Could a hybrid draft save America?

Yahoo

30-01-2025

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of We Are The Mighty.
'Would you like to grab a bite? My treat.' Coming from a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains I didn't meet many people different than me. My military service exposed me to the true melting pot of this country. So, one morning after I had befriended a French engineer at a conference, I bought him breakfast as we both waited for our delayed flights. While we talked, he bemoaned the end of France's draft. 'Now, the rich will not socialize with the poor, and our kids will turn out as bad as American kids.' At the time, I thought he was wrong.
I used to believe the all-volunteer military was superior to conscription. I still somewhat believe that, but now that I've left the military and I see what America has become, I no longer believe our country is better off for having gotten rid of the draft. Now I argue that the US would be better off if we were all forced to serve, to hang out with people we normally don't talk to, to learn that just because someone votes a certain way that it doesn't make them your enemy. What I do know for certain, though, is my military service turned me into a much more tolerant and open-minded person because of what I experienced first-hand. Like that old Louis Armstrong song, 'Hello Brother.'
But no matter where you go, you're gonna find
that people have the same things on their mind.
Today the United States stands on the edge of a potentially treacherous future. Enemies around the globe are expanding their physical and economic borders at a dizzying pace. Twentieth-century American exceptionalism (and our foregone assumptive dominance) is being challenged worldwide. Meanwhile, our nation is divided by political lines at home. Social media has only accelerated this schoolyard game of separating ourselves into echo chambers of opinions. A societal course correction is needed now, one that will strengthen our national resolve, our national security and realign our national identity. What's more, should a large international conflict arise, we remain unprepared for the necessary ramp up of a large-scale force.
Across the globe, many countries are discussing a return to conscription. Nineteen nations currently have some form of a draft on the books (including Russia and China) with many more actively discussing it. After World War II, a period of relative global peace supplanted large-scale warfare. Proxy wars have been fought, but the world's most powerful countries have not engaged in the kind of conflict our grandparents and great-grandparents suffered through over 100 years ago. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought the harsh new reality of mutually assured destruction. Countries came to the realization that a future global conflict with nuclear weapons would be cataclysmic to life on earth.
And so, we settled into our comfortable bunkers to ride out the Cold War. As limited conflicts flared up and died out, military commanders and politicians decided that an all-volunteer force would be sufficient to keep the peace. War-weary Americans took the bait, and now almost 94% of our citizens have been sedated by an existence devoid of any sacrifice or investment in our own safety and security. As President Eisenhower warned, the military-industrial complex gleefully watches their rising stock prices with each new skirmish, while our citizenry remains safely ambivalent, knowing their kids will never have to fight. Meanwhile, Americans withdraw into their social, economic, political and religious enclaves, all too happy to throw up the white flag of division. Our founding fathers would be aghast at how nearly twelve and a half score years later, we have become so disinterested in the great experiment which they gifted us.
The disconnect between veterans and civilians is only widening. Without some form of shared experience to draw us together, American core values continue to drift outward to the fringes of society. It's difficult to convince people of right versus wrong when they can't even view others as human beings. A hybrid draft would promote a return to the basics of civilized society and national unity. It would encourage greater civic engagement and engender a sense of duty in all of us. Resilience, leadership and collaboration – qualities that are essential in civilian life as well would again be the standard, not the exception. Some understandably debate that forced conscription is a violation of individual rights. That's not the true issue. It's about civic duty, not a reduction in personal freedoms.
But a hybrid draft could satisfy both arguments.
How could a hybrid draft work? Young citizens could be given a choice, to serve or bypass. Those who do serve would be rewarded with free college or trade skill training in exchange for a nominal period of service, say two or three years. Instead of just offering it to all citizens, the recently proposed zero-cost American Academy could be used as the accredited educational institution of choice. Service options could be based on aptitude tests but be limited to entry-level responsibilities as determined by the military, with a possible exclusion of career fields considered to be critical, such as aviation or combat-oriented jobs. This could also help alleviate our growing overreliance on military contractors. At the end of their commitment, draftees would be given the opportunity to reenlist and compete for new occupational specialties, promotion to noncommissioned officer positions, reserve officer training slots, or select service academy opportunities, assuming they meet the requirements. In this way, the US would maintain the professionalism of the all-volunteer force and reduce our dependence on contractors while simultaneously providing a chance for our civic-minded citizens to get their hands dirty in the business of national service.
For those unwilling or physically unable to serve in the military, civilian options could be created, with slightly longer commitments required to receive the educational and training benefits. There would have to be increased scrutiny on deferments, but with a non-military option, that would be easier to implement. Only those with the most serious disabilities would remain exempt. Healthcare, construction, infrastructure and first responder jobs could be created through industry/government partnerships similar in concept to SkillBridge. National service would foster teamwork and engender a sense of patriotism as diverse groups of young people are forced to work daily with those they may never have chosen to interact with otherwise.
The experience these Americans receive would create more skilled laborers and tradesmen, offsetting associated costs through industry partners and giving a boost to our domestic workforce and our stateside manufacturing capacity. Those who still choose to bypass service could pay additional taxes to support this endeavor directly. Some would advocate for a bypassing civilian to receive a revocation of their voting rights, ala' Starship Troopers. 'Citizen versus Civilian.' I believe that to be unnecessary, but a subsequent service bypass tax is arguably the most fair and equitable solution for those unwilling to do their fair share. As we begin to ask ourselves what it means to be an American, I think the answer was from President Kennedy, as he spoke some of the most neglected words of the last century, 'Ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country.'
A return to military conscription and the creation of an accompanying national service program is a complex conversation. For those of us who've served, its value is clear. Service fosters a sense of unity that most Americans have never experienced, the kind of fellowship we experienced on September 12, 2001. A hybrid draft could play a pivotal role in enhancing national security, strengthening critical service and infrastructure shortages at home, bridging the gap between divided citizens, forcing international cooperation by creating a roadblock against unnecessary conflicts and instilling a new sense of national camaraderie not seen since the Greatest Generation saved the planet from global tyranny.