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Mandatory military service in the US

Neil Peart

Neil Peart

Learn to swim
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    Should the US make it mandatory for all males at least 18 years of age serve at least two years in the military?

    Personally, I don't think anyone should be forced to put their life at risk for a cause they may not believe in. If it's a time of war, no one should have to be told they're going over to this foreign land to kill people at the behest of their leader. Also, this is an issue for people who are at their learning peak being told to hold off on college for at least two years.

    Thoughts?
     
    gimmepie said:
    As far as I was aware nobody in the US was conscripted these days. If for some reason conscription makes a return though, women should not be exempt.
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    My scenario would be conscripted. Allowing women to be conscripted is grounds for a totally different debate. My scenario only includes males, because that's the status quo in the States - only males are required to sign up for Selective Service.
     
    There's a difference between a draft and mandatory military service.
     
    UndertakerFreak1127 said:
    If I'm not mistaken, conscription is where you're required to serve for a certain amount of time, while a draft is solely for wartime. Maybe I'm wrong, though.
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    You're getting yourself confused. A draft and conscription are the same thing, but mandatory service is something else. A draft/conscription is something that occurs during wartime (and shouldn't imo) and mandatory service is when at a certain age you're required to undergo military training/work with the military for a certain period of time.

    The "lottery" to see who went to Vietnam was conscription.
    Singapore has mandatory service.

    Personally I think both are unethical.
     
    If I had an honest opinion, I'd believe that the Selective Service System is an outdated organization within the government and needs to have its purpose amended. Not that I'm not supportive of our troops currently serving both domestically and abroad, but it seems to me that the SSS came about during a time when either nobody wanted to serve, or when the United States needed the man power.

    It's also outdated in that woman do not have to enroll in the Selective Service System, and the service was also established back before woman could even legally join the military. Citizens with certain disabilities are also able to not be enrolled, but that's understandable.

    Overall, I believe that mandatory service and the Selective Service System just need to go. I can understand if they need to establish it again in the distant future if times like Vietnam ever come up again, but they should at least amend how the service works to make it more fair, in my opinion.
     
    I'd rather that mandatory military service never becomes a thing in the US. Not everyone is suited for the military, and willing soldiers are better than ones that didn't want to be there in the first place. You shouldn't be forced to potentially die for your country. It seems unnecessary anyway since war is slowly becoming more and more waged through ICBMs and drones and special ops surgical strikes and not massive ground or air battles a la WWII.
     
    gimmepie said:
    As far as I was aware nobody in the US was conscripted these days. If for some reason conscription makes a return though, women should not be exempt.
    Click to expand...

    Conscription is not active, but it can be implemented in times of need if Im not mistaken.

    Conscription is one of the biggest violators of human rights. Conscription is slavery. Conscription mass murders. I dont care the reason- conscription should never be required. Ever. If I am ever drafted, Im ditching.
     
    Mandatory service, not necessarily in wartime, wouldn't be a terrible thing for a lot of young people who are lost in life or need some direction and discipline. The military can offer many career paths and the discipline of service could help shape people into productive adults, but I'd only say that would be valuable if, while enlisted, you were able to take college classes or prepare for a field outside of the military. There are many fields of work in the military outside of active duty or ground deployment. I've considered joining the Air Force as an officer with my degree and try to pursue JAG or piloting. Tough fields, but rewarding.

    Drafting citizens should only be a last resort in dire wartime. WWII was dire, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not. I'd definitely only support it if there was absolutely no choice but to and even then, I'd not be happy being drafted or forced into anything.
     
    It really depends on the country, Israel for example has mandatory service, 3 years for males 2 for females. Personally, I believe this is really crucial for the country because we are surrounded by hostile countries and terror organizations, who are not really fond of us.

    Seeing as I'll be recruited next year, and so will most of my friends, I had a lot of time thinking about it. I see it as wasting my time while I could do other stuff like start learning for university or maybe travel. But, and it's a big but, I do think it's important for me to enlist, because of the reasons I gave above; So I'm trying to get into a unit that I can benefit from ( although it doesn't work for me so far) so I could do my best and gain the most.

    Mandatory military is really a case by case situation, I don't think the US should have it, seeing as they are quite in a state of power (carriers, carriers, carriers), but for countries like Israel it is probably the right idea; on another note, if there is mandatory enlistment, there should not be discrimination by race,sex, etc.
     
    Milton Freeman worked hard to make sure the archaic art of rounding up young men and forcing them into the military against their will was a product of a bygone age of human barbarism that was no longer necessary in the modern world.

    Please don't fuck it up.
     
    Tsutarja said:
    Overall, I believe that mandatory service and the Selective Service System just need to go. I can understand if they need to establish it again in the distant future if times like Vietnam ever come up again, but they should at least amend how the service works to make it more fair, in my opinion.
    Click to expand...

    It's interesting that you bring up Vietnam as an option when mandatory service during the Vietnam War is what makes it such an unpopular issue across America today, even when the obvious loathing most people have towards the 'option' is put aside. It seems as if 'times like Vietnam' would make mandatory service even more volatile an option to choose.
     
    Harley Quinn said:
    It's interesting that you bring up Vietnam as an option when mandatory service during the Vietnam War is what makes it such an unpopular issue across America today, even when the obvious loathing most people have towards the 'option' is put aside. It seems as if 'times like Vietnam' would make mandatory service even more volatile an option to choose.
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    I think this is probably largely because other countries had no place butting into what was essentially a civil war. However the US forced people into into it via conscription to push forwards their anti-communist agenda.

    The thing is though, is conscription even valid anymore? I don't think there will ever be "times like Vietnam" or the World Wars again. In those days manpower was important but as has been said, we live in age of tanks, drones, satellites and tactical missiles. I think more and more war is becoming about technological superiority rather than who has the biggest army. Is there even a point to something like conscription when we're quickly moving into an age when there's hardly going to be any human presence on the battlefield at all?
     
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