Posted on 05/31/2018 9:11:16 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Memorial Day in Norwich has come and gone.
For the record it was wonderful to see retired Army Colonel James Cushman, on his own two feet, as the Master of Ceremonies. The crowd was better than average in numbers and the Norwich High School madrigal choir could not have been better at singing the National Anthem.
As the 2018 speaker, Dr. Edward J. Erickson – a multi-war Army veteran – gave his remarks, one couldn’t help but notice the faces in the park were all very familiar. That is because it is the same people in attendance, year after year. Everyone at the Memorial Day ceremony is a local military veteran, the family of veterans’ or one of a handful of patriotic citizens. Dr. Erickson was truly preaching to the choir in West Park on Monday.
The gathered audience strained to hear the voices from the public address speakers, not because the volume was too low, but because the traffic on Route 12 was as busy as if it were any other Monday. The noisy traffic included several tractor-trailers making deliveries, which would have been much quieter a decade ago because most businesses closed for business back then. That was once the custom for such a solemn holiday. (During the ceremony, a Byrne Dairy tractor-trailer driver did shut down his motor at the red traffic light, and he is rightfully commended.)
As time passes, fewer people have a connection to the military, and fewer yet care about or dare to enter the armed forces. This divide between the population and those in the profession of arms is the reason there was so much traffic on Route 12 last Monday; the dangerous military mission is far from most people’s thoughts.
After the ceremony, the discussion turned to the growing gap between the military and the populace. One war-time veteran offered a solution to this issue: “Bring back the draft.”
While forced conscription seems like it would be a social equalizer, most volunteer soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines will tell you they’d rather not serve next to someone who doesn’t want to be there, especially in combat.
After I took some time thinking about mandatory military service for everyone, I realized it might actually be helpful for certain aspects of our country. The first thought that comes to mind is the interaction between many cultures. Presently the military does a great job of blending together volunteers from different backgrounds with a common goal of mission accomplishment. But just think if everyone had to serve at least one tour of duty in the military––and everyone should include women between 18 and 25 years of age.
An idea that has floated around since the War on Terror began, is for all “able aged” people to serve two-years of active duty or six-years in the reserves. For those who want to attend college full-time, there would be an R.O.T.C. commitment attached to federally funded college loans. Volunteers would be the first to fill the combat-likely jobs with draftees in the supporting positions, and draftees only filling empty combat spaces during times of war.
Speaking of war, our country has a tendency to go to war more often when volunteers make up the military. Some call it the “they asked for it” mentality. So with draftees in the ranks, our service members might stay at home more than they deploy.
Years down the road, as the draftees come of age, we all would reap the benefits of having elected leaders with a shared experience in their background. Maybe that would end some of the “us-versus-them” ranting that has infused everything in our lives and caused political gridlock over the past years. It would certainly be a breath of fresh air to have mutually respectful discussion and negotiations between politicians which was once the norm when the majority of those in office were WWII, Korea or Viet Nam veterans. Having conscription back in our country’s routine might also counter some of the anti-American activities that are flourishing on some of the college campuses around the country.
It is highly unlikely the politicians in Washington will make changes to our current Selective Service System anytime soon. We should all hope there is no world action looming that would require conscription in the meantime, because considering the remote control technology of war today, we probably would not have time to get the first draftees into uniform before it was all over.
Plus Israel has what the USA is trying to set up, walled borders.
I was about to post something with the same sentiment...thanks for putting it more eloquently
I'd make the case that a country that aborts 60 million of its own progeny and then wonders why it can't find sufficient military recruits has fundamentally lost its collective minds.
Successful in what way? We had a draft in World War II.
Besides, there are dozens of countries (as of 2011) that still have some forms of conscription, and they run the gamut from Sudan and Bolivia to Switzerland, Norway, and Russia.
http://chartsbin.com/view/1887
They are bringing this up again?
Ok.
You do plan to tell me how we are going to fund a 14 million person force?
Because that is what it would take.
Current size of US military 1.3 million.
And then what the heck are we going to do with them?
There is no doubt that the size of our military should be raised but by ten times? Even during WWII we only had 16 million and we were devoting all our resources to it.
Once the war was over they began to send people home as fast as they could because of the cost of maintaining them when there was nothing for them to do.
