Tag: The Draft

Conscription Anyone?

Remember the draft?

Of course you don’t.

Well here we go again.

That is when males turn 18 they register for military if needed (that is the short answer)

The actual draft has not been needed for many years but that does not stop idiots in Congress to propose an end run….

A bill has been proposed….

On Wednesday, during markup of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025, the U.S. House Armed Services Committee approved an amendment to the NDAA that would automatically register all draft-aged male U.S. residents with the Selective Service System for a possible military draft, based on information from other Federal databases.

This system of automatic draft registration would replace the system in effect since 1980 in which young men can decide for themselves whether or not to sign up for the draft – and so many choose not to register that the Selective Service database would be useless for an actual draft.

The automatic draft registration proposal was instigated by the Selective Service System as part of its annual budget request to Congress, introduced in the HASC by Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), “wholeheartedly” endorsed by HASC Chair Mike Rogers (R-AL), and approved by voice vote of the full committee without audible opposition.

Rep. Houlahan had been one of the leading proponents of proposals in previous years to expand draft registration to women as well as men. Her latest proposal for automatic registration of men only for a military draft indicates that she is more deeply committed to militarization than to any purported feminism.

The provisions for automatic draft registration are now included in the version of the NDAA that will go to the House floor. The NDAA is a “must-pass” bill, so these provisions are likely to remain in the version of the NDAA adopted later this year by the full House unless some House member introduces, and the full House agrees to vote on and approves, a floor amendment to remove them. It remains to be seen whether a similar provision will be included in the Senate version of the NDAA, although we fear that this may be likely.

US House Committee Proposes ‘Automatic’ Sign-Up for Military Draft

Is this a good idea?

I have mixed emotions about this….on the one hand it would be good for the society if more Americans had a sense of unity that the military could instill….but on the other hand this would just give the warmongers in DC a larger pool of bodies to be used to further whatever adventure they deem necessary.

Any thoughts on your part?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Closing Thought–06Apr20

Covid-19 news has smothered all other news from the conversation….but thank goodness there is the old Professor to keep his readers abreast.

It appears that women will have to register for the draft…..that is right the draft that is used if we need to call up people to fill the ranks of our military.

If a commission’s recommendation is accepted, young women will have to register for the draft when they turn 18, just like their male counterparts. After a three-year study into whether women should be eligible for the draft, the panel has decided they should, reports Politico. The outlet got the first look at the commission’s report to the Pentagon. “This is a necessary and fair step, making it possible to draw on the talent of a unified Nation in a time of national emergency,” the 11 commissioners write. It next goes to the White House and to congressional staffers, and it would be up to lawmakers to change the law if they wish.

Forced conscription was abolished in 1973, notes the Military Times, but men are still required to register. In addition to the commission’s report, the matter is being addressed in the courts as well. A federal appeals court is currently weighing whether a male-only draft registration is constitutional. About 224,000 women currently serve in the armed forces, notes Politico. And thanks to a Pentagon move five years ago, they can serve in combat roles.

This may be a non-starter for most people in this time of pandemic hysteria……but I have a few things about the need for a draft…

on Jan. 2, as Americans contemplated a return to work after the New Year holiday, shocking news began to ricochet across the internet: The United States had conducted a deadly drone strike on Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, one of that country’s most esteemed military officers. Suddenly, the U.S. appeared to be on a war footing with a sovereign nation, one with nuclear aspirations.

As whispers of a possible World War III gained viral speed, something unexpected happened: The nation’s attention turned to a small federal institution that has been little more than a historical footnote since the end of the Vietnam War. Google search traffic for “the draft” reached its highest levels since at least 2004; the U.S. Selective Service System’s website, which officials say was undergoing maintenance at the time, slowed nearly to a halt as panicked visitors flooded in. In the days that followed, the U.S. Army was forced to issue an announcement combating a malicious hoax. No, officials said: We will not conscript you and order you off to basic training via text message.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/03/22/bringing-back-draft-5-possibilities-future-military-conscription.html

We may need the draft to protect our nation in this time of doubt and confusion.

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I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Do We Have An Obligation?

Closing Thought–05Feb19

Conversations With my Granddaughter

In this case the obligation is that of military service.

I have been having an internal debate (was hoping there would be an expanded debate…but it did not work out that why) on the necessity for some form of conscription for military service…..an easy term would be ….the Draft.

Should I give a short synopsis?  Not a chance because this topic is more complex than a simple short synopsis.  The posts that I have written in the past…..

https://lobotero.com/2015/10/05/would-a-return-to-conscription-substantially-reduce-the-probability-of-war/

https://lobotero.com/2007/04/10/why-no-draft/

https://lobotero.com/2018/02/26/conscription-is-not-the-answer/

But what are the pros and cons of a military draft?

First the pros……

1. It eliminates multiple re-deployments and provides a stronger military.
With more soldiers, there can be a sufficient number of fresh reserves ready to defend the country in case war breaks out. Aside from that, since there are more troops there is less tendency for individuals to be re-deployed several times during their service period, allowing them more ‘down time’ and hopefully decreasing the number of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) cases.

