Why is Military Service Not Required For Presidency?

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 08:40:13 -0400

Yes or No?

Military service should be a requirement to be voted into office as the President of The United States. I don't understand how someone can be the Commander and Chief of the Armed Forces, if they themself have never served in the ranks.

I vote YES!

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 13 at 2015 8:58 AM

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 08:58:02 -0400

Great point, and I agree completely. How can a Commander and Chief be in charge if they dont know what its like to be in the suck and have to actually make difficult decisions when it comes to the military. I agree that it should be a requirement. Great topic!

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Mar 13 at 2015 8:58 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 08:58:05 -0400

On its face, it sounds like a great idea, but let's look deeper into it.

Take a random 4 year E3 Reservist. They have completed military service. Are they qualified to be Commander in Chief? They generally have only a basic understanding of how the military works, as compared to a former Secretary of the Air Force, who never served.

Saying that you must complete military service for consideration is contrary to everything the US is about. Anyone can be President, whether old (Reagan), fat (Taft), infirm (Roosevelt), bold (other Roosevelt), or from the sticks of Illinois (Lincoln).

Response by Maj Chris Nelson made Sep 8 at 2015 4:11 PM

Maj Chris Nelson — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 16:11:46 -0400

I feel that some exposure to the military would benefit any Commander in Chief.... just my thoughts tho.

Response by MAJ Jim Steven made Sep 8 at 2015 4:28 PM

MAJ Jim Steven — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 16:28:45 -0400

I would prefer a veteran. A humble verteran who talked about the horror of his/her drill sargeant, the hell raising days in the baracks, those crazy days on CQ, etc etc.
However, I see two problems with this logic. First, we would then start genitalia measuring the candidates service (Oh My God, you never deployed!) 2nd, why is military service the end all, be all...a convicted felon knows more about the prison system than I hope to ever know, an orphan knows more about state care than I ever will, a war time amputee knows more about the VA care than I currently do...

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Sep 8 at 2015 4:48 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 16:48:05 -0400

Will the experience be valuable? Sure. Is it essential? No.

I don't expect the CEO of McDonalds to have been a frycook. Why would I have expected the "CEO of America" to have been a Veteran in one of thousands of possible career fields?

The duties of the President are pretty diverse, and in addition to his role as Commander in Chief, he is expected to "brief Congress from time to time" yet, I don't expect to see "Public Speaker" on his resume, though it's often there.

The subject of requiring military service often comes up. And since we are asking on RP, it's an echo chamber response. Of course we would like to see it. We're Veterans. If we asked the NBA if they would like to see a basketball player as president, they would say yes. If we asked Lawyers, they would say yes. If we asked any subset of America, the response would be the same.