Posted on 05/26/2018 6:41:14 AM PDT by Kaslin
French President Emmanuel Macron this year reintroduced national service, also known as conscription, to France in order to foster patriotism and heal social divisions.
At a time when our nation is the most hyperpolarized it has ever been, when our young generation increasingly questions the very worth of America itself, and our country, particularly new generations is at the worst health in history, it is time to consider whether we should implement national service ourselves.
National service is in common use currently across democratic nations in the world as a form of civic duty amidst the freedom one is provided, just like paying taxes. It usually takes the form of mandatory military, or civilian service for objectors or those who choose, for all adults upon reaching the age of 18.
Conscripts are usually paid some form of nominal salary and are required to serve usually between six months to two years. Some nations have it only for men while others have it for both men and women.
Israels IDF is perhaps the most widely known conscription force, requiring all citizens, male and female, to serve in the military with very few exemptions. Conscription was common to the nations of Western Europe during the Cold War for obvious reasons, but still remained for many years afterwards until it was usually phased it out during the 2000s.
Amidst the current time of great social turmoil in Europe, it appears many governments have realized a nostalgia for the widespread benefits of universal service. Beyond France, Sweden recently reintroduced mandatory military service for the first time in about a decade. In Finland, now over 80% of young men perform service. Norway in 2016 expanded its conscription to include women.
Clearly conscription is on the return for a variety of reasons.
In the United States, the idea of national service is as old as our nation itself. In the Revolutionary era, national service existed in quasi-form as part of general citizen participation in the various state and local militias. It was a point of debate among the Founding Fathers, split between those who favored a professional standing army versus general universal service.
Over the centuries national service has gone from its militia form to a variety of permutations, perhaps most notably the wartime draft first officially enacted by the federal government during the U.S. Civil War.
It was instituted again during World War I, raising an army of millions. In 1940, just before U.S. entry into World War II, over 71% of the population polled wanted immediate national military service, resulting in a peacetime draft that would soon be utilized for active service after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The peacetime draft would continue afterwards into the 1950s, utilized during Korea and our numerous Cold War bases around the world, as well as during the Vietnam War when public dissatisfaction finally saw its end in 1973.
The call for national service has also materialized in numerous civilian programs, such as the Public Works Administration of the 1930s, as well as the still-existing Peace Corps and the Corporation for National Services AmeriCorps.
The Selective Service, which requires all men to register for potential conscription upon reaching age 18 and be ready until age 25, remains in place since its use during World War Is draft. In 2016, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton called for women to also be included in Selective Service registration and the United States Senate passed a bill supporting such as well.
Theoretically, the Selective Service system could even now be potentially activated for conscription, although it likely would be better for our country to go through a more thorough deliberative process, with pilot programs, studies, and a national discussion.
National service has always remained present in our national discourse since, with the Universal National Service Act, among other variations, regularly being proposed throughout the years in Congress and the idea seeing occasional bipartisan calls for enactment.
It should be very much apparent why national service in the United States could solve much of our current social problems. Military service promotes discipline, grit, determination and teamwork. It gives life skills and supports physical fitness, both at the time and afterwards. It introduces people to those from all walks of life, as the U.S. proudly remains one of the worlds most diverse organization.
Furthermore, our nation is experiencing an increasing gap between civilians and service-members with a slew of negative externalities and that seems difficult to solve. According to Pew Research, in 1980 veterans accounted for 18% of U.S. adults. In 2016 it was 7% and declining.
National service sounds daunting, but our country is at a difficult point right now. It seems its at least an idea worth considering and exploring by our policymakers and discussing among our citizenry.
>The last thing our military needs today is to become the Nanny Military to finish raising and maturing the snowflakes in our country.<
Absolutely!
And, as Desert Rino said, the WWII leadership is gone and we’re run by lesbians, like the USAF Academy is, and we have all sorts of other running sores in our military that we must not force our kids into.
Let President Trump sort out the military, even as corrupt swine in our courts say that the military must accept trannies and other perverts.
Nope, won’t fly.
Yeah...thats not ever going to work.
If there is no declared war, there should be no draft. Putting on a uniform is not the cure for what ailes this country.
In Israel they get rockets shot at them every day.
Its a teeny tiny country surrounded by people who want them dead.
THAT does not describe the US.
They are a small country with a vast majority sharing a single culture. Suggesting that would work here is naive and simplistic. I would not work for so many reasons...including its against our Constitution.
Thanks for posting that article.
To illustrate the above quote, allow me to describe my last two months of high school:
April 1, 1972 was one of the happiest days of my life, when I received the letter awarding me a 4 Year Army ROTC scholarship. It meant I could matriculate at any of over 300 colleges and universities that had an ROTC program, all academic expenses paid with a monthly stipend during the school year.
Of course, I told my friends, and the news traveled fast on campus, a suburban high school 15 miles south of Berkeley. Within a few days, I was ostracized on campus, receiving much of the same vile treatment accorded by our soldiers when they returned from Vietnam.
I had teachers say to my face how "disappointed" they were that I accepted that scholarship. I was incredulous, as I had earned the best scholarship of my 500+ graduating class.
I took that scholarship to Gonzaga University, and was one of 20 cadets that would be commissioned four years later. We've stayed in touch over the years, and it was a class of distinction (I ranked in the middle of my class BTW). Most of us returned to civilian life after our military commitment, but we had one two star general and several colonels that made it a career. Over a third earned their Ranger tabs, and over half earned their Jump Wings (me included). My awards included an ARCOM and MSM (Meritorious Service Medal).
That scholarship set me on a path that I could never have imagined as an 18 year old. I was stationed in Germany for four and a half years, learning to speak the language. I saw the method to the Army's madness of making me an Air Defense Artillery officer, though my degree was in accounting. My last job in Germany was Battalion Supply Officer (S-4), where I used my degree to run circles around higher HQ staff when it came to budgeting and accountability. I admit that I was a PITA, but my battalion commander loved it when I, a First LT went toe to toe with majors and light colonels, never giving an inch because I knew I was right, as they would learn.
Upon returning to the States (Fort Bliss), I would work again for my old battalion commander, as his operations officer...a lieutenant colonel's slot, though I was a new captain. I would also meet my future bride in that job, and we've been married for over 30 years with 3 kids, and a grandson to boot.
That’s awesome. I’m hoping to get back into ROTC, Had some issues with the scholarship (GRFD), but we’ll see. Currently waiting on MI school, that’s taking forever but once I’m through that, I should be able to get back into school and go officer. double my monthly paycheck :D
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