Military Draft

[Passport1]

The US military (except for the USMC) continues to miss its recruiting goals. It may be as much as 160K personnel short. This is becoming a national defense issue.

Salient facts;
draft ended 50 years ago
recruiting is hugely expensive and draws important skilled personnel from their MOS
a decreasing percentage of Americans can qualify for military service for many reasons
unemployment is a historic low

Proposal;
I won't link to the source but it is from a reliable source and is easy to find.
Selective Service already exists
Recruiting will continue as normal for eleven months of the year and a selective draft will operate for the twelfth month to make up the shortfall
This may include females

Observations and opinions;
Having had a personal and up close experience with the draft it is an unfortunate but necessary thing if we will continue to live as a free country
The military is a feeder for many important civilian occupations. Lots aviation rates move easily into general and commercial aviation. Airline pilots are frequently military trained as are air traffic controllers. Ditto for medical and many other fields so there is a direct national benefit.

Thoughts about this?

 

[eljefino]

The "pro" I've seen quoted is if we bring in sons of senators and 1%-ers there'll be some skin in the game the next time we think we're going to engage in conflict.

The "con" I feel is they'll figure out a way to weasel out of it.

 

[ripcord]

My opinion is that there will not be a peace time draft without an act of Congress. The current administration will not impose a draft on one of their core voting constituencies.

 

[mk378]

The way to find more qualified recruits for any job is to offer more pay.

Many countries have a 2 year mandatory service for everyone upon leaving high school. That really helps with what @eljefino said. Most don't stay in the military but they can be called back if war breaks out and they are already trained at least to the boot camp level.

It really can't be "selective" in a free country. Either everyone is up for being drafted or no one is.

 

[dbias]

Rich people’s war fought by the poor.
Any draft would need to be two years service with no exceptions

 

[SC Maintenance]

So my reading and having friends that served in the sandbox tell me there are two issues:

1) Too many kids can't pass the physical.
2) Many veterans steer their kids clear of the military due to their broken policies - wars for oil, conditions of engagement, woke policies, etc.

So the solution is the draft? Genius, lets draft the ones smart enough and fit enough to say no to the current stupidity.

Here is my solution - draft the out of shape ones - make them get into shape - aferwards offer them a career in the military - after their BS policies are cleaned up.

 

[Pew]

I disagree with a draft but it does not surprise me they're saying there's a shortage of able-bodies. In 2013-16 they were handing out early releases like candy and now they're regretting it. Maybe if the brass acted like men instead of politicians and stop kicking people out because their tattoos were too big or not "making tape" because somebody's neck is too big compared to their height and waist, we wouldn't be having this problem.

Also, if we stopped fighting other people's wars then we wouldn't need a draft.

 

[vpr5703]

Pay the recruits more, and get the military in order. And stop fighting in these stupid wars. The last couple were a trainwreck. Maybe people have just stopped believing that the military is a force for good. If we want to avoid a draft, I'd think we ought to start polishing the image of the military. But that also would involve polishing the image of politicians and the government. And good luck with that!

 

[AutoMechanic]

My thoughts are unfortunately I’m in the age group that’s required to be on the list. I’m glad those recruiters stopped calling me. I will absolutely refuse the exam they make you go thru for the military I’ll tell them if they want me that bad I’m not going against my will to a doctor. And the draft would cost me my job too so they would have to pay me very well. I personally don’t think we are going to draft they would have to call the inactive reserves first. I have two coworkers who are thinking about going back in. I have no desire to go in. I’m really surprised they would have to resort to this but I guess it makes sense. It’s just not for me.

 

[RooflessVW]

It's almost like 20 years of ******** wars have created a country that is resentful of it's leadership and military service in general.

My children will never serve in the military, draft or not. I'll go broke to keep them away if I have to.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

The US military (except for the USMC) continues to miss its recruiting goals. It may be as much as 160K personnel short. This is becoming a national defense issue.

Salient facts;
draft ended 50 years ago
recruiting is hugely expensive and draws important skilled personnel from their MOS
a decreasing percentage of Americans can qualify for military service for many reasons
unemployment is a historic low

Proposal;
I won't link to the source but it is from a reliable source and is easy to find.
Selective Service already exists
Recruiting will continue as normal for eleven months of the year and a selective draft will operate for the twelfth month to make up the shortfall
This may include females

Observations and opinions;
Having had a personal and up close experience with the draft it is an unfortunate but necessary thing if we will continue to live as a free country
The military is a feeder for many important civilian occupations. Lots aviation rates move easily into general and commercial aviation. Airline pilots are frequently military trained as are air traffic controllers. Ditto for medical and many other fields so there is a direct national benefit.

