Military Draft
Do We Need The Draft?
We are in a time of war, just as we have been several times over the short duration of being a great country. This time we are in the Middle east, specifically Iraq, where thousands of young men and women have died defending our beliefs as a nation and protecting the rights of others in a foreign land. But what will happen if the war continues for several more years and we begin losing more and more of our sisters, brothers, husbands, wives, mothers and fathers to death, retirement or discharge? Will there be enough volunteers to take their places? If there are not enough volunteers, our country may have to resort to the draft. The draft was introduced in 1940 when President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, which created the countries first peacetime draft. In 1973 the draft ended and the U.S converted to an All-American military. Even though there is no draft, yet, there is still a requirement for men who reach the age of 18 to register for selective service. America today is worried about a military draft becoming law. Some believed that the Bush administration was preparing to reinstate the draft. There was legislation pending in the House in 2004 and 28 million dollars was added to the Selective Service System to prepare for possible conscription. If a draft does come to life, all persons, including women, will have to perform military service. One thing about the new legislation is a clause prepared for the conscientious objector, who could still be drafted, but serve in civilian service such as homeland security. (Swomley, 2004). Lionel Waxman (2004) wrote an article explaining that a draft could be counterproductive. He claims that it would produce an inferior quality military, which I agree with. Today 's military has to have more than just muscle, it has to have brains. The
We are in a time of war, just as we have been several times over the short duration of being a great country. This time we are in the Middle east, specifically Iraq, where thousands of young men and women have died defending our beliefs as a nation and protecting the rights of others in a foreign land. But what will happen if the war continues for several more years and we begin losing more and more of our sisters, brothers, husbands, wives, mothers and fathers to death, retirement or discharge? Will there be enough volunteers to take their places? If there are not enough volunteers, our country may have to resort to the draft. The draft was introduced in 1940 when President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, which created the countries first peacetime draft. In 1973 the draft ended and the U.S converted to an All-American military. Even though there is no draft, yet, there is still a requirement for men who reach the age of 18 to register for selective service. America today is worried about a military draft becoming law. Some believed that the Bush administration was preparing to reinstate the draft. There was legislation pending in the House in 2004 and 28 million dollars was added to the Selective Service System to prepare for possible conscription. If a draft does come to life, all persons, including women, will have to perform military service. One thing about the new legislation is a clause prepared for the conscientious objector, who could still be drafted, but serve in civilian service such as homeland security. (Swomley, 2004). Lionel Waxman (2004) wrote an article explaining that a draft could be counterproductive. He claims that it would produce an inferior quality military, which I agree with. Today 's military has to have more than just muscle, it has to have brains. The
References: Background of Selective Service. () Retrieved June 2, 2006, from http://usmilitary.about.com/od/deploymentsconflicts/l/bldrafthistory.htm A Return to the Draft? (2005) Swomley, J. (2004, Autumn). The Return of the Draft? (Electronic version). Humanist, 64, 14-15. Waxman, L. (2004, May 10). Military Draft Could Be Counterproductive (Electronic version) Congressional Digest (2004). Military Draft: The Debate Over Mandatory National Service (Electronic Version), 129. Stein, L (2004). No Draft (Electronic version). U.S. News & World Report, 137, 18-18. Hosenball, M., Barry, J., Reno, J., (2004). Rumors, and That 's All They Are (Electronic version)