There are 28 articles on this title. You are reading the article ranked and rated #2 by Helium's members.
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| Yes | 64% | 83 votes | Total: 129 votes | |
| No | 36% | 46 votes |
An all volunteer army is not sufficient anymore and has not been for years. A volunteer army can not stand alone and it needs the draft component to work effectively. Not to mention professional soldiers to lead and motivate.
In the short military history of the United States very few of our wars have been fought by a volunteer army alone. During the American Revolution, Civil War and World War II America used a draft system to compliment their troop reserves. A dual system of citizen solider and professional was needed. Thomas Jefferson saw the need for this and as a staunch anti-war politician gave funding for West Point.
Personally, I am for a combination of professional and citizen solider. The idea of a draft still has a bad taste in the mouth national conscientiousness. This perception has to be overcome if the United States is to continue its military superiority.
In today's technological world being drafted would not be what it was years ago, trudging through rice patties and taking enemy fire. Today's Military is a technological one, and needs technicians just as bad as foot soldiers. A draft also involves the Upper Class in the military, something that has been missing since Teddy Roosevelt lost his son on the beaches of Normandy. A draft is a way of selecting from the entire crop of citizenry, instead of just the ones that can not benefit from higher social strata and education.
In the end, professional soldiers are what America needs. Whether they are of a volunteer nature or other it does not really matter. Troop reserves is the only thing to consider when a discussion for the draft is to be undertaken. The foot solider has and will always be needed to occupy enemy territory, and that someone should be the volunteer solider. But, for the professional solider he/she is the one that the United States needs more of, as we continue the 21st Century fighting small & limited wars with tactical operations and objectives.
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