Need to bring back the draft

[sinister59]

Did my civic duty.

Ancient history.

you weren't called then you weren't called ,
no one said you had to enlist ,

 

[sinister59]

people just don't want to or feel they should serve their country any more .

 

[Caroljo]

Dindt burn my draft card - was ready to serve if called - like bringback the draft that Ali and Elivis etcdealt witrh.

HAD NO QUALMS ABOYT SERVING IN A UNIVERSAL DRAFT OR A DRAFT LOTTERY.

Just dont like -and never haver liked - the volunteer military.

You were a ******* coward who skipped out on Nam and you now want credit just because you kept your draft card? you are ******* pathetic, everyone who has the balls to serve in this volunteer Military is braver than you will ever be you ******* clown.

My husband quit school at 17 (later went back and got his diploma) and joined the Marines in 1971! He had to get his parents to approved it...went through the grueling boot camp and spent time on Ross Hill in Viet Nam. More soldiers wanted HIM in there with them...since he basically wanted to be there! He's very against a draft....he saw too many over there that could not handle it at all and shouldn't have been there.

 

[geauxtohell]

Did my civic duty.

Ancient history.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH88H7lxJHM]YouTube - Frank Costello - Paid His Tax[/ame]

 

[The Gadfly]

I don't have to explain anythingto you smuchs.

Arnernt event my generation.

I obeyd the law of the land.

Well now, son, since you were so gung-ho, there really wasn't a need for you to miss out on all the fun and excitement on account of a little thing like a lottery number; hell, you could have joined up, and gotten your shot at eating C-rats, humping the boonies, and hunting Charlie with the rest of us. Of course, there was just a slight chance of getting shot, or stepping on a mine, but hey, I'm sure you would have done fine. You might have had a different take on the enemy, though; they might have been subhuman savages, but the Cong were pretty damn tough, mean, and tenacious; I don't think "cowards" is a word I would use to describe them, and I hated the little brown sonsofbitches.

In general, I think Toome was right earlier; for special ops types of conflict like we have faced then and since, a professional force is arguably better. That said, I saw a lot of draftee soldiers perform admirably in Vietnam; many fought as bravely and honorably as any professional, and deserved far better than the bad press they got, or the reception they got when they came home (which they deserved even less than those of us who were professional soldiers). What I did think was a shame was that a number of them who clearly were not suited for combat got put in infantry units, where they promptly got themselves and others killed. That part of it was a pathetic waste. There was also the matter of some officers and senior enlisted men who treated draftees with total contempt, and had little regard for their welfare. To me, that was a sickening failure of leadership, and while it was not something I saw often, I can understand why those subjected to it developed a hatred of "lifers".

I'd still like to see more people serve, because I am concerned we are losing the concept of the "citizen soldier"; something I fear may eventually undermine public respect for military service (since so few now ever experience it). If we did something like that, I suppose I'd like to see conscripts assigned to support roles only, rather than placed in direct combat billets for which they are temperamentally unsuited and/or not properly trained.