Rangle, Conyers - Bring back draft, Race inequities in military raised

SF Chronicle ^ | 1-3-03 | Darryl Fears

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Washington -- Two prominent members of the Congressional Black Caucus have voiced support for a nationwide military draft, saying that children of the rich should serve alongside less privileged Americans in the war on terrorism.

Reps. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and John Conyers, D-Mich., both armed services veterans, said this week they would ask the House to consider legislation to reinstitute the draft, perhaps as early as next week, at the start of the 108th Congress. The United States hasn't drafted troops since 1973.

[B. Rabbit]

"If you take a look at the distribution of minorities by military specialty, you will find that it's not blacks who are going to die in combat. It's whites and Hispanics," Wortzel said. "That's who's in infantry and armor. Blacks are underrepresented in infantry and armor. They're clustered in support services."

This is a very true statement. The Black Caucus members portrayed in this article don't have a clue. Bringing back the draft is not the answer to anything...

[Psalm 73]

And it appears that the blacks in the military seem quite comfortable with their choice of profession.
All that I have met/heard from are very proud to be serving in the US military, and probably wish Left-wingers like Rangel would stop embarrasing them.

[BlueLancer]

The answer is very easy then ...

Rangel and Conyers should immediately propose a law that would restrict the number of blacks who can enlist in the military to a percentage equal to or less than the percentage in the population. Problem solved ...

... although they can be the ones who have to go out in public and explain why they're restricting black access to the military.

[A Vast RightWing Conspirator]

We need the draft and there should be no exceptions or excuses for women.

[hellinahandcart]

Well, this is going to go over like a lead balloon. If it passes, I'd love to be in Rangel's district to hear his constituents "thank" him.

"Whaddya MEAN I can be @#$%ing drafted now?"

[BlueLancer]

We should NOT have a draft. The one thing that the military needs less than untrainable high-school dropouts are UNWILLING recruits.

[hellinahandcart]

"Rangel, you couldn't have thought of some way to stick it to Whitey without sticking it to ME?? You stupid @#$%^&!*&%$#..."

[An.American.Expatriate]

So let me get this straight. After decades of complaining about equal access and treatment for blacks in the military, the armed services managed to make military service an attractive alternative to and blacks and other minorities began volutarily fleeing "the ghetto". And now, when these fine young men and women are being called upon to do the job they voluteered to do, Mssr's Conyers & Rangel are complaining that the military is unfair to blacks because too many of them decided to join?

[DugwayDuke]

Blacks tend to join the services branch in order to learn skills. Whites and hispanics tend to join the combat arms for the bonuses and other educational benefits specific to the combat arms since they plan to learn their skills in college after leaving the service.

[Feckless]

Another example of black liberals wanting to have it both ways. If you took steps to limit the number of blacks in the military during peacetime to about 12.5% (about the ratio of blacks in the U.S.) they would be screaming bloody murder.

They want the military to be a social(ist) experiment that feeds, clothes, and pays minorities for nothing but don't ask them to go to war. This is NOT the attitude of the majority of blacks in the military based on my experience and does them a great disservice.

[11B3]

Obviously you've never served - much less in Combat Arms. Once you have, your opinion is worth something. Until then, find another subject.

The draft is what made combat in Vietnam what it was - unwilling soldiers don't make a good army. Ask the Soviets how they liked Afghanistan. Or Grozny. America's military is the world's best because the soldiers VOLUNTEERED to be there. There is no stronger force than one composed of highly patriotic mercenaries. In combat arms, if the soldiers didn't ENJOY hunting humans they wouldn't be worth a damn at it. (There's no better rush.)

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

Excellent comment.

As an afterthought, as I sit here drinking my black coffee, when will drinking black coffee become a racial issue?

[A Vast RightWing Conspirator]

Obviously you've never served - much less in Combat Arms. Once you have, your opinion is worth something. Until then, find another subject.

Your logic is flawless (not) except for one little detail. It did serve. In fact, I was drafted.

[pepsionice]

If you bring in 200,000 unwilling participants each year and figure up the man-hours involved in trying to discipline them, getting them into mental health offices, and finally getting them out of the service...you will need an additional 400,000 NCOs. You will have punks come up to you on a daily basis announcing that they are gay or drug-users or members of the KKK. I really don't think this is a good thing in the long-run.

[End Times Sentinel]

"If indeed the president believes war is necessary in terms of our national welfare, then he has to believe that sacrifices need to be made, and those sacrifices need to be shared," Rangel said. "We have to kick up a notch the sense of patriotism and the sense of obligation."

Not exactly, Chuck.  This is a transparent attempt to:

1. Frighten people into thinking that entry to war with Iraq will lead to a disruption in the lives of their own children.
2. Lessen the availability of posts in the armed forces which serve as an economic ladder for the poor, off the democratic plantation.
3. Increase the size of the Federal Bureaucracy by assigning a job to "Everyone.  We'll have jobs for you in the air ports..." as you said this morning on NPR.

 

Owl_Eagle

”Guns Before Butter.”

[metesky]

Wouldn't some sort of universal training at least familiarize the majority of people with weapons and rid us of the irrational Hoplophobia that has enveloped a large portion of the population?

[alnick]

We have to kick up a notch the sense of patriotism and the sense of obligation."

Patriotism by force. Geez.

How more fair can it be than voluntary service. If the time comes when the draft becomes necessary, that's one thing, but to send kids to war by force in order to make a political point...that's insane.

I don't see how that's going to win the democrats any votes either. I know a lot of democrats with kids the right age who would probably change parties over this one.

[Grut]

A member introducing legislation that they don't really support in order to play politics and embarrass the president is disingenuous

God forbid we should have disingenuous politicians!

Seriously, if you think military members get a raw deal now, wait until Congress decides it can command free labor; back in 1970, the base pay for an E-1 was under $100/month and even in those days that was almost nothing.

[buffyt]

Draft Conyers and Rangel FIRST!!!!!