Topic: Should the United States have mandatory military conscription?
Around the world, there are many differences in the regimes of politics in different countries. Each regime of politics has a different way to control, to manage, and to defend the country from other countries. In order to defend or protect the country, the United States has to have a military, including all branches of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The establishment of the military will be different in other countries. In some countries, they require military service or call conscriptions. In this field, there are some countries that require it; such as, Brazil, Germany, Israel, Switzerland, South Korea, Mexico, and Russia (Gill 3). However, in other countries, they just have volunteers to join in armies, including Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In both types, supporting or attempting to disprove, try to convince the population in this country by showing facts, opinions, and also research. This essay focuses on some good reasons for having a mandatory military, and good reasons for having a volunteers. Mandatory military provides so many opinions from the opposite sides; such as, immoral, little motivation to properly serve in the armed forces, and also saving money for the country (Gilroy 20). However, the draft would increase the standards for recruitment, expand the Army to the sufficient size, provide sufficient forces to fight in the wars, and gives a chance for young people to develop their future (Yingling 15).
In the beginning, conscription or popularly known in the United States as "The Draft" means compulsory enrollment of persons for military or naval service requested by some established authorities. Nowadays, it means serving for a required time period in a nation's armed forces. Following the history of the United States, military conscription was established in 1792, and was mandatory for every white male aged 18-45. In April of 1862, the Confederacy adopted the draft. In March of 1863, Congress passed the National Enrollment Act, which subjected all single men aged 20-45 and married men up to age 35 to a draft lottery. In 1973, after the end of the Vietnam War, the draft was abolished in order to be replaced by an all-volunteer Army (Gill 1).
Additionally, conscription does exist in some countries; such as, Brazil, Germany, Israel, Switzerland, and South Korea. In Israel, they require all Jewish men and women from the age of 18 to join the military. Following is the article Israel Defense Forces:
Men serve for three years, women for 21 months. Deferments may be granted to qualified students at institutions of higher education. New immigrants may be deferred or serve for shorter periods of time, depending on their age and personal status on entering the country. Upon completion of compulsory service, each soldier is assigned to a reserve unit. Men up to age 51 serve up to 39 days a year, a period of time which can be extended in times of emergency. (L'Yisrael 4)
Moreover, every year, Israel spends a lot money on defense. For example, during 1950 to 1966, Israel spent an average of 9% of GDP and increased it in the war in 1967 and 1973. In 1996, the military budget in Israel reached 10.6% of GDP (L'Yisrael 4). Also, conscription is the law in South Korea, with military service required for all citizens. The current effective Conscription Law applies only to males; although, women can volunteer as officers. Military service varies according to branch, and usually it is required from 21 to 25 months service in the military. The other professional civil services are required from 26 to 36 months (Conscription/ Military Manpower Administration 1). Israel and South Korea are two countries that currently have the longest military service periods in the world.
Mandatory military provides so many opinions from the opposite sides; such as, immoral, little motivation to fairly serve in the armed forces. This way people will be devoted to doing a good job, which they would not be if they were working under force (Newman 1). In addition, the citizen has a duty to pay more taxes for the government follows the rules of society to support for the military. Furthermore, Curtis Gilroy, in the article Defending the all-volunteer force declares that the all-volunteer force is cheaper than a conscripted force and this is his narration:
With a conscripted force comes higher personnel turnover, which results in substantial costs. Because draftees, in general, tended to enlist for short terms and re-enlist at lower rates than volunteers, today’s midgrade and senior noncommissioned officers are more experienced than their draft-era counterparts. Shorter enlistment terms result in high personnel turnover and degradation in unit stability and performance. Also, high turnover means more recruits; more recruits mean more supervision and training; more training means more trainers. As a result, an increasing proportion of military resources are diverted from core readiness missions into support for military training. Thus, training costs would be higher under conscription. Training can also be particularly expensive in a conscripted force because draftees who are assigned jobs requiring complex skills need more time for training, which reduces the time available for performance in operational units. (Gilroy 21)
This point is true for some countries during peacetime. It will totally change when wars happen. Each person who lives in this country has to have an obligation to contribute to protect their country from an enemy. Young people have to go to battle against the enemy. Some people, who cannot go to battle, have to give money and effort to help people who get injured in the battle. It will happen for some country if they do not have good preparation for the war.
On the contrary, conscription is really needed for national service in wartime. However, during peacetime, it would mean that the country was prepared for emergencies when the war happened; it would be better than prepare after the fact. Therefore, the draft would increase the standards for recruitment, expand the Army to a sufficient size, and provide sufficient forces to fight in the wars. At this point, Paul L. Yingling, in the article The Founders’ wisdom said:” The U.S. should therefore abandon the all-volunteer military and return to our historic reliance on citizen soldiers and conscription to wage protracted war. This approach proved successful in both world wars and offers several advantages over the all-volunteer military” (Yingling 15), and he explains:
First and most important, this approach demands popular participation in national security decisions and provides Congress with powerful incentives to reassert its war powers. Unlike the all-volunteer force, a conscripted force of citizen soldiers would ensure that the burdens of war are felt equally in every community in America. Second, this approach provides the means to expand the Army to a sufficient size to meet its commitments. Unlike the all-volunteer force, a conscripted force would not rely on stop-loss policies or an endless cycle of year-on, year-off deployments of overstressed and exhausted forces. Third, conscription enables the military to be more discriminating in selecting those with the skills and attributes most required to fight today’s wars. Unlike the all-volunteer force, a conscripted force would not rely on exorbitant bonuses and reduced enlistment standards to fill its ranks. (Yingling 15)
Moreover, the draft also has so many benefits for the country or some small communities; such as, troubled teens who have problems on the street corners would enter the military and receive the training, discipline, experience that propels them to a stable and secure life. Otherwise, mandatory military gives a chance for young people who join the military. They are taught respect for authority, self-discipline, teamwork, and leadership skills. Besides, they could train as engineers, doctors, drivers, and chefs. For the long time in the future, this will reduce the unemployment rate and help the economy (Newman 1).
In conclusion, conscription is really needed for national service in order to protect the country from other countries in wartime, and also in peacetime. Also, conscription helps the country to be prepared well when the war happenes. Moreover, the draft would expand the military to the sufficient size, provide sufficient forces to fight in the wars, and gives a chance for young people to develop their futures. The United States should have mandatory military conscription for young people from 18 to 25 years old. It means we will have a better military to protect our country.
Works cited
Gilroy, Curtis. Defending the all-volunteer force. Armed Forces Journal, 2008. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.
Gill, Kathy. Military Conscription, Recruiting and The Draft. About. N.p., 31 Mar. 2007. Web. 20 Nov. 2010.
L'Yisrael, Tzvah. Israel Defense Forces . Global Security, 12 Feb. 2007. Web. 25 Nov. 2010.
Newman, Debbie. National Service / Conscription. International Debate Education Association, 2 Nov. 2000. Web. 27 Nov. 2010.
Yingling, Paul. The Founders’ wisdom. Armed Forces Journal, 2008. Web. 14 Nov. 2010.
Conscription Military Manpower Administration (MMA). Global Security, 17 Aug. 2007. Web. 18 Nov. 2010
