Posted on Nov 6, 2015
SPC Luis Mendez
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Napoleon Bonaparte is credited with establishing the Modern Draft, that was later copied by among others, Prussia, Germany and the United States.

Some argue that the Draft is mentioned in the Bible. I happen to believe it is; and on goes the argument as well as some of the Interpretations. You can Google the question.

The link I included is from a West Point graduate, former Ranger and Vietnam veteran. The article includes links to other similar articles. Myself as well as dozens of my childhood and school friends were all Drafted within a 3 months period back in the good old days. My Tread was merged with another similar but NOT Identical by RP. I think this is NOT right 'cause mine was based on another article. Being Similar is NOT being the Same much less a "Duplicate". The two articles are NOT quoted the same either much less Duplicate.

http://johntreed.myshopify.com/blogs/john-t-reed-s-blog-about-military-matters/66448067-should-there-be-a-military-draft
Edited 9 y ago
This is a duplicate discussion and the contents have been merged with the original discussion. Click below to see more on this topic...
Responses: 1
SSG Warren Swan
Speaking for the Army, we're downsizing at a rapid rate. I don't think conscription would solve anything being that we cannot keep battle hardened NCO's and Officers in as it is. I also don't see where bringing back conscription would solve anything. I personally know of MANY Soldiers who are out now, and would jump at the first cattle car to get back in. Many of what is being shown the door are effective thinkers, effective motivators, and proven leaders, in and out of war. Also having conscription wouldn't enhance our Army. You'd have a lot of those who do not want to be in, have no sense of loyalty to anyone but themselves (we do have some of those now to be honest), and would be more of a mission hindrance than enhancement. Add to this conscription, what fairness would there be? Are you just taking the same folks who would've come in anyways by force, while excluding those with more money, famous last names, political connections, or giving them jobs that keep them as far in the rear as possible? I know many "famous" individuals who've served, but how many of those celebrities shared a foxhole or hasty fighting position in a forward deployed location in full view of the enemy? Let alone engaged them? I agree with his assessment of war; it is 99% boredom with 1% of sheer terror. I disagree with his assessment of NCO's. We ARE the backbone of the military and no matter your feelings on the matter, we are where the rubber meets the pavement; we are the ones who take weird and sometimes ignorant policies and make them work. We are those who when asked about a Soldier can give you their details to include family information. So his talk of "I have heard sergeants described as the backbone of the Army. Without comment on that I will add that I never heard them described as the brains of the Army" is rather offensive to this reader, and I question him as a leader. Maybe the writer needs to take a longer look at the education of many of todays NCO's. We're not a bunch of knuckle dragging Neanderthals, who can only use one syllable words.
"It seems to me that volunteering for such activities is akin to volunteering to be the executioner at your state prison. Somebody’s gotta do it, but no one should be eager to do it"...when you realize that some things are bigger than you, and you can play a valuable part in making change, you'd be surprised what you volunteer for. War being one of them. I volunteered to go, I wanted to go, and I'm happy with the decision to go. So am I asking to be an executioner? No. I'm offering my life to maintain my country's standard and quality of life. Something that millions have done before me, and millions will do after me. And not everyone from past wars were forced, told, or cohered into enlisting. Some just wanted to do it.
I could go on and on with this, but while the military isn't for everyone, it IS for everyone who wants to be a part of it. It requires a level of dedication that even I didn't realize it required in my early years, and even in some of my latter ones. And the author would be better suited looking at how good the Russian Army is in it's current state with a draft vs. the US Army with an all volunteer force. They might have numbers, but we have training and a determination they are short on. Let's fix what we have through the means already in place. It's not totally broken, but could use some fine tuning.
And lastly, on his we won all these other wars through the use of conscription, we haven't lost any without it. ROE's are tighter, both good and bad, but that in itself doesn't constitute a win or a loss. But it does show that we're a more cohesive fighting force, more flexible force, and one that can use less political input to get gains, but doesn't have to resort to carpet bombing or irradiation of whole towns to meet a goal.

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