Who Here Supports a Draft?

[Gunny]

He wasn't blaming the current administration, Gunny. He didn't even mention the current admin.

He was pointing out exactly the problem the last time we had a draft. (mostly the Ds were in charge during that period, BTW)

I went to school with fairly well off kids...especially during my primary school years.

Of those more affluent kids I went to school with as a boy, not one of them got drafted...not even when the lottery was put into effect,

Not one of them was drafted, gunny.

Not one.

Who did get drafted? Just the middle class and poorer kids, naturally.

Strollingbones has a point, in my opinion.

I beg to differ. This is a quote of the last sentence of the post I responded to:

Look at the members of the current admin who avoid the draft and how they avoided it.

As far as the rest of your post, you're preaching to the choir. I said the same thing, different words.

The only difference being that i responded to his last sentence by pointing out that the privileged dodging conscription by one means or another is a time-honored tradition in this country, not just something that the "current administration" pulled off. The preceeding administration managed to pull off the same thing.

IMO, strollingbones ruins his own opinion by tossing in some partisan crap at the end; which, was the only thing i disagreed with.

 

[Gunny]

I am only saying people will always buy or bargain out of the draft. The only fair thing would simply be....at 19 or 20 everyone serves for a term of duty. People who are disabled may serve at home or in some way. I thinnk Jim Webb said the majority stay in for the first enlistment period with only abou 25% staying in the military as a career. Instead of building a larger military, by a draft, wouldnt it be better to retain the men who have served?

I am not trying to fight with anyone. I am first of all a female. My father is buried at main post cem. after 30 yrs of service. Do not treat me like a fool. I am not.

Trust me, if I was treating you like a fool, you'd know it. See my response to editec preceeding this one. I took exception to one thing you said, and responded to that.

I do not agree with your idea of compulsory service. It would no more work in this nation than the draft. The career force of the military, btw, is around 10%, not 25%.

The military is powered by youth. You retain only a large enough career force to train the young and maintain some consistency.

 

[strollingbones]

yes i said the current administration but it goes way back. the rich rarely serve. i will be honest if i could buy my son's safety, I would. What parent would not? I was, however raised to believe one thing....when a man put joined the armed services, there was no color, religion, politics...there was an american solider. But anyone who grew up in the late 60's and early 70's saw how the draft didnt work. I said only 25% of ingoing servicemen make it a career perhaps I was not clear on that.

 

[strollingbones]

I beg to differ. This is a quote of the last sentence of the post I responded to:


Large breasts: now that i have your attention....i am not a man....stop calling me he. partisan crap...and where did that come from? i am very disappointed in the current admin but what american wishes their president does poorly. I dont care about their party as much as much as what they will do to unite this country and to restore people's faith in valid elections...is that the type of partisan crap you refer to? 1/2 this country does have faith in the election process. that needs to be addressed and somehow corrected.
I do not know if that can be accomplished by any one man for a long time.
if that is the crap you are taking about get use to it.


IMO, strollingbones ruins his own opinion by tossing in some partisan crap at the end; which, was the only thing i disagreed with.

I will get the hang of this quote button if it kills me.

 

[Gunny]

yes i said the current administration but it goes way back. the rich rarely serve. i will be honest if i could buy my son's safety, I would. What parent would not? I was, however raised to believe one thing....when a man put joined the armed services, there was no color, religion, politics...there was an american solider. But anyone who grew up in the late 60's and early 70's saw how the draft didnt work. I said only 25% of ingoing servicemen make it a career perhaps I was not clear on that.

Lucky me. I grew up in the 60s and 70s in a military family.

However, My opinion is not based on the 60s and 70s draft. It is based on the 20 years I spent in the service. Simply put, I do not want some yahoo who doesn't want to be there and is pissed at the world because he is behind ME with a loaded weapon.

People that don't want to be there destroy unit moral and cohesion. People's lives depend on both. So, from my point of view as the guy on the ground that has to make even the dumbest of plans work, you can keep your draft and/or compulsory service.

 

[dilloduck]

Anyone proposing a draft in hopes that it will deter future military action is an idiot.

 

[Gunny]

I will get the hang of this quote button if it kills me.

I caught your comment on your gender and have since referred to you as a "she."

