“The draft — which will include both boys and girls this time around — a no-brainer in ‘05 and ‘06.” — David Hackworth; www.hackworth.com
Hackworth’s position is that the war on terror, excluding Iraq, will require more boots on the ground and that no amount of sophisticated blockbuster weapons can effectively hunt down terrorists. The “Stop Loss” program of the Pentagon extending enlistments beyond contractual agreements in effect has transformed the volunteers as “backdoor draftees” who are determined to take a powder if the chance arises. This will inevitably lead to a draft in order to increase the number of grunts needed for a global rifleman’s war.
For those who espouse an all volunteer service, thanks to Rumsfeld’s shameless comment: that Vietnam draftees added “no value, no advantage, really, to the United States armed services…it took an enormous amount of effort in terms of training, and then they were gone.”
The fact is the “no value” draftees in the last century fought two world wars and two major conflicts with honor. Also training time is no different for draftee or regular, and the length of service is determined by the duration of conflicts — unfortunately in this case unending.
Copyright © 2004 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: October 7, 2004.
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