Will The US Bring Back The Draft?

[Road Runner]

With fewer people wanting to serve in the military today this thought just crossed my mind. The United States of America is a joke today so I don't blame people for not wanting to defend it.



What I feel sorry for most though is the families of men and women who gave their lives so we could be free and now this country as a whole is dishonoring their sacrifice. Memorial Day is a whole lot sadder occasion than it used to be.

 

[jwoodie]

The U.S. has been starting wars as a political distraction for the past 30 years. Donald Trump has been the ONLY President to denounce these wars, yet many people still regard him as a war monger. What is wrong with them? Anyone who voted for Biden should be drafted and put on permanent latrine duty.

 

[Road Runner]

The U.S. has been starting wars as a political distraction for the past 30 years. Donald Trump has been the ONLY President to denounce these wars, yet many people still regard him as a war monger. What is wrong with them?

They hate America. That's the only answer that I can come up with.

 

[JoeMoma]

If we have a major war on several different fronts, it may be a necessity. We have been the top dog superpower when it comes to military and military technology for decades. There is no guarantee that will last much longer, especially with new advancements in technology.

 

[ozro]

If they do, wearing a dress and panties to your induction physical will no longer keep you out.

 

[task0778]

I don't think the problem is hate for America, but I do think maybe they hate the woke bullshit that is invading our armed services. Those kinds of people are the same ones that enlist in the military; the sense of honor and duty is being minimized as a result of politicization by it's own military leaders and primarily the Washington democrats.
it's a bit like the Bud Light mess, you shouldn't dis the people you need to buy your product. Or in this case, turn off the very people you need to enlist or re-up.

There is a downside to the increasing distrust in our gov't, and IMHO this is one of them.

 

[cnm]

There is a downside to the increasing distrust in our gov't, and IMHO this is one of them.

But if you're increasingly distrustful of your own government one would have thought you'd be happy that its instruments of control are facing difficulty.

 

[task0778]

But if you're increasingly distrustful of your own government one would have thought you'd be happy that its instruments of control are facing difficulty.

This makes no sense. I am distrustful of my own gov't precisely because the instruments of control are no longer effective in stopping illegal or unethical conduct among it's own members. Our system of justice is politicized and corrupted and there is no deterrence for misconduct. Gaining and keeping power by any means is now acceptable and the top priority. Most politicians in either party have convinced themselves that what is in their best interests or that of their party is also in the best interests of the country.

 

[SavannahMann]

I honestly wonder why everyone who knows so little is so certain of themselves.

The Military opposes the Draft. The days of that sort of war are long over. Let me explain, as a Veteran.

The Units have people in them. People who volunteered to be there. People who may not be thrilled with their current circumstances. But they know they signed up for it. You have fewer discipline problems. You have fewer people committing crimes or going awol.

Now this doesn’t mean you won’t have any problems. It does mean you will have a lot fewer.

Back in the days of the Draft we had CCF or Correctional Custodial Facilities. Places where Soldiers did thirty days or so as part of a Courts Martial. Every base had them and there were always soldiers doing time. Now they are basically history. If it is believed the Soldier is salvageable, in other words despite his misbehaving he can be a good Soldier they just hit him with an Article 15 and essentially give him a slap on the wrist.

If the Soldier is not salvageable. He will never make a good Soldier they just chapter the man out under the Regs and send him home with a General discharge.

If the Soldier commits a real crime he is Courts Martialed and sent to Prison.

But here is what the Join the Army or go to jail days coupled with the draft were like. Officers afraid to go into the barracks unarmed for fear of an attack. Soldiers who were unwilling to do anything more than the bare minimum to avoid either CCF or jail. Drugs.

The Army doesn’t want a return to that. But it is always someone who didn’t serve who wants to see a return. When I was in, the running joke was they would activate the Draft about the time the enemy reached Pennsylvania Avenue in D. C.

