular jobs but applied to elected officials having served in the armed forces as a prerequisite to becoming elected. The United States Constitution says the President of the United States is the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army, Navy, and Air Force. Our current 44th President, Barack Obama has not served in the Armed Forces. When asked why he didn’t serve he stated, “The Vietnam War had come to an end. We weren’t engaged in an active military conflict. It’s not an option that I ever decided to pursue.” (Harnden, 2008) Less than one percent of the U.S. population serves in the Armed Forces. In fact, only 24 of our 44 presidents served in the military. For the rest, the Commander-in-Chief title is their only association with the military. Our leaders should have experience in being in the military. Not only do they gain insight and valuable experience by rising through the ranks they attain core values such as Leadership, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. However, critics argue that to be successful as an elected official one doesn’t need mandatory service. There are a host of elected officials who have not served but are extremely successful and lauded for their decision-making skills. Also, a citizen might be less committed if made to join and could also weaken our military by training people who do not want to be there. Additionally, the number of elected officials who