Military Draft example essay topic

The military draft is not instituted in America and hasn't been since the Vietnam War. Part of this is due to the fact that the United States hasn't been a very active warring country since then. Although recently, the United States has had problems with terrorists, and because of this, we are at war with Iraq. Now that we are in the midst of war, should the draft be reinstated? This presents an important problem because riding on the decision is just about every male in America's life. This issue derives extra attention from me because if the draft is in fact reinstated, most male citizens my age will be targeted.

As of now I am almost clueless toward which way this will go and I want to know if I should be ready to drop everything at any given moment to fight in our war. I began my research by searching the internet for both civilian and expert's views on the subject. I typed "military draft" into the "yahoo" search engine and found a useful website with military analyst, Anthony Cordesman's view (web). He believes that the draft should not, and will not be reinstated. He states, "This is not 1940, it's not Korea, and it's not Vietnam". Cordesman also explains, "What we need are truly well-trained professionals capable of operating very high-technology equipment, and the fact is that draftees can't provide those capabilities".

Cordesman has raised some important issues that I agree with. This being a different type of war may allow us to get by without needing as many soldiers as before. Also, draftees obviously won't perform as well as highly trained professionals being that they have never learned before, and could cause deaths in our army that would have ordinarily been avoidable. My next information source was my roommate, Joe Gonzales. He believes that the draft could very well be reinstated.

According to Joe, "The draft is a quick and easy plan to get more soldiers and I don't see why the government will not use it. It worked for us in the past why not use it again". Although I agree with him that it is quick and easy and that it worked in the past, I showed him the information I received from the internet about draftees not knowing how to work the machinery and not understanding their job well enough to be nearly as helpful as trained soldiers to see how he replied. He answered, "Mr. Cordesman has a good point, but like I always say, the more the merrier. Even if we have a bunch of extra guys running around with no weapons like chickens with their head's cut off, the enemy will naturally be distracted and the soldiers that are trained to kill the enemy can do their job. If we need more soldiers, I would bring back the draft and I'm sure that's what our government will end up doing in the near future".

Although his reasoning was a little unprofessional, Joe presents a good point being that more men definitely do make it easier to win. The only thing about his view that I wasn't too fond of was the fact that he didn't think about the people that would be "running around with no weapons like chickens with their head's cut off". I don't think they would appreciate the government throwing their life on the line like this. I would at least put a weapon in their hand and give them a definite spot rather than have them "running around". The next website I reviewed was found on the same search as the first (web). It gave some interesting facts that highly influenced my view on the subject.

The United States military has been an all-volunteer force for the past 25 years, and according to Kurt Campbell, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense, "The government will likely not induct citizens into the military against their will". He claims, "The problem with the draft is that it normally has short-term stints of military service". Campbell also states, .".. in a sophisticated military organization... it takes a couple of years just to understand your job". With this being said, I'm leaning toward the side of the draft not to be reinstated because along with Anthony Cordesman, he believes that draftees just aren't prepared to do what is being asked of them in the heat of battle.

Of all reasons to not use the draft, I think this is without a doubt the most important. For one mistake by an inexperienced soldier, could cost the life of another. Another source I used was also found by typing "military draft" into the "yahoo" search engine. It was the CBS News website and the first excerpt talked about the draft (web). Here I found Korean War veteran, Charles Rangel's views on the question of reinstatement.

Rangel said he was concerned that "the burden of military service was being borne disproportionately by members of disadvantaged groups". In other words, the ratio of minorities in the military to minorities that aren't in the military is much higher than the white man's ratio. "If our great country becomes involved in an all-out war, the sacrifice of lives must be shared", he said. Meaning, if many minorities are going to risk their lives for our country, then just as many, if not more whites should be doing it.

Minorities make up 34 percent of the military while they only make up a quarter of the United States total population. Twenty percent of people in the armed forces are black, compared to only 12 percent nationwide. To me, This doesn't seem fair at all and I strongly agree with Rangel in that we need to share the sacrifice of lives in a war. I am not a racist person, therefore I believe that every race should be treated equally, especially in life and death situations. The only way to do this is to get more whites in the military, whether they like it or not. After equally considering all the information that I have just researched, I have come to a conclusion that I believe will suit our country best.

While I strongly agree with most of the ideas that I researched, I feel that the draft isn't truly what America needs at this time. When I think about the draft, I think about third world countries and other poor nations not having enough men to fight in their wars, but not America, the land of the free. However, as strongly as I feel about the situation, I cannot make the decision, so we have to have faith in the government and believe that they will do the right thing when it comes down to it. All I and every other person in the country waiting for an answer can do, is sit and listen for the call.

Those it comes to must drop everything and go. If we are lucky and it doesn't happen right now, as long as this and any other future war is going on, we must be ready to do whatever it takes to help our country prosper.