Let's face it, the all volunteer army has been a disaster. By now, you've heard the report by some army officials requesting a surge for the surge. I don't think it's fair that on an issue as serious as the Iraq war only a tiny majority of American households absorb its misery. Democrats and Republicans alike say they "support the troops," but is that merely a copout excusing them from aiding their nation? For the first time ever in U.S. history, the people who clean the armies plates, do the laundry, cook the food etc are contract workers. In fact, there are 165,000 contract workers supplementing American soldiers in Iraq. These American workers make more money than soldiers in combat and have also absorbed 1,000 deaths and thousands wounded. If the war continues, that means soldiers currently in Iraq will have tours beyond, according to internal armed forces assesments, what the human mind can take. I think these unique attributes to the Iraq war has made it almost make believe to most American households. It's 'something that happens to other families.' I don't think it's fair. A Democrat or Republican can never be serious when he or she says "they support the troops" and not also support a draft. Every American household should realize war is not make believe. This is a lesson that cannot be told, but rather only shown: by way of a notice from the defense department ordering your attendance at a military base. War is a serious matter and when your nation gets involved, so do you.
Who Here Supports a Draft? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Let's face it, the all volunteer army has been a disaster. By now, you've heard the report by some army officials requesting a surge for the surge. I don't think it's fair that on an issue as serious as the Iraq war only a tiny majority of American households absorb it's misery. Democrats and Republicans alike say they "support the troops," but is that merely a copout excusing them from aiding their nation? For the first time ever in U.S. history, the people who clean the armies plates, do the laundry, cook the food etc are contract workers. In fact, there are 165,000 contract workers supplementing American soldiers in Iraq. These American workers make more money than soldiers in combat and have also absorbed 1,000 deaths and thousands wounded. If the war continues, that means soldiers currently in Iraq will have tours beyond, according to internal armed forces assesments, what the human mind can take. I think these unique attributes to the Iraq war has made it almost make believe to most American households. It's 'something that happens to other families.' I don't think it's fair. A Democrat or Republican can never be serious when he or she says "they support the troops" and not also support a draft. Every American household should realize war is not make believe. This is a lesson that cannot be told, but rather only shown: by way of a notice from the defense department ordering your attendance at a military base. War is a serious matter and when your nation gets involved, so do you.
You really think it's been a success? By the way, nice Bertrand Russell quote. It fits perfectly with this thread and the popular notion the all volunteer army has been a rousing success. Either way, how about answering the draft question first.
Funny how just 55 years ago the human mind could take 4 years of war without a rotation State side, but now a year long tour is just to much to handle. As for you, your just wanting a draft to scare up protests for the war. You do not give a good rat's ass about our troops or our Government. So tell me, have you served? And if so are you STILL serving? If not why wait for a draft, do the right thing and join up to "help out" and learn first hand all about war.
I support raising the Army by about 600 k troops and the Marine Corps by about 30k. PERMANENTLY , not just for this little war. We foolishly gutted the military in the 90's. I suspect those numbers can be sustained over time by an all volunteer force, we did it in the 70's and the 80's and can do it again.
I won't lie to you. I'm a young healthy 19 year old who has not and will not serve unless forced to. The only way I'm going to fight for the current rabble in Washington is if they issue a draft, at least then I'll feel a sense of duty. Plus I'm in Canada studying on scholarship. I'm orignally from the Detroit area - dearborn. Fight for the all volunteer army? Are you kidding me? I wouldn't purposefully fight for them in a million years. Why not? I thought about signing up once while visiting my cousin in Taylor, Michigan. I did research and the more I found out about the experiment that is the all volunteer army, the more it turned me off. Secondly, are you part of the "if you haven't served, shut the hell up," crowd? Like I told someone else tonight, that line of reasoning is in lockstep with the values of the SS or the clowns running the show in North Korea.
The were not needed because the Soviet Army divisons they were intended to guard against had collapsed and folded. Its interesting to note, by the way, the decision to gut the troops was a direct result of the direction the all volunteer army purposefully took for the future. This is what you get when you to privatize the army. Like any corporation, there's going to be downsizing. And that's what happened.