Do you think that the U. S. governement is going to bring back the draft?

Question

The U.S. military isn't making their enlistment quotas. Is a draft possible?

No offense Leah, but a Navy Captain is not nearly high enough to answer that question. But thanks.

No offense Adam,but I knew that.

B-gray, you could be right, but we live in a time that stranger things have happened. Just because I am not military, does not mean I don't support them or know about them. I have never lived in the military culture, but unfortunately, some of our decision makers are not really military people or do they understand the military culture and the demands that are made of individuals in the military.

Answer 1

Possible? Yes
Probable? Yes
Is it going to happen? No.

The services have many ways to deal with this. Remember, they already have by law every male, 18 to 25, enrolled in the selective service. On top of this, they have the Individual Ready Reserve that they can tap before they have to bother a mobilization through the Selective Service. On top of that, it is not just enough to get drafted. You still need to pass all of the requirements for service, same as anyone volunteering for duty.

Doing a draft right now would be political suicide. You have to give politicians the benefit of the doubt, they will cover their asses before they do anything. A draft would be a very short term solution to much bigger problems in place.

This is what is going to happen: we are going to keep plowing along in Iraq and Afghanistan for a few more years. Within 2 years of the withdrawal of these troops we will see some drastic rewriting of the basic enlistment commitments, for example, they may bump the initial obligation to add up to 10 years instead of 8. Or they may come up with a more novel solution to convince people to reenlist, since re up bonuses don't seem to do enough.

What you are not going to get is mandatory military service. We tried this and it worked until Vietnam. This country can't deal with the horrors of war unless service is voluntary.

You also have to think of the leaps of technology progress that always happen in the times of war. The biggest improvements for this current wartime are probably the armed unmanned drones, the newer generation of machinery to deal with IEDs and the switch to the Stryker vehicle.

In a few more years every platoon of infantry is going to have a small armored robot to use to do reconnaissance by fire. Their medics will have robots that can fetch a hurt soldier and drag him back to safety, so you won't risk getting two more soldiers killed trying to drag back the casualty.

We now have newer types of body armor that is very light and provides a lot more protection than the current flak jackets with ceramic inserts.

Once we stop getting our own soldiers killed, the country will support whatever military action we take.

Answer 2

even though the propaganda machines say the US military is making thier quotas, the readiness of the military is shockingly poor, the equipment worn and soldiers suffering from PTSD and other ailments many going on 4th tours now, wearing them to the ground, killing and maiming those who made it already

people have no idea the terms for who is eligible have been changed to fit many, many people, even "sole survivors" and many people are deployed broken and unready but to keep the facade of numbers up, they send them anyways and they become a burden to others overseas to those who have to pick up the slack, and tell those with family trouble "that's just to frickin bad" and deal with it

I say, bring on the draft! That would end the war in less than a year, as fast as the warhawks can jump ship and protest when they find out they are eligible after all, and then the troops will return home to mend thier wounds and begin securing America again, with a horrible budget shortage for the now destroyed and ruined equipment that will take over 10 years to replace or bring back up to military standards.

"Only Sons" and the draft

Contrary to popular belief, "only sons," "the last son to carry the family name," and "sole surviving sons" must register and they can be drafted. However, they may be entitled to a peacetime deferment if there is a military death in the immediate family.

Provisions regarding the survivors of veterans were written into Selective Service law after World War II. Details have varied over the years, but the basic premise remains the same; where a family member has been lost as a result of military service, the remaining family members should be protected insofar as possible.

It is important to keep in mind that the provisions are directly related to service-connected deaths. The mere fact that a man is the only child or only son does not qualify him for exemption - he must be the survivor of one who died as a result of military service.

thanks, GW

Answer 3

This tired old question again *SIGH*. No, they're not going to draft anyone. They are still refusing people at the recruiting offices, and they won't let prior service back in for silly reasons (so, I've got a couple extra pounds, that would go away after a very few months of the lifestyle) They are not going to force people to go when plenty of patriotic people still care enough to volunteer.

Answer 4

I just love it when people who have never served, and most likely never will feel the need to chime in......

No there wont be a draft. Those of us who are serving (many of us having 4+ tours in the sandbox) dont want it. There are still plenty of volunteers. The news reports recruiting deficiencies, because that sells. What they dont report is that re-enlistment numbers are surprisingly high.

Our military is so effective because we are a volunteer force, if you tried to augment that with people who dont have a desire to serve, then there would be more problems than solutions.

Answer 5

Actaully a Navy Captain is a Full Bird Colonel by rank. He's actaully a credible source if it's accurate. I agree with B-Gray. It took years to recover from the Vietnam draft.

Adam
(Ret)

Answer 6

YES, I think they are going to reinstate it because the government needs more young men and women. And the reason why I say that is because my nephew has been out of the service for 2 years and last week he got called back . He is to report back in Nov. and will be going back to Iraq , he was told by someone in the military that they don't have enough military men and women inlisted to cover everything over there. I don't think Bushman wants to do it while he's in the White House, so he's problemly is going to do it at the end of his term or wait till whoever wins to do the dirty work.

Answer 7

While a draft is necessary, it would be political suicide at this time. The court of public opinion may reach a different veredict after the next "9/11".

Answer 8

Something drastic would have to happen before a draft was started, and even then I doubt very seriously that it would look anything like the Vietnam draft

Answer 9

No draft.
There's plenty of US soldiers all around the world. For example get the soldier out of South Korea (20,000?). There's more economic way to deter the North from attacking the South (nuclear Trident sub off Japan)

Answer 10

No, they are doing just fine. There will be no draft. I have discussed this with my brother-in-law who is a Navy Captain, and he assures me that a draft will not happen.