OPINION: ARE YOU READY TO SERVE?
Friday, December 29, 2023
If you have watched the news on TV or read the news online, you probably know that President Joseph Biden is talking about bringing back the military draft. If you were born after 1980, you might not know what a draft is. When you turned 18 and male, you had to sign up with the Selective Service. This is frequently done at school.
President Ronald Regan (1980 - 1988) wanted an all-volunteer Army. Lord only knows why. Since then, the number of volunteers has decreased and in 2023 the registration is only 40% of what was planned. Our military is now the lowest level it has been since before World War II.
1917-1918 Draft Poster
There are a lot of questions which need to be addressed before you get a letter which starts with "Greetings." If you are not an Army-type of person you can always enlist in the Air Force or Navy/Marines.
For those who choose to roll the dice, you may or may not be "called up." The ages called varies by the Pentagon's needs. The draft starts at age 18 and, in some cases such as World War II, men as old as 45 were drafted. This is very unusual but can and did happen. At the moment the Department of Defense is looking at people ages 18 - 24. The problem the Pentagon is facing is that only about half of the draft prospects will qualify. The biggest problem they are facing is obesity. Our young people are too heavy and out of shape. Fear not - the Air Force has a "camp" which will help get the guys into shape before basic training.
The biggest question now is "Will women be drafted?" Women were never drafted in the past, but they could volunteer to serve. They usually served as nurses or medical aides or possibly in clerical positions. It has always been a rule that women could not serve in battle. This is changing little-by-little and usually at the request of women. This is a BIG question that needs to be addressed.
What will happen if you just don't want to serve? The Pentagon does not take "no thanks" as an answer. They have these people called Military Police who will escort you to the base. They are very accommodating that way. Being married has never been an excuse so you don't want to run out and elope.
Can you pick and choose what job you want? Probably, yes if the branch of military has a need for your skill. You will definitely go through basic training and then to school for the job or skill for which you qualify. What will the pay be? The military does not pay well but you are guaranteed "three hots and a cot," in addition to $1,900 to, $2,000 per month.
Do you want to be an officer? If you have a college degree and enlist, you will probably qualify. If you come up through the ranks, you may qualify for Officer Candidate Training though you have to have a clean record.
Will there be enough enlistees to meet the country's needs if the draft is re-established? Here there is good news and bad news. We have more than 8.5 million new residents, most of whom are single males. If only we knew which of them were the good guys and which were the bad guys, we could draft many of them.