Posted on 08/10/2007 3:52:16 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Military draft should be considered: US war czar Aug 10 06:00 PM US/Eastern A top US military officer in charge of coordinating the US war effort in Iraq said Friday that it makes sense to consider a return of the draft to meet the US military's needs.
Lieutenant General Douglas Lutte, who serves as White House deputy national security adviser, said the all-volunteer military is serving "exceedingly well" and the administration has not decided it needs to be replaced with a draft.
But in an interview with National Public Radio, he said, "I think it makes sense to certainly consider it, and I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table."
"But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation's security by one means or another," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
“I’m not a military person but I can tell that is a loosing combination.”
Obviously you have never experienced the persuasive powers of a basic training drill sergeant.
There are plenty of Americans that do that by doing the job they have. Think about the Boeing's, Lockheed's, suppling the aircraft for the military. You think all those people don't contribute to the Air Force and in so doing, the defense of the country?
Don't know if you've been watching what we've been doing lately, but your statement pretty much sums it up. Let me give you an anectodal scenraio, where I was in a liqour store and an Army recruiter walked in to assess potential recruits in line. Nothing wrong with that mind you, until I heard a guy state that he had two felonies to which the recruiter asked, "what were they for". I have active duty friends all over the world, not to mention an active duty spouse and I'm here to tell you things are rough out there.
I don’t think even the best drill sergeant can turn everyone into a great soldier.
Would they even be allowed to try if a politically correct group of people were to assume control?
We need to weed those who do not belong in the military if we have a draft.
I knew both in the military, when we had a draft and after.
But I appreciate your attitude.
Oh don't worry, they will....just ask Arlo Guthrie
Preach that religion...
Not at all. As a matter of fact I'm proud to have worked for General Dynamics after my military service. General Dynamics is a corporation that recruits may of it's engineers from ROTC programs and military members throughout our country. They then allow them to serve and guarantee them their jobs after their commitment. Having been in that world I know a lot of my contemporaries served their country proudly.
i want to be “Czarina Taffini”
“I just love it when people cut & paste with no comments.”
My comment was: “Looks like we’ve had compulsory service for a long time.”
This is a “Conservative” site on which a lot of posters refer back to the Founders (not that I’d say everyone thinks they were 100% correct).
That the people of the time of the Founding of our country believed that compulsory service (the militia) was legitimate ought to weigh into our thinking on compulsory service (conscription) today.
A lot of discussion on conscription (compulsory service) hangs up on the Vietnam era. Some such includes WWII and the 1950’s, and a lessor amount the Civil War. Compulsory service has a longer history, going back to the beginning of the United States, and that should be noted.
Maybe I missed something, but I don’t recall hearing that at the time of the Founding there were any significant arguments over compulsory service in the militia, except maybe over religious and other exemptions. And it certainly wasn’t because they weren’t willing to argue, so why would it have been? Was it a settled notion that one owed military service to one’s nation/State/community/family? If so, how did such a notion get “unsettled”?
Do I condemn compulsory service or support it? I have mixed feelings.
I also didn’t see where you complained to the people who posted articles by cut and paste, without commenting, including Sub-Driver who posted this one.
Groan....
Out of curiosity, what is your military experience?
Starting a discussion by doing so is markedly different than just cutting and pasting from government documents, which happens here a lot.
I too wonder about the accuracy of the representations of how we meet the recruitment goals. It is clear that we will hit a “wall” in the spring of 2008 as far as our ability to keep the surge going.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070809/ap_on_go_pr_wh/iraq_attitudes
I’m somewhat confused by your post. What do you mean by “volunteered for the draft”? Was he drafted, or did he volunteer because he knew he would be drafted anyway? If he volunteered because he knew he would be drafted, hoping to get some leverage by playing the system a bit, he was certainly a more strategically aware person than most, probably superior in many areas.
Often the people currently in the military seem to feel that draftees with minimal qualifications won’t be able to handle the technological requirements. I do think that given the current controversies over women and gays serving in the armed forces, a draft would be fraught with legal problems.
We will never fight an enemy like that again, just as we will never again fight an army of redcoats marching in formation. Today's military is a military of highly trained professionals working with high technology and not cannon fodder you can just hand a gun to and expect to be effective soldiers.
“Not only are they meeting their goals, but are not lowering standards as some have reported. Last month the goal was met early.”
When the United States Army is accepting a 42 year old woman as a replacement for a young male, believe me standards are being lowered.
This draft issue is being raised because we need young men, or as we used to think of them before the 60s, our warrior farm.
I am John Carter!
Sak!
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