Bringing back the draft. Thoughts?

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Awful idea, I'd hate it. I'm not for war, and I sure as hell would hate to be forced to fight in one.
 
there are too many complications to bring it back now unless it was an absolutely dire we're-being-invaded-on-every-beach situation.

I mean one simple complication that already appears is sexism. Why is it that males must register to possibly be selected, involuntarily to fight and die while women do not?
 
Think about it this way. America now has the most sophisticated and powerful military , but its ranks are filled with a very small slice of the american population, in contrast to a time like WWII. Too often, America views its military as a professional fighting force (which it is) that can be sent overseas at the first sign of trouble. No one is for war, that is why McCrystal is suggesting this.
 
That's another issue altogether, and has to do with combat readiness. That debate is for another thread.
 
Im down. Its never gonna happen but i would gladly die for America, that is if we were fighting pure evil like WWII. Nam wouldve been kind of a crappy way to go.
 
Hell no. I'm not against war if it's a necessity, but I don't want to be on the front lines either way.
 
Earth to supporters of this: We aren't WWII America

prove it's a good idea without mentioning WWII
 
god that would suck to be forced to fight in a war you had no interest in like Iraq or Afghanistan. I would fight if we were being invaded but never overseas.
 
its okay I tried to take your Karma already, unfortunately you were already rated 0/10. To be honest you are a liberal piece of shit.
 
Ok. With every class level, ethnicity, social situation represented in the ranks, leaders would face real opposition to war, as spouses, relatives of everyone in america would be at stake. And maybe America would stop regarding itself as the worlds police force.
 
winner winner chicken dinner. Problem would be the rich and govt workers children not being sent over.
 
We don't need a draft though. Its unnecessary. We don't fight any enemies anymore who have forces who are just as well trained as ours. Most of the people we fight over there can barely load a weapon let alone fire it. In conflicts like world war 2 and even vietnam, we were fighting against large, well equipped, well trained armies who could do a lot of damage and create more casualties than we could replace with just volunteers.
 
i don't think anyone is saying it's a good idea for the current situation. At least not in this thread.

No one in their right mind thinks the US needs compulsory service. (conscription) There are way too many people to do that.

I think this thread strayed into the realm of "should the US EVER use the draft again?"
 
It sure would get a lot more people thinking twice about going to war. I think that the public should vote on weather or not a country goes to war. I was talking to this guy a couple months ago in this bar in the hotel and he was getting drunk and telling me all about what he does in Afghanistan. He defuses IEDs like in hurt locker and was headed of to the one of the deadliest places for IED dismantlers for his 7th tour. Forgot where. He told me that you don't know what war is like until you have been there. On one of his first missions an IED went off and he ended up getting ankle deep in blood guts and dismembered body parts it sounded intense. He has lost manny friends and colleges. It sounded tough as hell and an experience you can only get from being there. He recommended me to go to college if I have the opportunity and money. The only reason you should enlist in the Army is if you have no other route. He was born in a poor family so his family couldn't afford to send him off to college. So he chose the route of the Army and one of the sketchiest jobs out there.

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Right, anyone who's against the iraq war or the draft is a liberal piece of shit. I'm in good company I guess.
 
Considering 416,837 were killed in ww2 (on the u.s. side) which was about a span of 4 years giver or take, and only 7,000 have been killed in both iraq and afghanistan over a period of about 10 years we are definitely not facing a well trained or substantial army. Not to mention a lot of U.S. soldiers are killed by IED vs. small arms fire. Obviously i was exaggerating a little but most people would be surprised at how terrible taliban, and Iraqi insurgents are at firing weapons and fighting our soldiers. it's hard to shoot a gun and kill someone at medium to long range when you are untrained. My point is we aren't in desperate need of troops. Thats why we don't have a draft. We haven't been really (potentially) in need of troops since the cold war.

