SSgt Private RallyPoint Member 1204750 <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>What are your thoughts on conscription, male and female? Would the United States benefit from conscription, or would it weaken our military and nation as a whole? Do you have experience working with nations that enforce conscription? 2015-12-30T06:39:23-05:00 SSgt Private RallyPoint Member 1204750

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>What are your thoughts on conscription, male and female? Would the United States benefit from conscription, or would it weaken our military and nation as a whole? Do you have experience working with nations that enforce conscription?

2015-12-30T06:39:23-05:00 2015-12-30T06:39:23-05:00 Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS 1204766

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I am 100% Anti-Conscription.<br /><br />It violates a specific line of the Oath of Office (though not Enlisted) &quot;that I take this obligation freely.&quot; The entire concept is anti Freedom.<br /><br />Furthermore,<br /><br />1) You are not going to get the best service out of a Conscript<br />2) It is unnecessary in modern warfare (of a population our size, and diversity)<br />3) We&#39;re an all-volunteer force since the 70s<br />4) It&#39;s designed for Low-Trained Ground Warfare<br />5) We supply benefits to those who serve, which in turn will great a burden on the back-end. We cannot currently support those who serve. We WON&#39;T be able to support expanded conscription<br /><br />This is not to say it is not a viable model in SOME Nations. But we must remember that the US is the 4th Largest Nation in the world, both Population wise, and Geographically. We are the MOST diverse Geographically, and Demographically. When you have a much smaller, homogeneous Nation with a common &quot;Social Identity&quot; like Switzerland or Israel, it becomes MUCH more viable, but we are talking countries with 10M~ people v. 320M people, and utterly incomparable landmass.

2015-12-30T07:05:46-05:00 2015-12-30T07:05:46-05:00 LCDR Private RallyPoint Member 1204928

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Any time military decisions incorporate political motivations...it's a bad day at the office.<br /><br />Some people feel that mandatory service creates some kind of "superior" culture...it doesn't. We weed out individuals lacking the discipline, mentality and emotional toughness to serve for a reason. If anything, I personally believe that by lowering standards, creating more or less "civilian" career tracks, and focusing on mastery of the benefits ladder rather than training...we're slowly creating a force that proves "more" is sometimes, "less".<br /><br />Smaller nations can get away with it because they have vastly different strategic and social realities...This isn't Israel or Switzerland. <br /><br />Ultimately, before they call up my kid...I'd hope they'd start with those of us with a little experience so that some common sense would prevail.

2015-12-30T09:01:22-05:00 2015-12-30T09:01:22-05:00 1SG Private RallyPoint Member 1205000

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Conscription works fine for low technical positions. But the US military has fewer and fewer such positions.<br />It is, and always should have been, a last resort in times of national emergency.

2015-12-30T09:45:41-05:00 2015-12-30T09:45:41-05:00 MSG Private RallyPoint Member 1205057

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Personally, I like the idea......BUT.....it will never work in the US except for when an extreme National Emergency (like a World War) happens.

2015-12-30T10:08:38-05:00 2015-12-30T10:08:38-05:00 PO2 Rocky Kleeger 1205237

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I think not only would it benefit the military, it would take away a lot of people from the "gangs" off of the streets. Especially if we can go back to the training that would "take the street out of the person".

2015-12-30T11:17:21-05:00 2015-12-30T11:17:21-05:00 Capt Mark Strobl 1205299

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I'll take a platoon of volunteers over a brigade of conscripts.

2015-12-30T11:37:32-05:00 2015-12-30T11:37:32-05:00 SSG Gerhard S. 1205376

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>My thought is this. Conscription = Slavery, and our country eschewed this diabolical concept 150 years ago. We should NOT revisit Slavery as an institution in America. Regards

2015-12-30T12:04:48-05:00 2015-12-30T12:04:48-05:00 PO1 Brian Austin 1205380

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I'm against it. <br />I would prefer to have someone who wants to be in the military rather than someone forced to be in the military.

2015-12-30T12:06:17-05:00 2015-12-30T12:06:17-05:00 PO3 Private RallyPoint Member 1205404

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Only during all open war like world war .... <br /><br />I can only share what I had experienced in Singapore. All able male must serve for at least two years. It create a achievement gap between male and female. Female get a two years head start in any careers. Therefore, female male income gap is a phenomenon compare to US. Also, marry rate is low and birth rate is even lower. Roughly 1.5 per couple. barely able to maintain the population level. The weird social situation that effect far deeper into the future of Singapore ... the bad thing is the government also promoted aka"brain washed" its citizens to not have babies for a long time... so such policy compounded the low birth rate problems. Singapore maintain it population by importing immigrants. Now they are regretting the "brain wash", and trying to un-brain wash its citizen ... with little success ... since female is far more career minded now than it was back when they first started it, male usually marry foreigner and thus have higher possibility to migrate to other countries ... Things is very blink for native born Singaporean, most of them immigrate to other countries. but for immigrants that come into Singapore, they are like landed on USA from a third world country, opportunities is every where.

