Essay On Reinstating Compulsory Conscription

Reinstating Compulsory Conscription

Furthermore, those who oppose the draft feel that in a free society, the choice to serve or not to serve in the military is a constitutional right, and mandatory military service is an infringement upon this right. In other words, a draft will raise ethical issues by forcing Americans to join the armed forces against their will. Low morale will ensue, and the military’s all-around quality will decline (“National”). Furthermore, enforcement of military service by the government upon citizens implies a grantor-grantee relationship and that the government is not a true protector of American rights warns Doug Bandow, former special assistant to President Reagan and his Military Manpower Task Force. He also

Americans can learn how economically challenged the country is simply by watching television or taking a quick look at the newspapers. The economic situation is all over the news every day. Compulsory conscription will result in the need to train more soldiers and in America spending billions of dollars that it can ill afford. In support of this analysis, Lawrence Korb, Senior Advisor to the Center for Defense Information, states that the average enlistment period is four years, and most draft proposals call for no more than a two-year enlistment (217). It makes sense that if soldiers turn over more rapidly, more training is required. Korb also determines that the resultant mixed draft and volunteer force would be more expensive to the United States than the all-volunteer force because the large influx of draftees would result in an increase in training costs (217). Similarly, implementation of the draft would result in a large number of these shortened enlistments, and the cost of opening more training bases would be significant, warns the Defense Department. Additionally, draft opponents believe that lowering the enlistment time requirement will significantly increase permanent change of station costs because of the resulting shortening of overseas tours (Bandow 380). To illustrate further the increase in costs resulting from

However, institution of the draft would lead to positive economic consequences. For example, the draft would provide a source of full-time income for otherwise jobless Americans, thus reducing America’s high unemployment rates. Supporting this, Galston observes that this was certainly the case during the 1974–75 recessions and the recession of 1982–83 (219). Similarly, the increased number of training posts would open up countless numbers of jobs for civilians, thus also succeeding in reducing unemployment rates. Additionally, the economic crisis would have the effect of retaining those already enlisted in the armed forces. In fact, a research group found that for each one percent increase in the unemployment rate, retention rates went up two percent in the military (Marshall). Additionally, an economist at the University of Chicago, Gary Becker, argues that the financing of a large volunteer army during a long war increases tax rates, and the draft would directly affect lowered budget costs per soldier (Marshall). Therefore, reinstating compulsory conscription would not only aid America through this economic crisis, but would also increase our force strength during America’s global war on