Volunteer = good, draft = bad
I avoided jumping into the blog discussions about a draft, because I knew every other military blogger would be weighing-in on it. But, what the hell, might as well join the party.
Uncle Jimbo at Blackfive has said he supports the idea, even before Rep. Charlie Rangel’s (D-NY) recent comments. He makes some valid points, but I am afraid I’m going to have to disagree with him. For me, a draft would be a terrible idea - and here’s why.
Being in the service, to me, was a higher calling. I didn’t just join for the educational benefits (although I took advantage of them). I joined because it was something I wanted to do - from a young age. My father had served a short stint in the Air Force during the Berlin Crises and my grandfather had been in the U.S. Navy during WWII. Neither had seen combat, but that’s not what I was thinking about. I was thinking about being an aviator. My military career didn’t turn out that way (I’m an artilleryman), but this career has been pretty good nevertheless.
Being in the service, to me, is something special. I know not everyone can, or wants to do this job - especially in a time of war. It’s because it’s something special that people still think highly of the vocation, shake my hand in the Quickie-Mart check-out line, and thank me for my service. What other job description gets that kind of reaction? If 2/3 of the military was draftees, there would be absolutely nothing special about it - because nearly everyone has to do it sometime in their lives. A guy in uniform would be passe.
What kind of morale would we have in an army where people were forced to be there? Poor, I would imagine. Frankly, I’d rather serve next to a guy who volunteered to be there, than some slob bitching about how he was screwed in life. This problem would be even worse during wartime. You think we have anti-war protests now? Just think how bad they would be if we were forcing people to serve in Iraq!
Despite comments by the left-wingers, the quality of U.S. military personnel compares very favorably to the rest of the population, as do its demographics. Sure, there are probably some rich kids out there who wouldn’t dream of serving. On the other hand, there’s a few millionaires who have. Yes, there are some poorer kids who see the military as a good opportunity for a better life - and really, what’s so terrible about that? No one forced them to take this job. With everything you go through to put on the uniform, you have to really want to be there.
No, you can keep the draft. I like my volunteer Army the way it is.
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