Thoughts about this?

View attachment 169934

Conscription is slavery. Recruiting goals aren't being met because young men/women have career options other than possibly dying for someone else's definition of freedom or "security". We've been down this road before but because every couple of decades it is forgotten history repeats itself.

In addition there's no constitutional requirement that the USM act as a talent subsidy for various sectors within the economy simply because those sectors are unwilling to finance the necessary training themselves.

When I was a teen I desperately wanted to become a Navy pilot. My stepfather had been a Navy surgeon during Vietnam and he decided to share his experiences. They took photos of wounds in order to discuss and develop best methods of treating them. I saw enough missing limbs and body parts to last me a lifetime. This was a war which was started under false pretenses (Gulf of Tonkin) which those in power deemed as a morally justifiable decision yet defending those who aboard the USS Liberty was off the table.

 

[JHZR2]

The way to find more qualified recruits for any job is to offer more pay.

Many countries have a 2 year mandatory service for everyone upon leaving high school. That really helps with what @eljefino said. Most don't stay in the military but they can be called back if war breaks out and they are already trained at least to the boot camp level.

It really can't be "selective" in a free country. Either everyone is up for being drafted or no one is.

Two years out of the academic loop woukd be hard in some circumstances, but certainly this would make sense. For males and females. Get all the ne’er-do-wells into some mandatory roles that support their nation and impose some discipline that they likely don’t have.

Problem is I suspect a lot of folks who are entitled and/or have other issues won’t show, will end up in jail or whatever, then what?

 

[SwampSurvivor]

A lot of people my age and slightly older than signed up right out of high school. Many of them came back Sam Stone.

I think the younger generation noticed it and wants to avoid that. I know a few younger guys personally who are red blooded American types who wouldn't dream of signing up for any sort of armed service.

 

[cptbarkey]

What crisis exactly is happening?

 

[ekrampitzjr]

A draft makes it far too easy to send soldiers overseas. If it was about defending only the actual US borders, there might be a good argument for it, but then we'd need fewer soldiers in the first place.

 

[Barkleymut]

What crisis exactly is happening?

If Russia invades Poland........

 

[4WD]

A lot of people my age and slightly older than signed up right out of high school. Many of them came back Sam Stone.

I think the younger generation noticed it and wants to avoid that. I know a few younger guys personally who are red blooded American types who wouldn't dream of signing up for any sort of armed service.

sam stones welcome home - Bing video

www.bing.com

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

I have heard some rumors (or hearsay) from several different sources, all reliable, all connected to the Military and some even brass, that there is some very, very serious discussion about plans to institute a draft soon.

It's funny how this topic keeps popping up in many different sectors/areas of my life.

A friend and I were talking about this 2 weeks ago at lunch. He's late 50's, I'm early 50's. Neither of us served. No way I'd come close to passing any sort of physical agility testing or endurance. He would get close.

He said "they want both of us, not for physicality, but because we have brains..." He's not wrong.

 

[Redhawk454]

in ww2 the government didnt rly need the draft. so many men aged 17 - 40 were so eager to enlist so they could kill every murdering *** to avenge their fellow Americans who died in pearl harbor.

Then vietnam came around.. many didnt understand why were there. The world was very anti communism at that point but it rly wasnt our battle.

Then our leaders played politics with vietnam. My grandad was an older soldier during vietnam and he was on a combat aviation brigade into laos to destroy the NVA's largest weapon depot but got called off miles out because Johnson didnt want us military adventuring into a neighboring country (even though it would dealt a crushing blow to the NVA). Its all politics.

Then there was desert storm, iraq, afghanistan etc.

Dont blame the younger generations for wising up against the schemes of the greatest generation, the silent generation, and the baby boomers. The sins of those generations are still remembered.

No man wants to have his life snuffed out for some old guys idea of freedom. And no man wants to die for a political error that happened 80 years ago.

I certainly wouldn't want to die for taiwan because the US ****ed chiang kai shek over after ww2.

 

[jstert]

my grandparents on both sides were legal immigrants. from them, male and female, to my father and uncles, to me, to my two sons, some of every generation served, all volunteered. two didn’t return, five returned damaged in some measure.

national service, universal or by lottery, without student, parental, marital or gender deferments, would restore some equity in this divided nation where the richest zip codes and most women don’t serve, but enjoy lavish lifestyles and loud opinions. having skin in the game is tempering and fair. life is a sum of experiences, military service is a big one. somebody must do it, who is better than you or your kids?