Military draft still looms: Recruiting for volunteer force should be more flexible

There are voices in Congress, the U.S. military and elsewhere advocating for increasing the size of the Army and Marine Corps.

Even with the Army now using new, more flexible standards for potential recruits, will there soon be calls for reactivating the military draft? Or, can recruiting efforts for the all-volunteer force avoid the need for a draft?

Testifying before Congress yesterday, top U.S. commander for Iraq and chief of U.S. Central Command, Army Gen. John Abizaid said, "We can put in 20,000 more Americans tomorrow and achieve a temporary effect. But when you look at the overall American force pool that's available out there, the ability to sustain that commitment is simply not something that we have right now with the size of the Army and the Marine Corps."

In that statement, Abizaid reflected what some in Congress and elsewhere have advocated – increasing the size of the U.S. military, particularly the Army and Marines, to provide personnel for current and future U.S. military operations, missions and activities around the world.

Simultaneously with discussion of increasing the size of the Army and Marines, recruiting of new personnel and retention of current personnel (including in the reserves and National Guard) has created challenges, particularly for the Army.

This is believed to be related to repeated stressful deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and the deaths of and severe injuries to thousands of, primarily, Army and Marine Corps personnel.

However, the Marines, being a much smaller force than the Army, and with the prestige and attraction of an elite organization, is still able to meet its recruiting goals.

Reactivating the military draft has been discussed by Democrats and Republicans. The pros and cons of the draft, the size of the U.S. military, along with the scope of current and future U.S. military operations worldwide are certain to be subjects of study and debate by Congress, think tanks, military leadership and the American people in the days and months ahead.

RECRUTING SERGEANT OF LAST RESORT

The need and/or desire for reactivating the military draft seems to be based partially on the requirements to adequately staff the Army in its current size or for expanded Army and Marine forces. (Of course, a bigger Army and Marine Corps for an unending global expansion of U.S. military operations and presence is a subject for scrutiny and review.)

Another motivation for a draft, expressed by Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY) among others, is that the Army and the military generally, as well as society, would benefit by a more comprehensive and balanced make-up of personnel that more accurately reflect American society.

This is part of the concern that the military, particularly the Army, risks being an organization that does not reflect the social, economic, educational and ethnic demographics of the general society.

Although the Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force all have many well-educated members from all kinds of backgrounds, it is true that the services do provide upward mobility and opportunities for young men and women from disadvantaged educational, social and economic backgrounds.

For those without the opportunity to pursue higher education or other well-paying job opportunities, the Army and the other services are an option that many consider and take advantage of.

Typically, the Air Force and Navy meet recruiting goals easily, and they are able to be selective about their recruiting. Both forces are highly technical, provide a relatively desirable environment and, generally speaking, are not on the ground doing the front-line fighting.

Exceptions include Navy and Air Force special operations groups, Navy medics who serve with Marine units and some other Air Force and Navy personnel. Pilots and air crews, both for fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, always face various levels of danger.

The Army and Marines also incorporate many advanced technologies and many diverse opportunities in their operations. The Army particularly includes a wide range of jobs.

However, a large part of the Army and Marine Corps missions include being on the ground, face-to-face with adversaries in a kill or be killed situation. The conditions can often be rough and bloody.

For these reasons, the Army and Marines are often considered a large part of "the tip of the spear" and though many people choose to be front-line warriors, many others do not find it appealing.

As a result, especially in a war such as the Iraq War, many potential volunteers think twice about the prospect of being killed or severely wounded, killing others, and seeing innocent civilians (including many children) killed and terribly injured.

In conditions such as these, the idea of a military draft becomes the recruiting sergeant of last resort, as was the case during the Vietnam War.

FLEXIBLE RECRUITING, CREATIVE THINKING

Meanwhile, the real recruiting sergeants have been given some leeway to bring people into the military who are older, up to just under age 42.

New opportunities have been created for non-citizens to serve in the military and earn citizenship.

People can also be recruited who may score lower on aptitude tests, may have had some scrapes with the police or some exposure to common recreational drugs and substances.

This has been pointed to as a sign of lowered standards for the Army. In some sense, this is true. In other ways, these are simply more flexible standards.

In addition, the new guidelines may provide valuable opportunities for these potential recruits, assuming they are not killed or mutilated in Iraq, nor come home with severe psychiatric and emotional problems, which are real risks.

These flexible standards and other creative thinking might also help avoid the reactivation of a military draft.

Consider these most recent changes in recruiting guidelines. A person might score low on an aptitude test for many reasons. Maybe they were not the best student in school. Maybe they don´t take tests well. Maybe their reading skills are deficient or their aptitudes and gifts lie in other kinds of areas.

Many average or below average students in high school have gone on to do very well in higher education or other endeavors.

For potential recruits who have been arrested or even incarcerated for a time, this does not necessarily make them worthless as a member of the military.

Many fine people had run-ins with the police when they were teenagers or adults. The seriousness and nature of the behavior and offenses are what should be evaluated.

Even for older teens and adults recently or currently incarcerated, the military should be an option.

Many were convicted of crimes such as minor thefts, drug possession and use, sales of small amounts of drugs and other offenses that do not necessarily indicate the person is a danger to society or cannot become an effective member of the military.

This concept is not new. During the Vietnam War, many judges gave offenders the option of prison or the Army or Marines.

Though this did create many morale problems in these services during that war, so did the draft. So did the nature of the Vietnam War.

The U.S. is now the one country in the world with the largest percentage of its population locked up. Another huge percentage is on probation or parole.

Many of these are men and women grew who up in underprivileged neighborhoods, went to poor schools and came from problematic family backgrounds.

This does not mean they cannot be contributing members of the military. In fact, history has shown that these backgrounds often provide intense motivation for success and achievement.

For these kinds of individuals, carefully evaluated and screened, the military offers a tightly structured and supervised environment. The supervision is more thorough than any parole officer could provide.

There are opportunities to get a high school diploma or GED, receive valuable training, learn positive values and gain other useful skills and experiences.

Creative ideas like offering people within the criminal justice system the opportunity to serve in the military can provide good options for those individuals and serve society in several beneficial ways.

We reduce the size of the jail and prison populations. We screen for appropriate candidates for the military. We build better citizens through this process, thereby enhancing the fabric of American society.

Until the day comes when the U.S. will not need to have forces around the world and be involved in actions like the Iraq War, outside-the-box thinking about military recruitment can help our society and avoid the very problematic prospect of a military draft.

Because no matter what benefits to society and the military a draft might bring, there is no avoiding the bottom line: The government, the state, comes to you and takes you against your will, or takes your son or daughter, or nephew or niece, or the kid next door, possibly to death or terrible injuries and psychiatric trauma.

We are wary when government tries to take our freedom of speech, our privacy and our other rights guaranteed under the Constitution. In a military draft, the state takes our body, our personal freedom and maybe our lives.

Even considering many of the positive aspects of military service (while not ignoring the negatives), all options to the reactivation of the military draft and consequences of a draft should be carefully evaluated.

Because a draft can be one more of many current serious threats to the American people, our liberty and our democracy.

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