2. It promotes stronger national unity.
A large number of individuals who volunteer for the United States army are in need of a career or money for higher education. Conscription can diversify the military since people from all classes of society should enlist. This removes the disproportionate amount of burden from ethnic minorities and the poor, and creates better integration of races and economic class and stronger national unity.

3. It creates a more competitive workforce.
Military training equips young people with skills and knowledge that make them better equipped and more competitive even when transitioning to a career outside the armed forces.

4. It promotes discipline and public service in the youth.
Youth who have no direction or drop out of school due to bad behavior can learn essential life skills when joining the military. They learn about responsibility, working for a greater cause, and protecting freedom.

Now the cons…….

1. It violates individual liberties.
Freedom of choice is a right that many Americans firmly believe in. By taking away this liberty, citizens can feel resentment towards the government and even towards the armed forces.

2. It can cause civil unrest.
It won’t be just those who are forced to enlist who will harbor negative opinions about the government and military. Loved ones and anti-war advocates will also be disapproving of the idea, especially since they know it is putting the lives of so many young citizens at risk. Rallies and demonstrations were very common during the Vietnam War draft.

3. It demands more financing from the national budget.
Currently, the military already takes more than half of the national budget. By increasing the size of the armed forces, more funds are required. So, more money will be taken from other government sectors and projects, affecting social resources and programs.

4. It increases the number of wartime injury cases.
Even if troops can have more down time, it does not guarantee that they won’t incur physical and emotional injuries during deployment. Cases of PTSD are still highly common among current volunteer military and veterans, and they will most likely increase as more individuals witness the ravages of war first hand.

With all that info at hand….what prompt me to write this post was something I read about the “obligation of military service”…..

In 1778, Samuel Johnson said that “every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier,” but should that still be the case today? John Stuart Mill claimed:

a man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for…is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.

Was Mill right? Does every able-bodied citizen have an obligation to put him or herself in harm’s way if needed? Should the United States compel such service by a draft? Perhaps most importantly, is a fully-informed discussion about these issues overdue in America?

https://warontherocks.com/2018/06/can-we-talk-the-obligation-of-military-service/

What had me going to rite about something I detest was the simple fact that our troops are stretched too thin……all have multiple deployments as many as ten times…..and the society does not care…..time for the nation to share the burden…..

I hate to admit that as an antiwar person for over 50 years I would support a re-introduction of conscription as an obligation to this society.  Why?  The Society needs to share the experience of wars on families.

Closing Thoughts–27Sep18

I have been writing for years about the Draft or if you will conscription……..

https://lobotero.com/2015/10/05/would-a-return-to-conscription-substantially-reduce-the-probability-of-war/

https://lobotero.com/2007/04/10/why-no-draft/

As an antiwar person I would not support the draft….but on the other hand it would make the media focus on our numerous wars and American deaths….and in return help create a vibrant antiwar movement.

But recent news has it that the Army is not meeting their goaals in recruitment…..

For the first time since 2005, the US Army missed its recruiting goal this year, falling short by about 6,500 soldiers, despite pouring an extra $200 million into bonuses and approving some additional waivers for bad conduct or health issues, the AP reports. Army leaders said they signed up about 70,000 new active-duty recruits in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30—well short of the 76,500 they needed. The Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps all met their recruiting goals for 2018. The Army’s shortfall, says Maj. Gen. Joe Calloway, was fueled by the strong American economy and increased competition from private sector employers who can pay more. But the failure has triggered an overhaul in Army recruiting, including an increase in recruiters, expanded marketing, and a new effort to reach out to young, potential recruits through popular online gaming.

Calloway says there were several thousand permanent legal residents seeking to enlist, but they did not get through the screening process in time. The recruiting struggles come at the end of a tumultuous year for the Army, which faced questions from Congress over its expanded use of waivers for recruits with previous marijuana use, bad conduct, and some health problems. In addition to the Army competing with the private sector, there just aren’t that many potential recruits: Only about 30 percent of 17- to 24-year-olds meet the physical, mental and moral requirements for the military, and only one in eight are interested in serving.

Like I said I am starting to re-think my stand on conscription……

When I started working for War Resisters’ International in 2012, we were beginning to rethink our strategy as a group supporting conscientious objectors: a central concern since our foundation in 1921. According to international standards, the right to conscientious objection should be available not just to conscripts but also to professional soldiers who join up voluntarily. In reality however, most of WRI’s work up to that point had been in supporting conscripted soldiers – those who had to sign up without making an active choice to do so. But in the twenty years leading up to 2012, conscription had been suspended or abolished in at least twenty two states[1]. What did this mean for those supporting draft evaders, if there was not much of the draft left?

https://www.wri-irg.org/en/story/2018/return-conscription

I have been an antiwar activist and protester since 1973 when I returned to civilian life after 2 and half years in Vietnam…..but the only way to keep from fighting endless wars (like we have now) is a strong antiwar movement and if conscription can deliver then I am going to support it.