Should there be a draft

[Steve]

Off the Libertarian quiz thread, one of the questions was -should there be a draft. I am opposed to it. The government (i.e. the people) does not own your body.

In the practical sense, there was no shortage of volunteers in WWII or is there now. If there is a problem with recruitment, increase the wages/benefits. After all, the govenment doesn't draft defense contractors.

[subroc]

Will there ever be a need for a massive army again or has technonolgy limited that need?

How does a society show it's appreciation to its citizens that serve?

Is it just about wages and benefits?

Are our military volunteers little more than mercenaries in your estimation?

How do we reward that service? In the time of WW2, we provided a GI Bill, today we have a society that provides everyone in a panoply of social services that exceeds in some/many cases that given by the GI Bill. Should service guarantee something above what others that don’t serve receive as a benefit from a grateful nation?

BTW, I have not taken the poll yet...

[John Kelder]

I was fortunate enough to see first hand the patriotism of the natives in Norway ,and an Israeli's love of country is well documented . Both countries require mandatory military time .
And IMVHO ,mandatory military service is one of the main reasons for that fierce loyalty to the motherland .So no doubt in my mind a military draft is a minimum .

[Matt McKenzie]

If we institute a draft, I hope it's after I retire. I have to deal with enough knuckleheads that volunteer. I can only imagine what I would get if they were forced in. From what I have heard (somebody else can fact check if it's important), only about 10% of the population qualifies to enlist under todays standards. I like it that way.
I like the concept of required military service, I just don't think it would work well for us in practice. Just imagine the increase in the defense budget it would require.

[John Kelder]

It would definetly take years to get the population's mentality corrected .

[Bob Gutermuth]

Its about time. People have forgotten that they owe this country.

[Hew]

In the practical sense, there was no shortage of volunteers in WWII...

I don't know about that. 62% of those who served in the United States' armed forces during WWII were drafted. http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/pe...acific/numbers Sure some/many/most might have volunteered eventually, but to successfully fight a war of that magnitude the generals/admirals needed to be able to plan strategeries based upon known future manpower; not hoped-for or guesstimated future manpower. The draft provided that. I dare say that if Libertarians governed the country from 1940 through 1945 the world would look a lot different than it does today (and not for the better).

That doesn't mean I think we need a draft now. Nearly every active military person I''ve seen who is asked responds the same way Matt did above. If we're ever in a military conflict where volunteers alone aren't sufficient then yes, institute a draft.

[Eric Johnson]

Steve-

It seems to me that your initial premise is flawed. There was a draft during WWII to make up for the shortfalls in recruiting. Thus, we've never had a surge in the growth of the military of that size without a draft.

The massive growth pre-Iraq I came from the NG and Reserves. That can cover the immediate demand but if the action is forseen as a protracted one, they'll need to begin drafting.

Eric

[twall]

I voted no for the draft. As has been mentioned I think the model for mandatory military service would be a better choice.

Tom

[Lisa S.]

What for? On a taped-for Memorial Day interview, I heard Oliver North commenting and commending our volunteer troops as the best group of defenders he's ever seen.