This reminds me of a funny story. My team sergeant and I were walking to his apartment in downtown salt lake on a Sunday afternoon on a drill weekend (so we were in uniform) when we passed in front of a very trendy coffee shop. One of the young wags hanging out in front hailed us and inquired whether or not we were afraid we'd get hurt or killed since we were in the military.
He and his friends were obviously pleased with themselves for NOT having been so foolish as to voluntarily put themselves in harms way. My team sergeant turned to the young wag and replied. "Sure son, everybody gets afraid sometimes. But if I were you I'd be really afraid. You see Skar and I are part of an elite fighting unit that provides us with advanced training and surrounds us with men who are as or more highly trained than we are.
"You, on the other hand, will be drafted and sent into combat as a grunt, given very little training and you will be surrounded by other grunts with very little training. Good luck."
We left amidst a stunned silence.
My team sergeant was obviously playing off the youth's ignorance and prejudice. Neither of us thought a draft was very likely and we're both against it. Neither could even the lowest grunts in the U.S. military be described as having very little training. But the youth obviously thought a draft was likely and had a very low opinion of soldiers, so he bought it hook line and sinker. Ha ha!
As for the question of a draft as a means of backfilling the recruiting shortfalls. I, obviously, cannot predict the actions of congress. If they were to ask me, however, I would inform them that a draft would be very unwise. For many reasons.
Near the top of my list is the fact that someone you have to force into providing for the common defense is probably not someone you want involved in providing for the common defense. Especially not in today's media climate. The draft is hailed as a good move in WWII for two main reasons, in my opinion. 1. It was obvious to everybody, once Japan and Hitler got going, that they were facing a worldsized threat. and 2. The press was for that war and was probably as propoganda ridden and biased for it as they were/are against Vietnam and the war going on in the Middle East right now. So peer pressure worked for the draft instead of against it.
On the modern field of combat where it's less about charging a hill and more about smarts and endurance I'd much rather have 5 guys with me who volunteerred to be there than 10 guys who were drafted.