Perhaps, since the goal is social engineering rather then actual defense we could just remove children from parents and lock them all away in little kiddy prisons where they would be taught "correct think"? Oh wait, we call those public schools.
I hadn't noticed this before. It ties in with the Second Amendment - "A well regulated militia. . . " and sort of kills the liberal arguments that firearms need to be regulated, per the Second Amendment. If you think logically, which I know they are incapable of.
I think his keyboard is drunk.
How do they plan to pay for all these new people in the military?
I can’t think of a better way to destroy the best military in the world, than to dilute it with snowflakes that have no desire to be there. In fact, I don’t think that it’s a good idea to teach future Bolshevik Libtards how to kill.
>A government that pisses away thousands of lives and trillions of dollars in military campaigns in Third World sh!t-holes while allowing a decades-long invasion across our own southern border has no business compelling anyone to serve in the military.<
Absolutely common sense true.
Somewhat agree, but comment was more about successful integration of women and men soldiers. Taking this a step further, Israel also has a 2 year public service requirement for most high school graduates. Perhaps something like this would be a way to reverse public school indoctrination and general selfishness of most 18-20 year olds.
Israel is a militia force on the Swiss model. They have constant low-level warfare with periodic major wars on their immediate borders. The US hasn’t been faced with that set of circumstances in 150 years.
Now if the US is going to pull back to our own borders, then I think the Israeli-model makes sense.
We can’t afford a draft.
We don’t need riff raff in the military
“Even during WWII we only had 16 million and we were devoting all our resources to it.”
Interestingly, the US Army force structure for WW2 was artifically capped at 100 divisions. That included Regulars, National Guard & Reserves. The rejection rate for physical & mental deficiencies was fairly high, meaning the US had a lot higher manpower potential had it not had to maintain a large 2-ocean navy, a strategic & tactical air forces & it’s industrial base.
A draft is not a good idea, for several reasons already mentioned.
What we should really be doing is cutting active duty down to a more maintenance level, and tripling the Guard. That would get us closer to what we’re supposed to be - no standing army, and the militias called up when needed. Most of everything the AF/Army does can be done by the Guard. (And already is on the Guard’s side.) The Navy, obviously, would likely need to stay close to as-is. Ships aren’t nearly as once-a-month as Humvees or tanks.
EEEEEEEE! Luckily he got home alive.
The sad fact today is few if any Americans actually have any skin in the game of citizenship. Even here on FR the prevailing attitude seems to be one of parasitical entitlement to the benefits of liberty without cost or responsibility for passing it on to the next generation.
I would argue the ending of the draft, as flawed as it was, has contributed to this slack attitude today, a couple generations later. 70% of draft age Americans physically incompetent. 30% living in their parents basement playing video games. Snowflakes whining incessantly about how their pampered life is so strenuous they need teddy bears to take an exam.
Done properly, a national service obligation would serve one of the underestimated effects of the old draft—it challenged young men to grow up, and with a stake in the nation, appreciate it more.
This model works great
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_Israel
America is awash in pampered undisciplined clueless millennials and other gen this & thats . It’s pathetic
And THEY raise the hew and cry that THEY know best for what’s right for our country , without any real creds (other than being born )
Give me a break!
Complete national service , military or other alternative forms of physical national service .
Here’s a good model :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Conservation_Corps
If you don’t or won’t serve , you don’t vote.
They want to own it? Earn it !
We would be a vastly stronger country than the one we are today if we make these changes . Vastly .
Rather than a full draft, I would like to see an annual 1 day selective service requirement. Individuals subject to selective service would be required to report to their local National or Reserve location and would receive X dollars for their one day.
During that 1 day they would:
Update their contact information
Learn how the call up / draft would work
Learn their legal obligation
Learn about career and education opportunities
- break for lunch -
Learn basic first aid
Learn basic rifle safety (no ammo - just familiarization)
Learn basic military structure (branches, ranks, etc)
Learn to march in formation
That way, if there IS a need and the draft is called upon, the draftees have a head start on coming into the service. Also provides useful skills as a civilian.
The Israeli model fell apart once soldiers (including officers) started to refuse to serve outside their borders; that is a basic problem with the concept of mandatory service. As for the CCC, that was a government jobs program - and voluntary.
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