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I served 21 years in the Army. Two tours in Vietnam and two and a half years in Munich in the early 60s. I have a son who is leaving for Iraq on Monday. You obviously have no clue what this does to morale and how it will effect recruiting. It's crisis management at the highest level of DOD. We won WWII with over 10,000,000 draftees. Soldiers and their loved ones will begin to ask why just them and why three and four and more tours. Israel is fighting for their survival with conscripts and so should we be. We should have asked ALL of America to participate in the WOT and there should have been a Universal Service Bill on the Presidents Desk before 15 Sep 01.

I appreciate your tough talk. Where'd you serve?

Like I said I am a civilian, but my family was at both ends of the American Rifle. Yes, like you said I have no clue...just like the American soldiers who froze to death in December of 1944 had no clue that winter gear would not be sent in time.

"We should have asked ALL of America to participate in the WOT and there should have been a Universal Service Bill on the Presidents Desk before 15 Sep 01."

You are correct! FYI, I live in Chicago and my friends are die hard democrats. It breaks my heart to tell you this but they refuse to let military recruiters contact their children. They refuse to inform their children about the opportunities the US Military can afford them. And I am not talking about educational waivers. I am talking about the priceless values of leadership, honor, valor and courage. Some of our fellow citizens are selfish, shortsighted cowards who have not taught their children anything about American History, Valor and Courage. I am so saddened by this. And yes, I told them this to their face.

I don't think voting Democrat in November will sort this out. Thirty years of belittling our American History and our American Military are going to pay unwelcomed dividends.

Oh, dear leadpenny, thank you for your service. I was in Germany in the fall of 2003 to bury my grandmother a victim of the Heatwave of 2003. I stayed at my favorite little hotel run by Vietnamese. They were still thankful to Americans. They were rooting and praying so hard for our Soldiers in 2003. Their family now is spread all over the world...San Fransciso, Germany, England...the winds of war so to speak.

Please give your son a big hug for me and thank him for his service. Please, don't tell him about my friends. It's too disappointing.

You obviously have no clue what this does to morale and how it will effect recruiting.

I can't imagine how crushing a blow to morale this was. I'm in the navy and we bitched pretty good when we found out our 6 month deployment was extended to seven.

That's nothing compared to what these guys are dealing with.

Civilians can't comprehend how stressful deployments are on families. Yeah, sure, we signed up for it. That doesn't make it any easier though.

I see marriages crumble all the time in the navy. Infidelity among military spouses (and the deployed soldiers themselves) is rampant and the destruction it brings is devastating. It is hard to blame the cheating spouse. They thought they could be strong only to find that they couldn't. The loneliness was just too much to take.

My heart breaks for these soldiers and their families and I only hope that they have the strength to see this through. It is not easy.

I served with conscripts, and with vounteers.

I much prefer the volunteers. The use of volunteers avoids the problems of conscription which include corruption. At least when you give bonuses, the soldier gets the bonus. By comparison, conscription denies those who serve compensation, and does not spread the burden of service.

IF I might comment - I joined (on my own) the armed forces before Vietnam was over. I retired after 22 years of service, just before GWII. My brother served as an officer in the uniformed services for 12 years, after the draft was repealed.

We are both *absolutely against* the draft - unless the Nation is at stake, which it is most definitely not. Let the Services do what they must to get members, but not the draft.

Please note changes in demographics - in the 40s America had larger families - 6 or more children. I come from a family of 7, my wife, a family of 10. Now a days, two or three children are the norm. No way today a draft would be tolerated.