Posted on 11/18/2017 6:19:39 AM PST by Kaslin
A military draft is for a nation of peasants, dude.
The Draft, or Selective Service, is the way Congress has set up calling out the Militia for Federal Service.
It makes sense for this duty to fall on all citizens equally, men and women (and some who ain’t so sure) in return for the rights, privileges and immunities of Citizenship.
>>I was a draftee....every able bodied person enjoys the freedom of this country. While I much prefer a voluntary force in extraordinary times some will be called to serve when needed. It is neither new nor uncommon. It is the price of freedom!!<<
Exactly right. I’m a strong believer that the draft should be MANDATORY for every mentally and physically normal person upon reaching the age of 18. No exceptions.
Reservists and guard units probably are; I believe full-time volunteers would be considered professional soldiers (as opposed to the lawyers, mechanics, janitors, and doctors that have a different trade as a citizen).
I served with many draftees and it really wasn’t a big deal to us. We did not volunteer but we knew the rules of the game. Most of the people I served with draftee or not did not want the people who were rioting in the street with us. We didn’t need to listen to that horsesh!t. Of course we never dreamed one of them would be elected president either....go figure!!!
If the case had been made that draftees were doing something for the US, I think people would be more receptive to it. Besides the Pearl Harbor attack, Japan actually took and held US territory (Wake Island, Alaskan islands) and threatened others (Hawaii, for example); anyone fighting the Japanese could easily understand they were defending our country. The European theater was more murky; destroying the Axis to turn over much of Europe to Stalin made no sense. The European war started when Britain and France declared war over the invasion of Poland (though they only declared war on one invader - Germany - while ignoring the other - the USSR). Six years later they’d lost many lives and their colonies would never accept foreign rule anymore - and Poland was still not free. In fact, many of the states of eastern Europe would endure communist terror for nearly five decades afterwards.
You would certainly about this better than I.
Welcome home!
Personally, I would support compulsory service for all citizens.
Could be a plan that would allow persons to take that service between the ages of 18 and 25, with the choice of three years of civil government service or two years of military service, subject to the needs and assignments of either of those two choices.
We will need to review other things...like VA services. I’m a US Army veteran, but I don’t require access currently to the VA healthcare offerings, for instance. I did take advantage of the educational benefits available to me, and the VA home loan guarantee program helped buy our first home.
I believe a compulsory service program is required to help reclaim nationalism and patriotism, which will be necessary if we are to assure the future of this grand experiment.
“Citizen soldier” is a term of art, when used in the vernacular, is generally intended to distinguish conscripts from professionals. Since you want to get technical, it can also mean reservist, national guardsmen or even private militia, again as distinguished from professionals or what the military refers to as ‘regulars’. The Army used to use the categories of ER (enlisted reserve), NG (national guard), US (draftees) and RA (regular army). After I was drafted (US), I became a regular (RA) by giving the Army an additional year on my term of service. Since I continued to vote while I was deployed, I suspect I was still technically a citizen, even though the Army considered me to be an RA. I hope this has answered your question. I intended neither to offend or confuse you.
The draft was ended in the early 1970s.
And good riddance to it.
Furthermore, many of the names on that 'black wall' in D.C. were 'draftees'.
While in the Pentagon years ago, I read an internal survey regarding why people enlist.
A majority of males enlist because of a sense of duty, to serve their country.
A majority of women enlist for the education benefits and travel.
During the Vietnam War, civilians who had any ROTC or military training or had been drafted but were not in any of the military services, were subject to direct orders from the White House under the White House Direct Command. These individuals had access to all military bases, vehicles, could commandeer any civilian vehicle in an emergency, were not subject to local judges if exceeding speed limits on highways, were followed by CIA if they left the country and other things... including being with armed military personnel.
That provision is still in effect. Some of these same people were also called by the White House orders during the Iran hostage crisis.
“The President shall be commander in chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States.... “ (Art. 2, § 2, clause 1).
“American Presidents have sometimes exercised emergency powers on their own initiative in time of war without waiting for congressional authorization.”
“Status of U. S. Mobilization Program”
“The National Security Act of 1947, providing for unification of the armed services, included authorization for establishment of a National Security Resources Board, charged with advising the President “concerning the coordination of military, industrial, and civilian mobilization.” The board is responsible directly to the President; it consists of a civilian chairman and such representatives of executive departments as the President may designate.8 The law specifically assigns to the board the duty of coordinating the following policies:
Mobilization and utilization of manpower in the event of war.”
Document APA Citation
Chartener, W. H. (1950). Stand-by laws for war. Editorial research reports 1950 (Vol. II). Washington, DC: CQ Press. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1950070100
library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1950070100
Its idiotic to send 18 year old girls to the field.
Also in this day and age of pervert generals running the military, Christianity being suppressed, and the wars being wars of convenience, no parent should send a kid into that cesspool.
It was my experience that WAC’s (can I still say that?) usually had a story involving a guy, dad or boyfriend, that they wanted to punish, so they joined up. That showed ‘em. Anecdotal evidence pnly!
Interesting.
Have met a few like that.
Some European countries had mandatory service requirements like that, with a choice between military and civilian duties; I find it an infringement of freedom myself. If they were to require it for young people in that demographic who relied on public assistance, I’d support it.
FWIW, countries with those service requirements end up much more accountable for how they spend their soldiers’ lives. While many have complained about lukewarm support from some European countries during some of our overseas entanglements over the past few decades, they need to understand those governments could never send “draftees” to fight those wars (and we couldn’t, either). That is why when they do send troops, they often send professional soldiers.
I agree with you. I enlisted in the Marine Corp out of high school but it was my own choice and I was with others who chose to be there. Now there were times that we all regretted that choice! But overall, I trusted all my fellow Marines and would have fought next to them if it ever came to it - but alas, the only fighting we did was in bars.
Would not want to be on a battlefield with draftees.
Bingo!! No free rides in this great country! Those seeking a free ride should be relegated to the bottom jobs/benefits, etc.
We’ll never have another “deferments for the elite” laden draft system again. Not in this day and age. And if the sons and daughters of the elites are on the same firing line the rest of the population is, they waon’t be so quick to get involved in endless BS abroad.
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