The Lack of a U.S. Military Draft has Increased the Use Of Military Force

The title of this column sounds counter intuitive. A column titled “10 Arguments In Support Of Bringing Back The Draft” by J. Francis Wolfe demonstrates otherwise. Wolfe found that U.S. Presidents and the Congress have deployed U.S. military personnel abroad 6.5 times more in the 40 years after elimination of the draft than the 40 years before.

I was in the U.S. Army when the decision was made by Congress to eliminate the draft. My take on this political decision was that the United States has always had a military that reflected the nation. Many believe to this day that citizen soldiers are necessary to the national security of America.

The elimination of the draft was a mistake and Congress can rectify that mistake, if it has the political will to do so. The draft provided three key functions to our youth:

1. It gave the youth an opportunity to serve the nation – service above oneself was the ideal. Today’s youth lack a purpose in life because they cannot understand what doing something to serve the nation means.
2. Those in the military learned team work, punctuality, how to abide by rules and present themselves properly while in uniform. These are traits sought out by companies both large and small in employees.
3. The military provided a vast number of marketable skills to America’s youth. Skills such as: maintenance of vehicles and aircraft, how to render first aid (corpsmen), plumbing, electrician, radio operator, computer operator, how to drive or fly a variety of military vehicles, the safe use of weapons, cooking, and on and on. Today some technical high schools try to fill this gap but not to the extent nor to the high standards of the U.S. military.

Wolfe’s Argument #5 – The Lack Of A Draft Has Increased Military Force, states:

In the 40 years before the draft was eliminated (1933–1973), the U.S. sent military personnel abroad on 27 different occasions. In the 40 years since (1974–2014), the military has been deployed abroad 175 times. While several influencing factors relate to the use of the military abroad, politicians seem to have fewer reservations sending a volunteer army abroad rather than one composed of draftees.

Rangel, the most senior member of the US House of Representatives, weighed in on this notion, saying that the presence of an all-volunteer military has shaped the political decision-making process, noting, “Too few of the country’s leaders have a personal stake in the well-being of the Armed Forces, and the outcome is predictable. Since the end of the draft in 1973, every president, Democrat and Republican alike, has approached warfare with the mind-set of invading, occupying, and expanding our nation’s influence. It was this attitude that got us into the unnecessary and costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and that threatens to mire us in deadly wars in the future. We make decisions about war without worry over who fights them. Those who do the fighting have no choice; when the flag goes up, they salute and follow orders.”

The Ten Arguments in Support of Bringing Back the Draft are:

1. Future Politicians Would Understand The True Cost Of Conflict
2. Near-Total Support For Wars The U.S. Chooses
3. Reinforcing Full Membership In The Political Community
4. National Service Can Be Broadly Defined
5. The Lack Of A Draft Has Increased Military Force
6. The Shared Experience Would Unite Classes And Cultures
7. Reduction Of Adverse Effects On Mental Health
8. No More Circumvention Of Congressional Approval
9. Increased Attention Toward Foreign Policy
10. The Draft Connects Civilians With The Military

Click here to read Wolfe’s rational on each of these arguments.

---