I think we need the draft

[Fishslayer]

The military itself doesn't want a draft. It is too difficult to train and manage people who don't want to be there. A smaller force of well trained volunteers is more effective than a large force of conscripts.

I think somebody said it took two years for a sailor to become really useful...

 

[hangnoose]

TIME HAS MARCHED ON BY

It is a FAR different world now. Even if we could afford to re-open all the closed bases, found the $ & people to train and lead such an onslaught of sheer #'s, having a mass of GI Joes and Jane's that can barely read with no stomach or will for the fight will be a drag rather than a help, IMO. Having the ability to bomb doesn't help if don't know who the bad guys are and code of conducts/ collateral damage/ instant interweb broadcasting of such "atrocities", just would not fly today. We need better quality not quantity & that is what the recruiters seem to be looking for. All the "college boy" techie geeks and nerds with some cajone's and national pride would be more in order. Better pay & perks/benefits to returning vets like free college/medical etc would increase enlistments to what we are able to handle, if we haven't reached that limit already. We need more than cannon fodder at the moment.

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

I urge all of you that have family members to sit down and watch one of these kids play a video game. Watch them closely and remember what I posted. They are pretty savvy about combat.

And you don't think that might be a problem with our youth today? Most players never go outside, are physically unfit, and can not write a compound sentence. I watched my grandson play a video game where he laughed when he caused a police car to crash and burn....saying he won the game. I promptly got on his case and told him he was not making me a very proud grandpa. How can you say kids can become good at combat by watching a video screen when no one is shooting back at them. The first time I had bullets flying back at me was a life changing event that no "Game" could have prepared me for. I think most of the shootings where kids are killing kids can be linked back to those same kids playing killing video games. They have no respect for human life and no basic life values that teach them right from wrong. I think your assessment of the value of video games is a bit off base. Just my &0.02........

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

As a veteran of the Draft Era Army-though I was an RA-I met far too many officers who put their careers ahead of everything else and NCOs who were
not up to the challenge of training and leading recruits who were too often more intelligent and better educated and well read than they were. What we need are real leaders with some backbone and integrity.

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

In the news today: China Announces Military Overhaul to Make Army More Combat Ready

China Announces Military Overhaul to Make Army More Combat Ready - Bloomberg Business

and ours just keeps getting smaller and smaller.

Happy Thanksgiving to all those in Uniform, especially to those far from home and family.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Well... there's about 4 million people born every year. So if everyone is going to be drafted for 3 years, that's 12 million plus whatever contingent of longer serving personnel required to keep the churn churning. So maybe 15 million man/gal army compared to 2 million today? Who is going to pay for a 700% increase in military personnel?

Such a plan would also mean that the entire population going forward would not be private sector workers or tax payers for at least 3 years of their life. That's a lot of lost production in a free market capitalist society. With the current structure, everyone would eventually be eligible for VA benefits... guaranteed home loans and all. Who will pay for all that, or is this just a conscription and no compensation plan?

Who is going to knock on daddy's door to take his little teenage girl against her will to some hell hole on the other side of the world to get blown apart with an IED?

Sounds like a fun discussion for the Club where we solve all the problems of planet Earth then go home and take a nap.

 

[Mule Packer]

I think some of us may have seen this before, but it makes good sense.

I am over 60 and the Armed Forces thinks I'm too old to track down terrorists. You can't be older than 42 to join the military. They've got the whole thing bass-ackwards. Instead of sending 18-year-olds off to fight, they ought to take us old guys. You shouldn't be able to join a military unit until you're at least 35.

For starters: Researchers say 18-year-olds think about sex every 10 seconds. Old guys only think about sex a couple of times a day, leaving us more than 28,000 additional seconds per day to concentrate on the enemy.

Young guys haven't lived long enough to be cranky, and a cranky soldier is a dangerous soldier. 'My back hurts! I can't sleep, I'm tired and hungry.' We are impatient and maybe letting us kill some idiot that desperately deserves it will make us feel better and shut us up for a while.

An 18-year-old doesn't even like to get up before 10 a.m. Old guys always get up early to pee so what the heck. Besides, like I said, I'm tired and can't sleep and since I'm already up, I may as well be up killing some fanatical son-of-a-[gun].

If captured we couldn't "spill the beans" because we'd forget where we put them. In fact, name, rank, and serial number would be a real brainteaser.

Boot camp would be easier for old guys. We're used to getting screamed and yelled at and we're used to soft food. We've also developed an appreciation for guns. We've been using them for years as an excuse to get out of the house, away from the screaming and yelling.

They could lighten up on the obstacle course however. I've been in combat and didn't see a single 20-foot wall with rope hanging over the side, nor did I ever do any pushups after completing basic training.

Actually, the running part is kind of a waste of energy, too. I've never seen anyone outrun a bullet.

An 18-year-old has the whole world ahead of him. He's still learning to shave, to start up a conversation with a pretty girl. He still hasn't figured out that a baseball cap has a brim to shade his eyes, not the back of his head.

These are all great reasons to keep our kids at home to learn a little more about life before sending them off into harm's way.

