Initiation of an Active Draft in the US.

Actually, there was a recent White House report about the success of the volunteer military, and a brag about not needing a draft. Besides that, why does Pres. Bush say he needs more peole, when at the same time he is trying to downsize the military to cut costs?

I heard that too, Eastree. Hearing is not always believing. So far as applying logic, keep in mind they announced a reduction of air marshalls at exactly the same time as going to a high (orange?) terrorist alert.

Hi babbling, and welcome to a2k. To put a new post into the proper catagory, select the forums option towards the top of the screen, scroll down till you hit the forum you want. Now open it and you should find a "new topics" option. That will put the discussion into the catagory you want.

Once it is posted, however, you can't move it, but a moderator can and probably will.

Oh, we do have welcoming discussion, babbling. It' at new members.

Well, roger, hte extent of that talk is sad. I'm not saying you're right, just that I'm in the military and we're being told to prepare working with continuously smaller groups. Part of the reason is that the govenment believes it is less expensive to hire contractors in stead of active duty military for an increasong number of positions.

Hmm, I thought we had already had a semi draft. Calling up the reserves for years on end isn't that a draft if those guys wanted to go active they could at any time if under age 37.

What I wonder is why the regular Army cannot handle the after war in Iraq. What are those guys doing?

Being a Reserve troop is and isn't a semi-draft. The way it works, the person agrees to be called. It's not selective service. It's still completely voluntary. But it's still like the draft because the Guard and Reserve members are called to Active Duty -- but a true draft is completely involuntary.

The Army has its own issues. I can't answer that one.

Well Eastree I guess they, the regular Army, would rather play war than fight one. Nah, it is the Rummy who is playing with our kids.

You're right about the playing versus fighting, though would anyone really want to fight (counting out the times it is found necessary)? The "Rummy" comment is very true.

Dems to revive draft demand
Rep. Rangel and Sen. Hollings see new mood on Iraq
By Alexander Bolton


Key Democrats in the House and Senate will renew calls for the military draft as part of a critical barrage they are preparing to launch against President Bush over the length of troop deployments and the heavy reliance on reservists in Iraq.

Military experts outside Congress say there is a political advantage to be gained by Democrats who want to make the president squirm at a time a growing frustration among military families and other Americans over the occupation.

But they also say that there are legitimate policy grounds for re-instituting the draft, which was phased out after the Vietnam war.

Full story

That is truly sad -- the military has been 100% volunteers since long before Bush the sequel. So why pick on HIM because of it?

Considering the new exodus from the reserve components, and the recruiting slow dow, a draft may be inevitable.

Don't get your hopes up Hobit----it has been proven that the all volunteer military is what we want. There are still plenty of volunteers IMO.

Proven how's that perception?

Who are the we you refer to?

The "WE" that agrees that we should have a strong military and that being accepted then that military should be comprised of volunteers. Do you have a problem with that concept or are you one of those who is ashamed to be an American and that we should appease all of our enemies and try to persuade them through reasoned diplomacy that they really don't want to kill us? When diplomacy and appeasement fail---your option is surrender and die or enslavement.

Hopefully Vietnam saw the last draftees

Ah no why would you think that. Actually I am a Quaker thus do not support the military or war or weapons of any kind.

Actually, given the nature of the military and of warfare in the 21st Century, the draft fails cost/benefit analysis. The trainining of a recruit to function in today's tech-intense military is greater by far than it has ever been, and requires more time. Expending that time and money on a soldier who will exit active service after only two years is unsupportably inefficient. Conscripts were fine for meatgrinder wars of attrition, but offer no advantage in warfare as it has evolved. Today's American Military requires trained professionals who will participate in and contribute to the promotion lists, allowing the Military to benefit from their training and accumulated experience. The Draft simply no longer pays.

from the point of view of Benito Mussolini efficiency meant the trains ran on time. I am not so sure thats what we want from a standing army and I am pretty sure thats why founding fathers were reluctant to want such a creature. a professional military establishment was indeed a fear of General D D Eisenhower but then what did he know?

Meatgrinder war.

save the idea of democracy