If you haven’t served you have no clue about how the Army works. You don’t know about the E-4 Mafia. You don’t know about how vital Morale and Esprit de Corps is to a unit’s effectiveness.

 

[cnm]

This makes no sense. I am distrustful of my own gov't precisely because the instruments of control are no longer effective in stopping illegal or unethical conduct among it's own members.

So why are you complaining that an untrusted institution is losing competence in asserting and maintaining control?
You can't have it both ways, pretending US forces are not part of government.

 

[Mr Natural]

The draft is slavery plain and simple.

 

[task0778]

So why are you complaining that an untrusted institution is losing competence in asserting and maintaining control?
You can't have it both ways, pretending US forces are not part of government.

Da fuq? Maybe I should restate my position more succinctly: it is my contention that one of the reasons behind the current problems with military enlistments and retention is that so many people are turned off by the current woke policies in the military that are being advanced by senior military leadership at the behest of the Biden Administration and the Democratic Party to the point where those would serve are not joining up or are separating from the service. Political correctness appears to be the primary focus of such policies instead of readiness and the ability to successfully prosecute military actions. And a lot of people don't want to be a part of that.

 

[Ringo]

$200 Billion to Ukraine, $0 to homeless veterans.
American governance in a nutshell.

 

[Mushroom]

$200 Billion to Ukraine, $0 to homeless veterans.
American governance in a nutshell.

Sorry, don't buy it.

Yes, the VA is a mess and I am well aware of it. But over 95% of the "homeless" that claim to be "veterans" are either not veterans, or got their asses kicked out. I have seen it myself first-hand, and have been aware of this for decades.

I used to work with a "Homeless Veteran" facility in LA, and some of the numbers are rather obvious. They were constantly trying to find eligible veterans for their services, but had a hard time doing so as there were in reality so few. I used to walk around with a pocket full of cards for the program, and even offering to drive homeless vets there. And in talking with most for just a couple of minutes, it becomes obvious they are fake. And that photo is a perfect example. That is actually a brand new uniform in the photo, along with a brand new assault pack.

And I can spot immediately that that tool is a complete fake. I bet if I asked him what unit he was in he would just make something up. Not even knowing that many of us would know what the 3rd ID patch meant on his backpack.

Now I welcome any other veterans to join me and point out what I might be missing.

Look on his right chest, does that look funny? That is where he stuck the "US Army" patch, when it belongs on the left chest. OK, so maybe he got it backwards. Where is his name tape? Funny, it's missing. It's also missing from his cap on the ground.

Also, that is not even the ACU blouse, that is an ACU field jacket.

So let me get this straight. He is an Army veteran, somehow kept a uniform and his assault pack, even his Army tape, but lost his name tapes?

And his left sleeve is bare, where it should have the unit patch. So why is his patch on his assault pack and not on his sleeve?

The camouflage t-shirt is interesting, but the military does not use camouflage t-shirts.

Everything about that image screams to me "faker". And I have talked with hundreds of them over the decades. Guys that did not know their MOS, and did not know the MOS of others that almost everybody in their claimed branch of service should have known. I bet every single soldier in here knows what an 11B is, no matter what they did. And every Marine knows what an 0311 is, no matter their MOS. I can remember every MOS I have ever had, including secondary ones that I got 4 decades ago. Yet I am supposed to believe some mutt that just got out last year has forgotten his MOS?

And the units they give are often hilarious. I still laugh at the guy that I asked, and he simply responded "Charley Company". I just looked at him and waited for the rest, then finally asked him. He insisted that was his unit, "Charley Company". Or another that hilariously told me he was in a specific unit in Germany 5 years prior. Well, that's good but he still blew it. First of all, he called it a "Cee ay esh haich", spelling it out one letter at a time. Where as I was actually in the unit he tried to claim was in Germany, and it was in Dublin and we call it a "cash". Just like the predecessor was called a "mash".