If you want to quote a post, just click on the quote button in the box of the post you wish to quote. Then type your response in the blank area following the quote. If you type inside the quotation marks, you'll jack it all up.

 

[editec]

I beg to differ. This is a quote of the last sentence of the post I responded to:



As far as the rest of your post, you're preaching to the choir. I said the same thing, different words.

The only difference being that i responded to his last sentence by pointing out that the privileged dodging conscription by one means or another is a time-honored tradition in this country, not just something that the "current administration" pulled off. The preceeding administration managed to pull off the same thing.

IMO, strollingbones ruins his own opinion by tossing in some partisan crap at the end; which, was the only thing i disagreed with.

Ah, yeah, so noted.

I basically agree with him that this administration is an administration rife with chickenhawks, (unlike MOST Republican administrations, I migght add), noting that the elite of this nation has long avoided real military service was a good point.

 

[trobinett]

Anyone proposing a draft in hopes that it will deter future military action is an idiot.

I agree, end of fucking story................

 

[steeliniraq]

Lucky me. I grew up in the 60s and 70s in a military family.

However, My opinion is not based on the 60s and 70s draft. It is based on the 20 years I spent in the service. Simply put, I do not want some yahoo who doesn't want to be there and is pissed at the world because he is behind ME with a loaded weapon.

People that don't want to be there destroy unit moral and cohesion. People's lives depend on both. So, from my point of view as the guy on the ground that has to make even the dumbest of plans work, you can keep your draft and/or compulsory service.

Hey Gunny long time! What many Americans just don't get IMO is how much each person in a unit is relied on. One bad move, one wrong turn, one smartass could get every single person killed. It's actually a bit funny to hear civilians talk about the draft. On one hand every soldier hates deploying year after year and would love for the other 99.5% to help out but then again every true soldier understand what a draft would bring. In WW2 the draft brought people in but it was a much different time back then. The people of this country actually felt a responsibility to go out and fight. They did things for the greater good of America. In todays world that just isn't the case. Everyone thinks and feels they are special and their opinions and feeling actually mean something. Vietnam gave us a glimpse into what a draft would do to our military today. The draft nearly killed our military back then. It was a disease that rot the military from the inside out. People that have never served just don't understand that the volunteer attitude that is brought with the all volunteer force is just as important as the numbers the draft will bring. So to answer the question asked by the original poster, my answer is hell no to a draft. I have deployed to Iraq 5 times now and if needed I will go back a few more times. War is a business and if you don't have the best, motivated people fighting you will lose.

 

[editec]

Hey Gunny long time! What many Americans just don't get IMO is how much each person in a unit is relied on. One bad move, one wrong turn, one smartass could get every single person killed. It's actually a bit funny to hear civilians talk about the draft. On one hand every soldier hates deploying year after year and would love for the other 99.5% to help out but then again every true soldier understand what a draft would bring. In WW2 the draft brought people in but it was a much different time back then. The people of this country actually felt a responsibility to go out and fight. They did things for the greater good of America. In todays world that just isn't the case. Everyone thinks and feels they are special and their opinions and feeling actually mean something. Vietnam gave us a glimpse into what a draft would do to our military today. The draft nearly killed our military back then. It was a disease that rot the military from the inside out. People that have never served just don't understand that the volunteer attitude that is brought with the all volunteer force is just as important as the numbers the draft will bring. So to answer the question asked by the original poster, my answer is hell no to a draft. I have deployed to Iraq 5 times now and if needed I will go back a few more times. War is a business and if you don't have the best, motivated people fighting you will lose.

Civilians who were drafted into the fray did just fine during WWII.

If America were really at risk, civilians would do just fine again, assuming that the Professionals leading them were pompous popinjays.

 

[Gunny]

Civilians who were drafted into the fray did just fine during WWII.

If America were really at risk, civilians would do just fine again, assuming that the Professionals leading them were pompous popinjays.

I disagree. The common bonds that made us Americans during WWII no longer exist. The Nation came first then. People understood then that without the Nation, everything that was because of the Nation didn't exist.

People now don't seem to be able to do that math. They're so blind they believe that they'll have their freedoms whether this Nation exists or not. Rather than actually go out and fight, they'll wait until they are indignantly proclaiming their rights to the person aiming a weapon in on them to settle that issue once and for all.