 
I understand you're point, sorry i kind of got off track with my last post, sorry. I just think politicians will still get us into stupid wars even with a draft. They did it with vietnam.

 
Also, another thing I forgot to mention is that even in a war where we faced a more advanced enemy, even less of it will be ground fighting. With drones, long range missiles, etc. ground troops will become less important.
 
My Dads retiring the 30th from the rank of Colonel and 28 years of service in the Army Reserves. He has done 3 tours in Iraq, and contracted for 1 year in Japan for something. That was his choice and it allowed for him to take on college and a serious career path. His uncle was incredibly smart, and talented. He Was planning for college at some high accredited school (i forget which exactly) and he was drafted. he died.

My point is, we can get perfectly dedicated, and capable troops without a draft. Dedication to Your Country has been thrown around alot in this thread, but everyone has a different opinion on representing their country. How can we very well rely on EVERY citizen to be fully dedicated to serving for this country. We cant, we should just rely on citizens that CHOOSE to serve for America so we can keep our Army strong.

semi related: My Dad is incredibly Liberal and against the wars. He met my, NOW step mom there and its incredible hearing her POV of the war in Iraq.

Semi semi note. Israel has one of the worlds strongest armies in the world, and its very small. Reason being is that every citizen is required to 4 years or something of service. Regardless of who it is, EVERY citizen. Thats why they're strong. Its more a part of the country itself then simply requiring a random draft of unwilling young adults.

That was alot of typing so some of its bound to not make sense/come off wrong.

Get at me
 
I agree with this post with an addition. Israel requires the draft for both men and women because in the last 67 Years they have fought four wars for their very survival in which their territorial integrity was in question (im not putting a value on any of their occupations which is another matter entirely, simply that their national boundaries have been compromised or been risked compromised a number of times)

The very survival of their nation demands that each and every citizen be militarily trained so that in a national emergency their small professional army can be turned into a large professional army with the snap of a finger.

70 years ago the world was a very different place with many large nations, many large armies which shared relative parity and most of which were militarily and politically opposed to each other. In that light a draft makes sense. Things have changed however and the nature of warfare has changed. In my mind, only the Korean border and the straight of Taiwan represent regions where 'old school' conventional warfare still has the possibility of happening.

The USA is far better off positioned with a regular army of volunteers who regardless of their economic background, ultimately have chosen to be there. That most represents the value they are there to defend most: freedom of choice. If you take that away than the very principle which the US armed forces stand for is shattered.
 
I'm sorry man but I can't agree. That does not make sense. You're suggesting that with a broader army representing a cross-section of American society the military leaders would face 'constructive' opposition in the ranks which would act as a moral checks and balances to get them thinking twice about the ethics of the conflict in which their involved?

This undervalues the most basic and fundamental aspect of a nation's armed forces. Discipline and dedication to duty. If you are in the army you follow orders. Simple as that. Without it an army cannot function. To even entertain the possibility of dereliction of duty as a moral guage is a scarier thought than re-instating the draft itself. A soldier must follow orders. Every soldier must follow orders, ther very nature of the game is that a commander must order people int osituations where they may get killed. If a soldier refuses the job doesn't get done.

On a basic level this applies all the weay up the chain of command. If Congress orders a war, the Genera's draw up plans. It is not for the army to decide which wars are right but the voting public.

My two cents.
 
what a surprise, a general wants the draft brought back. not exactly somebody whose opinion I want making that decision haha.

but hey, i turn 25 in a couple weeks and i'll be in college/grad school still for another 2+ years, so that idea can kiss my ass. but for anybody who would be eligible, i'm still against it completely.
 
Nah man, you're missing the point. Having more people in the army makes us look bigger and more intimidating. Haven't you learned ANYTHING about Americans? Biggest is bestest!
 
I feel like if used well, a draft could work. It would force us to stop fighting useless wars over oil and "bringing democracy", it would make us only fight wars that were really necessary because everyone has a much larger stake in them and so much more to loose.
 
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