The Vietnam era military was the finest we had ever had, and it was overwhelmingly volunteer, with the draft merely used to fill in what came up short from recruitment, today we have to beg women and grandmothers and moms to fill in the enlistment shortages.
We also have a military too small and weak to fight a major war, and that is devouring our budgets in pay, benefits, day care, and supporting families, gynecologists, pediatricians and quality of life issues.
We are losing the ability to fight major wars.
“The Vietnam era military was the finest we had ever had, and it was overwhelmingly volunteer, with the draft merely used to fill in what came up short from recruitment,”
This is repeating some of the revisionist nonsense that is floating around the internet these day. First, the Air Force and the Navy never used the draft, so the number of draftees in the Army and Marines was much higher. Secondly, in every branch of the service there were “draft consequences” people. These were guys that only joined to avoid being drafted. They didn’t want to be there and they didn’t give a dam. I can tell you from first hand experience there were many of them in the Air Force. Luckily the force was large enough that we could usually find some dipsh@t job to put them on so that their lack of interest and attention didn’t endanger anyone’s life.
The ones that were actual volunteers WERE great. Probably half the friends I have today fit in that category. But to a man they don’t and won’t ever advocate a draft.
And as far as: “and that is devouring our budgets in pay, benefits, day care, and supporting families, gynecologists, pediatricians and quality of life issues.”
If it’s such an overpaid gravy train, why do we still have to spend millions a year to get people to enlist? The money we spend on our military is the LEAST of our problems. The main problem - welfare - which by the way is TWICE the amount of defense spending.