Is the term AVF All Volunteer Force appropriate or misleading or correct?

2016-08-15T19:49:20-04:00

"Volunteer"ing to clean the beach for free is appropriate use.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 15 at 2016 8:10 PM

2016-08-15T20:10:54-04:00

Yes - we all volunteered to raise our right hands and sign on the dotted line. Don't confuse "volunteer" with "unpaid/uncompensated"...

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Aug 15 at 2016 8:16 PM

2016-08-15T20:16:16-04:00

I remember pulling a draft number of 2 so that forced me to make some choices. Yes it's AVF today up to a point. There are still judges who offer up "enlist or go to the can" options.

Response by SGT Philip Roncari made Aug 15 at 2016 8:42 PM

2016-08-15T20:42:42-04:00

Now there's this old piece of advise I received many years ago "don't be first ,don't be last and don't volunteer for any thing,to answer the post is easy for me,I enlisted way back when there was a draft,so by my estimation the AVF is a truism no one is running to Canada or getting a phony doctors 4F exemption The people serving today are doing great service to this country and I applaud them,Volunteers all!

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Aug 16 at 2016 1:22 PM

2016-08-16T13:22:53-04:00

Well none of us were drafted, so all volunteer force is appropriate and correct. Yes, we do get voluntold to do things we really don't want to do. That's the nature of the beast when you willingly submit yourself. As much as it might suck cleaning a beach for free, on the plus side, you did make the world a better place. Because if you didn't do it, then who would.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 19 at 2016 2:04 PM

2016-08-19T14:04:53-04:00

I volunteered before I was draft eligible. In fact I never registered for the draft.

In the 60s we had all volunteers in the Air Force. Some there because they did not want to be drafted into another branch.

Today, there are non who volunteered to escape the draft, so I think all volunteer force is appropriate.

Response by SFC J Fullerton made Aug 19 at 2016 2:32 PM

2016-08-19T14:32:09-04:00

Its more like an "all-recruited force". Not all that wish to 'volunteer' are accepted, they have to be qualified. Most people that walk into a recruiting station having never spoken to a recruiter has to be sold in some way, usually what jobs they can do. Not every one who walks in makes the decision to join, and sometimes the knowledge and communication skill of the recruiter makes the difference in whether they join, not join, or go to another service. In most cases there is a "center of influence" such as the parents that have to be sold too. The decision to enlist is a decision to buy a career path and lifestyle. The qualified walk-ins who enlist are just a small percentage of the total enlistments, the rest are contacted and recruited by recruiters. Yes, nobody is drafted and forced to enlist, but the decision to "volunteer" is still a decision that has to be made, and rarely made without any assistance of a recruiter.