Posted on Mar 22, 2014
How do you think we will staff our military if we find ourselves in a conventional war that requires a much larger force?
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It seems we are in a rush to push people out of the Army that we were okay with at the height of the war but who we no longer feel meet the standards of continued service. We are also looking at ways to decrease retirement and medical benefits for career Soldiers which has the desired potential of limiting the number of retirees in the future. Should we scrap the idea that we can fight our wars with an all volunteer force? Should we allow increased waivers when we need more personnel or should we just utilize the draft so we do not end up in this situation again in the future?
Posted >1 y ago
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Probably the same way we did during the early 2000s build up. Lots of enlistment bonuses and options, plus waivers.
As to your draft question, that should be an absolute last resort. I'm very glad we have a 100% volunteer force.
As to your draft question, that should be an absolute last resort. I'm very glad we have a 100% volunteer force.
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SFC (Join to see)
The early 2000's also resulted in stop loss...which to many would not constitute "all volunteer". I would also prefer an all volunteer force; however, it becomes difficult to maintain without increasing the number of waivers required.
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SGT (Join to see)
Very true sergeant. Honestly, I had forgotten about stop loss, and you're right in that I wouldn't exactly call that all volunteer then.
I think the answer to this is highly contextual. You just said a conventional war, but the where and how of the war is going to be a large determining factor in the amount of force we will need.
Even with low numbers the U.S. Army can still fight and win a conventional war and deliver an ungodly amount of punishment. Things will start getting difficult though if this hypothetical war is a protracted one, which will hopefully give us enough time to increase our numbers with quality recruits.
I think the answer to this is highly contextual. You just said a conventional war, but the where and how of the war is going to be a large determining factor in the amount of force we will need.
Even with low numbers the U.S. Army can still fight and win a conventional war and deliver an ungodly amount of punishment. Things will start getting difficult though if this hypothetical war is a protracted one, which will hopefully give us enough time to increase our numbers with quality recruits.
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