2015-12-30T12:14:40-05:00 2015-12-30T12:14:40-05:00 SGM Steve Wettstein 1205429

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Don't think it is a good idea. We have people volunteering that have no business being in the military right now. I can't imagine how it would be with people being forced to join the military.

2015-12-30T12:26:19-05:00 2015-12-30T12:26:19-05:00 Capt Seid Waddell 1205443

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Been there, and it is a double-edged sword; the military is not as well served by conscripts that don't want to be there, but more civilians get an idea of what the military does and the purpose we serve for peace in the world. <br /><br />This country is run by civilian leaders put into office by civilian voters; ignorance of military necessities by those in control will be the undoing of our country.<br /><br />When only 1% serve, who do you think will be making the strategic decisions? Do you think that process is helped by an abysmal ignorance of the realities of the world that the military deals with on a daily basis?

2015-12-30T12:32:58-05:00 2015-12-30T12:32:58-05:00 MAJ Ken Landgren 1205628

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Maybe it will temper our nation from going to war so often.

2015-12-30T13:38:32-05:00 2015-12-30T13:38:32-05:00 Lt Col Jim Coe 1205663

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I'm old enough to have worked in a nation with conscription for males 18 and over, the United States of America. I believe if our civilian leadership assigns missions of such magnitude that the Services need more human resources that they can muster with the all-volunteer force, then conscription is a viable option. Yes, draft both men and women. If we're going to open all occupational specialties to women, then they should be equally subject to conscription. <br /><br />The primary problem I saw with Vietnam era conscription was deferments and almost all draftees going to the Army. Many waited it out in college if they had the resources. Others volunteered for service in "safer" specialties in the Air Force, Navy, or Coast Guard, costing them an extra two years of their life (4-year active duty vs 2-year in the Army), but avoiding combat. A future draft should have very few deferments (physical or mental disability or incarceration) and draftees should be spread evenly across the Armed Services. The required term of service should be equal to the volunteer's first enlistment in the same specialty.

2015-12-30T13:52:38-05:00 2015-12-30T13:52:38-05:00 MAJ Ken Landgren 1205906

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I concur. This might slow down our desire to invade other countries.

2015-12-30T16:00:34-05:00 2015-12-30T16:00:34-05:00 MAJ Bryan Zeski 1206690

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>So, after much thought, at this point in time, I would support the mandatory service (with pay) of all US citizens (with some limited exceptions) for two years following high school. It has some good benefits for the nation as a whole:<br /><br />1. Proper military training with firearms for everyone. If we, as a nation, view firearms as something we must have, then we should be trained - military training would be good for that. Guns would be something EVERYONE could then relate to and understand the merits (and pitfalls of). It would reduce the number of accidental death and injury from irresponsible and untrained owners.<br /><br />2. No more "us versus them" mentality between civilians and Servicemembers. No more "hero worship" issues and reduced "Stolen Valor" issues because people don't understand.<br /><br />3. Reduced aggression from civilian leaders who "have been there and done that" and reduced aggressiveness from citizens because it is their kids who will go to that next war, or their grandkids, or themselves.<br /><br />4. It would increase awareness and readiness for all citizens of the threats that are out there and our capability to deal with it.<br /><br />Perhaps as an incentive to "volunteer" for four years instead of "conscript" for two, those who volunteered would have MOS options, whereas the "conscripts" would only have combat arms open to them.<br /><br />As for experience working with a conscripted force, I'm currently serving in South Korea where the men have a service obligation. It's really no big deal here - it just is what it is.

2015-12-30T23:52:47-05:00 2015-12-30T23:52:47-05:00 SSgt Jim Gilmore 1213694

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Frankly, it's time to bring it back not just for guys but the gals too. I was in favor of abolishing the draft back in the 70s when I was in the USAF. The all volunteer force has worked and served us well but...and there always is one...BUT we need some fresh faces. We have a tired force. It is tired from the point of too many deployments over the last dozen years. The folks need a break. <br /><br />This time the draft will include every breathing SOB with 2 arms, 2 legs, healthy and even the kids of politicians. It has served Israel well and I believe it can serve us well too.

2016-01-04T08:25:50-05:00 2016-01-04T08:25:50-05:00 2015-12-30T06:39:23-05:00