Military Draft Debate

After the beginning of the war with Iraq, Senator Ernest Hollings and Rep. Charles Rangel called for a re-instatement of the military draft in the US. If the draft was re-instated, America would have a total voluntary army. This proposal has sparked a debate of whether or not it is a good idea to have a military draft again. Some advantages of a military draft would be that if it was reinstated it would be fair. The disadvantages of a military draft would be that it could cause disorder among American families and could possibly cost many lives.

American males of the ages of 18-25 are required to register with the Selective Service System in case of a national emergency that would require the armed services. If a military draft were to be reinstated, the Selective Service System would allow the draft to be run smoothly and would be one hundred percent fair. There would be no way of buying your way out of the draft like the more wealthy people did during the Civil War. Also, the military draft would allow for a large amount of readied troops to be assembled easily in the time of a national emergency.

While these pros for a military draft are excellent and allow for maximum efficiency and ease of troop assembly, they do come with vast consequences. A military draft would violate people’s free will by interrupting their lives and sending them off to war or to work for the military. People would have to give up their everyday lives and turn on a dime to adjust to life during a war and adjust to a new job. Also, another consequence of reinstating a military draft would be that the new soldiers would be heavily inexperienced. If a baker was drafted, there is a big possibility that he will have no combat experience whatsoever so he would have a lower chance of survival than a regularly trained soldier.

My opinion of reinstating a military draft is that the government shouldn’t. The main topic that persuaded me is the inexperience of draftees.