And that’s not the NFL Draft my friends. Gen. Stanley McChrystal former Commander in Afghanistan say that the Nation should reinstate a draft if we go to war again.
Retired Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal
COURTESY OF THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former top commander of international forces in Afghanistan, said this week that the United States should bring back the draft if it ever goes to war again.
And while he makes some good points that the burden of the fight hasn’t been spread to all segments of our Nation, is reinstating the draft a good idea?
He argued that the burdens of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan haven’t been properly shared across the U.S. population, and emphasized that the U.S. military could train draftees so that there wouldn’t be a loss of effectiveness in the war effort….
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq placed unfair and extreme burdens on the professional military, especially reservists, and their families, McChrystal said.
The bigger issue should be, that if this Nation sees fit to go to war again, then we damn well better declare war and fight it to win that conflict as quickly and totally as possible. The politicization of our conflicts has prolonged the misery of the fighting men and woman of our nation as well as the citizenry in the Area of Responsibility. Not to mention the families of our Nation’s military personnel.
Multiple deployments often result in divorces and split families, he said.
“The marriages I see most strained are the senior NCOs (non-commissioned officers) and officers who have four or five tours . . . you’re apart so much that it’s hard to have a marriage if you’re not together at least a critical mass of time, and that’s tough,” McChrystal said.
Wow, Hockeydad, this is a great post, and I am 100% in agreement with you.
I used to hang with some soldiers down in Panama. Draftees in the Vietnam era, they were unhappy, unmotivated, thye shuffled around the base, buttons undone, hair unkempt, etc.
The volunteer army is a much better way to go; you get people who are there because they want to be there, and the difference is startling. But our cousin, who is on his 3rd deployment in Afghanistan, says that the mood is more somber now, and he reports that the base is run-down and in need of a good policing. Most of his fellow soldiers are on 3rd tours, and are just burnt out.
Maybe if we, um, got the hello outta there and quit givin all the Stans our cash, we wouldn’t have to even contemplate this question.
Get the “hello” outta there and there will just be another soon or later. Cycling draftees with a 2 year committment through the system takes the constant burden off of the professional soldiers. I believe that’s the way Israel does it. Turn 18 and serve 2 years, male and female.
Does anyone other than myself remember that the founders opposed the draft as a violation of the individual’s natural right to conscience?
Or does this matter anymore?