Let us old guys track down those dirty rotten coward terrorists. The last thing an enemy would want to see is a couple of million ticked off old farts with attitudes and automatic weapons who know that their best years are already behind them.

How about recruiting Women over 50 .....in menopause! You think Men have attitudes! Ohhhhhh my heck!

If nothing else, put them on border patrol.... They'll have it secured the first night!

 

[Fishslayer]

The military itself doesn't want a draft. It is too difficult to train and manage people who don't want to be there. A smaller force of well trained volunteers is more effective than a large force of conscripts.

I could be misremembering but didn't the old Soviet Union find that out? Takes at least a year to make an effective grunt. Longer for the more technical sorts.

That's why we called the n00bs "NUBs"

 

[cowart]

How can you say kids can become good at combat by watching a video screen when no one is shooting back at them.

Here is a picture of a pilot sitting in an air conditioned office at Hancock Field, in the suburbs of Syracuse, NY, flying a Reaper drone, killing miltants 7,000 miles away as instructed. That scenario seems to work in real life...

 

[Harrison]

We are reducing the size of our military to preWW2 levels. The draft is for when you need a large military. We are reducing ours to sub-compact size.

 

[ohioseabee]

First, I admit I haven't read all of replies, so if I am repeating something already posted I beg your indulgence,

My active duty was from 1965 to 1969. Of course the draft was in full swing. You could usually tell who were draftees and who were volunteers. I don't think I would care to serve in a combat situation with draftees - just as a "rule" of thumb.

 

[Faulkner]

There is no current need for a draft. The United States of America has the resources currently to deal with any military incursion it sees fit to engage in. What this great country lacks is effective leadership.

 

[NJM15]

Good idea

Just for the fact it would build character, teach these young kids
Respect and responsibility there is a sad state of affairs in this country now

 

[black1970]

Kids today can't even spell draft. Look around and you will know that one day if America goes down it will be from within. Then all someone has to do is walk in and take it. All freedom loving Americans will be long gone. And the idiots that remain will not care what happens as long as they have their dumbing down machines to play their games on. You can already see it happening. How many kids have you seen lately riding a bike or mowing a yard? Maybe if we had an EMP it would be a wake up call. Go back to the 18th century and start over. You think it's bad now just wait 10 years. Some of my friends think I am being pessimistic but I tell them I am just a realist. JM2CW

 

[Faulkner]

Just for the fact it would build character, teach these young kids
Respect and responsibility there is a sad state of affairs in this country now

I've pondered the contradiction of a free country and indentured servitude, which is what the draft is.

 

[Frank46]

I read the link that was posted. An an old ex navy guy back in the '60's while on deployment as a young sailor (snipe) it was a whole new world to me. Operating equipment that was very costly ship's engines,pumps, generators and such with basically book learning and hands on experience. I enlisted at 17 and pop's had to sign the papers. When the USS lake Champlain was taken out of service we took on a bunch of her crew. Towards the end of my enlistment there were more guys leaving than there were re-enlistments or new recruits. That made standing 4x4 or 6x6 watches. And this was back in the mid to late 60's. Some of the people we got were best left where they came from. The majority learned and kept at it. Volunteers in today's armed forces are not finite. We must lead them,feed them,take care of them. With all the scandals regarding VA health care who would want to serve if their health care stinks. I served and learned from my experiences, got a job that at first paid 1.95 an hour shoveling coal,sweeping floors in a coal fired generating station. then progressed to more demanding tasks. When I left the tank farm where I had spent 27 years we went from one general foreman and 5 supervisors to one supervisor ME.Downsizing is a dirty word believe me. Spent the next 3 years at a liquified natural gas factiliy. 12 hour shifts. I think there should be a draft. The younger generation of today hasn't a purpose or given direction. The draft did that. I met a young marine who had just completed his enlistment and after thanking him for his service he asked me if I had served. Funny question I thought. So I told him about my enlistment and he said "so you've been there". We both understood what the other was saying. Regardless of what branch you have served in we are all brothers and sisters who answered the call of duty and served with pride. That they cannot take away from us. And that is what is needed today that pride in serving your country regardless of what branch of the service you were in. And we are sorely lacking that national pride in this country. Frank

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Just for the fact it would build character, teach these young kids
Respect and responsibility there is a sad state of affairs in this country now

Sounds like another excuse to have government raising children. No thanks.

Character should be well established by 18.
Why draft my successfully raised 18y/o granddaughter because someone else raised an idiot?

Parents, grandparents and family are the key to building character, not government. If your family is raising an idiot then deal with it. Don't expect government to fix 18 years of your failure.

As a practical matter, the military should not be a repository for idiots. They seem to be doing a good job of attracting some of the best and brightest to protect this great nation. No need to fix it.

 

[the hudge]

The draft is Slavery.

 

[vito]

The draft is a small payback of community service in return for living in this country. Sparta had it right, requiring all able bodied young men to serve. Today's closest counterpart is Israel

 

[the ringo kid]

We have an enemy that operates all over the world mixed in with civilians in an age where our technology is supposed to have eliminated collateral casualties. The draft cannot fix that.

Maybe we ought to do the same those turkeys do? flood countries with special ops guys.