Why is it "TIME" to reinstitute the draft?

Question

Is it time to reinstitute the draft? That option has a certain appeal as the Army fell short of its active-duty recruiting goal for June by about 15%. It is the second consecutive month the service's enlistment effort has slipped as public discontent grows over the war in Iraq.

Bringing back mandatory service has been the refrain of many who want to put the brakes on the Iraq war; if every young man is suddenly a potential grunt on his way to Baghdad, the thinking goes, the war would end rather quickly. It's also an argument made by those who are uneasy that the burden of this war is being unfairly shouldered by the 1.4-million-strong U.S. military and no one else. But a new report from the Congressional Budget Office this week makes clear that resuming the draft would be no panacea. The question is "will the war supporters and Bush supporters send their children off to war"?

Answer 1

I am a Bush supporter... and I support the war.... and I DID allow my son to volunteer to be a Marine at age 17. He is now 21 and got back from the middle east in March.

Since the Lib's are the only ones fanning the "Draft" fire... for the sole purpose of scaring people into voting a Dem ticket in November 2008... I'll have to say NO.. it's not time to reinstate the draft... Nobody in power is seriously talking about doing it anyway... Not even my fellow Republicans... it's all hype.

Answer 2

The U.S. didn't need a draft. What the report doesn't mention is that the government downsized the military in the 1980s after the Cold War and beyond. Now if the bases were to open and stay open, the expense would be mind numbing even if it prevented the U.S. from going to war. It would also increase casualties, because more soldiers have been getting killed and wounded during peace time than from the recent wars. So the VA hospitals would have to get even bigger to handle the case loads which were already strapped in the best of times.

What the U.S. should do is reposition the forces. The forces should be in The U.S., Iraq and Afganistan. They shouldn't be in Europe, Japan and South Korea. Only 10% of the military people now have served in Iraq and Afganistan. This would take away a lot of frivolous paper pushing (80% of the U.S. military is support, not the fighting force).

A draft will probably not stop the fighting. After all, the enemy is not just going to go away when the U.S. leaves.

Answer 3

Resuming conscription would be no solution. The "training curve" needed for weapons systems and associated equipment used today means the draftee will be within 3-6 months of separation by the time proficiency in the system is achieved. All the Congress has to do is to increase the manpower ceilings for the various services. The new recruits will arrive via the Recruiting office doors as volunteers. The drop in the Army recruiting figure for June is real. But, they don't mention the Army is at quota or above it for the year as a whole.
The "champion" of restoring the draft is Congressman Charles Rangle of NY. He's a combat veteran of Korea, so he is listened to when he speaks on the issue. But, it's seldom mentioned that unemployment among draft-eligible young men in his district is over 20%. Sorry, but it's not "an employer of last resort" program.
One must also consider that all of the polls which indicate public discontent over the war are heavily weighted in terms of population among the respondent pool. That means a lot of answers from the Boston-Washington belt, the State of Florida where a lot of adults have yet to master the intricacies of the butterfly ballot and California. Very few of the total comes from "flyover country" (the rest of the nation). And the drumbeat is led by a cadre of folks who work for various media outlets in mid-Manhattan and who think if one goes west of the mall in Paramus, NY one falls off the edge of the earth.

Answer 4

It is not time to reinstitute the draft, and never will be.

First of all, despite it having been used in the past, it violates the Constitutional provision against Involuntary Servitude.

Second, it doesn't work anyway. I served with draftees, and later with the all volunteer force. Noncommissioned officers spent an inordinate amount of time just herding the draftees, who would largely resist doing anything more than they were forced to do. They simply weren't worth it.

When the military serves America's interest, and is given the respect they deserve, people sign up.

When they are sent overseas to fight, and believe that Congress might just surrender and bring them home in a way that makes their voluntary sacrifices pointless, they don't.

Currently Congress is showing signs that they do not deserve the service and loyalty they are demanding, and pile on top of that comments of certain ones that actually say a person is stupid to join. Remember John Kerry? John "stay in school or go to Iraq" Kerry?

So, what's the answer when people don't voluntarily want to put themselves at the mercy of the whims of the Congress? "Let's FORCE them to do it."

Oh, certainly mandatory service will put the brakes on the war, because the generals will know that we've lost our will to fight, and won't have the talent to do it, since the troop training level will drop.

Anyone who thinks the draft is a good idea is unfit to live in a free society, and particularly not to be part of its government.

Answer 5

As the report said, we shouldn't. I agree completely with open4one, the draft just wouldn't be benificial. And for your question: "will the war supporters and Bush supporters send their children off to war"?, well if you look at the military, most of the servicemen and women are conservative and voted for Bush in 2004. Another reason why we don't need a draft is that there is already another source for the Army to draw from and that is from the other services through IA's (Individual Augmentation). This is where the Air Force and Navy "lends" some of their airmen and sailors. These IA's serve primarily in roles in security and other support roles (not infantry or anything).

So you can see that a draft wouldn't be benificial, and if your whining that Congress or Bush don't have family in the war then you should vote for Duncan Hunter in 08 (who has a son who is doing is 3rd tour in Iraq now, and enlisted (not drafted) in the army during the Vietnam War era in which he served 75 Ranger Regiment).

Answer 6

The draft would not stop the elite of the U.S. to keep from serving their country. It didn't stop the likes of dick cheney from receiving deferment from Vietnam. why not stick a gun on cheney's shoulder and .......hell, why not, stick one on the shoulder of the smuck in the white house too. seriously, we do not need the draft. We need smarter and better people in the government. People that put the concerns of the American people FIRST. Not the money interest of the world.

Answer 7

Re-instituting the draft is a political no-no. The war is unpopular with the public as it is, imagine the heat Congress would take for trying to send their constituents' sons or daughters to it.

Answer 8

Damn Lavadog you always have the facts to back up what you say. I side with lava dog using just army statistics is unfair and he is right they did raise recruiting standards. The marines barely ever have any problems with recruiting from what ive heard so there. I say we finish the fight and draftees arent the best soldiers.

Answer 9

don't forget the Army as well as the other branches RAISED their recruiting numbers about a year ago..true the Army did not meet its goals for the 2nd consecutive month, but you fail to mention the the other branches were over their marks, and the Army is right were it should be, remember, they raised their recruiting goals, this is why you are the only one bringing this up.

Answer 10

Before you all get ready to be mad at me -

I think it should be a duty to be a citizen, to serve your country in some sort of capacity.

It also helps many young me and women figure out what they want to do with their lives, provides training, and helps a lot of them grow up.

Not sure it will ever happen, but I don't oppose it!

And I am certainly thankful for all those serving our Country now regardless of how they decided so.