‘Good soldiers are made, not born’(⊥): the dangers of medicalizing ability in the military use of genetics

Advances in genetic and genomic science are of particular interest to the United States military. Responding to Maxwell J. Mehlman's and Tracy Yeheng Li's article Ethical, Legal, Social, and Policy Issues in the Use of Genomic Technology by the U.S. Military, this Commentary explores the social consequences of medicalizing what it means to be a good soldier. It begins by reviewing the well-documented consequences of medicalization in the contexts of the eugenics movement and modern genetic and genomic science. It then applies that analysis to the military use of genetics and genomics, focusing on the ways in which genetic or genomic accounts of military ability could entrench existing gender and racial disparities.