The homeless are often really good bullshitters, until they come across somebody that actually knows. I still try to help any I find, but almost never find real homeless veterans. And easily 9 out of 10 that I do find have drug and or alcohol issues which is why they are homeless.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

If Biden is re-elected and the Trumpeys revolt, the draft will reinstituted and the enemy hunted down to last shit hole in which they are hiding.

 

[ralfy]

Even More Young Americans Are Unfit to Serve, a New Study Finds. Here's Why.

The updated figures paint a picture of what is currently plaguing military recruiters in many of the service branches, with a shrinking pool of potential service members available to them.

www.military.com

 

[Mushroom]

And the units they give are often hilarious. I still laugh at the guy that I asked, and he simply responded "Charley Company". I just looked at him and waited for the rest, then finally asked him. He insisted that was his unit, "Charley Company".

And I just now remembered one that actually had me laughing out loud and I embarrassed him in front of everybody I worked with.

Back in 1993 I got a job at a surplus store, and two of the guys told me about an "Gulf War" Marine that came in fairly often to tell them war stories. And about a month after I started I was there when he came in. One of the guys there introduced him and I shook his hand and said "Semper Fi". And he responded with "Yeah".

OK, so I asked him his MOS next, and he said "11B'. I thought that maybe the guys I worked with were mistaken and he was Army and not Marines, except he was also wearing a Marine Corps cap and t-shirt. I told him I had been an 0311, and was with "Fox 2/2", which to any Marine is immediately obvious and largely understood even to most in the Army.

He told me he was Marine Infantry with "Fox 2/0".

At that time I knew he was completely fake, as the numbers are Battalion-Regiment. I was in 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. Apparently he was in Second Battalion, Zero Marine Regiment. I can only imagine that was part of the 1st Civ Div.

I quickly pointed that all out to him in front of my coworkers, and he quickly dashed out the door. And for the next year and a half that I worked there he never did return. But I did see him go into another surplus store down the road a few times.

My son even introduced me to one he knew a couple of years ago. He was homeless and claimed to have been an Army vet. My son felt bad for him so invited him for Thanksgiving dinner. He was around 30, and when doing the usual questions most vets ask each other, he told me he was a "Specialist 6".

Well gee, that was freaking amazing! Because I know I was one of the few people in the Army at that time (2019) that had even seen a Specialist 6, the rank was discontinued way back in 1985. And that was several years before that clown was even born.

 

[Dayton3]

The draft is slavery plain and simple.

Yet the supreme Court specifically permits that form of slavery As for the military opposing it, the U.S. military always opposes changes.

 

[Mushroom]

Yet the supreme Court specifically permits that form of slavery As for the military opposing it, the U.S. military always opposes changes.

It is not slavery.

And the military always opposes a draft unless there is a need for one. Because outside of a war where those are drafted "for the duration", it tends to cause issues with the manpower numbers.

Draftees during the Vietnam Era only had to serve for 2 years. That meant that by the time they had finally finished their training and reported to their units, they only had a little over a year left on their term of service. And most were put into lot skill fields like cooks, mechanics, and drivers as when they left the service replacements could be easily shoved into their places.

It is not change, it is simply being forced to take in large numbers that they did not want, did not need, and had no real use for. Especially when McNamara's Project 100,000 was forced onto them. As the ending of the Draft and Project 100,000 came at the same time. Plus as they had set terms of service, the military was able to adapt to the shrinking numbers until 1975 when the last of them were released. Which is a far cry from years past when they had to drop from over 8 million to under 3 million in a single year. Then another 2.5 million the year after that until it reached under 700,000.

The military is a "conservative organization", as most are when it comes to manpower numbers. And would resist either a rapid expansion or contraction in numbers without reason. The ending of the draft in 1972 was not rapid, and they had no problem no longer being forced to take people they did not need and did not want to be there.

 

[task0778]

Military draftees are not sold or owned, and they still retain many of their civil rights. They cannot be tortured, beaten into submission, or starved. Plus, they are paid for their labor. That ain't slavery.

Will the military bring back the draft? NO.