The Draft Debate Still Lies Ahead

[thedrifter]

06-26-2003

The Draft Debate Still Lies Ahead



By Ralph Omholt



Three decades after the creation of the All-Volunteer Force, a debate over the possible need to reinstate compulsory military service ? the draft ? has suddenly emerged.



This time, the issue is not from a threat of a major world war, which prompted the imposition of the universal military conscription in 1940. Rather, the U.S. military faces the threat of severe personnel shortages in the future as a result of declining morale from the mismanaged reserve mobilizations since 9/11, and continued betrayal of military veterans by the U.S. government over their health benefits.



As the nation prepares to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the All-Volunteer Force next Tuesday, July 1, it is relevant to explore what has gone wrong with this concept.



When the Nixon administration abolished the draft in 1973, the U.S. military was pulling troops out of Vietnam at a record rate. Morale was low, equipment aging and public support all but absent.



It is a testament to our military leaders of that time that the ?All-Volunteer Force? was a success. With the active-duty force drastically reduced, and personnel policies such as the ?up-or-out? concept in force, those who opted to remain on active duty and who succeeded typically possessed the military education, skills, experience and combat-honed judgment needed.



Many of those unable to find an active duty slot were able to find a National Guard or a Reserve unit in which to finish out their military careers. But over time, even those slots became unavailable, and many military people faced mandatory discharges. Today, there is little of the Vietnam experience and expertise to be found in the ranks.



During the late 1970s, the Pentagon required that Guard and Reserve components maintain nearly full active-duty performance levels to remain viable military assets. National Guard and Reserve members were factored as part of the ready assets. When the Gulf War started, Guard and Reserve units faced a new, post-Vietnam scenario: reservists were activated to serve in overseas combat ? women included.



But the 1991 Gulf War also brought a sadly-recurring event in U.S. military history ? the betrayal of veterans who were sickened by battlefield poisons. Gulf War Syndrome has attacked hundreds of thousands of active duty personnel and reservists, crippling without discrimination. As we have seen the VA for years denied the medical claims ? without discrimination. It was as bad, if not worse, than the ?Agent Orange? tragedy that struck many Vietnam veterans.



Today, loyal and dedicated Reservists and Guardsmen are suffering severe economic distress because of extended mobilization that has left their families with smaller payrolls, and in many cases, failed personal businesses.



Also today, returning reservists returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom are finding that technicalities in the law have allowed their civilian employers to deny them re-employment. According to an article by Jeff Johnson in

CNSNews.com on June 10, 2003, this has even occurred in the U.S. government's own Transportation Security Agency.



As a result, many experts are predicting a future recruiting and retention crisis in the Reserve Components. Likewise, many active-duty soldiers approaching their mandated discharge dates are now being held on active duty against their wishes. When those discharges are finally granted, the active duty exodus is likely to create a serious chink in America?s armor.



At the risk of sounding overly alarmist, I believe that resuming the draft will become inevitable in the next few years, despite the fact that the current DoD leadership is strongly opposed to such a move.



Even though ?privatized? (and highly profitable) contract functions are supposed to eliminate many the active-duty personnel requirements, I predict that the Pentagon will.



Given Rumsfeld?s opposition to reviving the draft ? and his strong political influence over military affairs in the Bush administration ? it is doubtful that the issue of reviving the draft will become active for several years. But declining retention and an anticipated exodus of experienced personnel will revive the draft debate in time.



And complicating that debate will be the issue women in combat, already a major concern to some in the wake of Iraq. The basic training ?experiments? of sexually integrated units and the unavoidable female physical strength shortfall have both put serious strains on military unit cohesion and combat effectiveness, but known demographic trends suggest the military will be hampered by those ?special handling? requirements even in combat, given the fluidity of military battles that often thrusts supposedly rear-area non-combat soldiers into the fight.



With women constituting 52 percent of the U.S. population, and the overall cohort of 18-30-year-olds in decline, the drafting of women will be a ?first-up? issue when the debate begins.



Despite the logic of equality, combat veterans are usually staunchly opposed to women in combat ? just based on instinctive ?civilized reflexes.? From my own military experience, I share that opposition. Beyond the privacy, hygiene and social issues, the emotional impact on the male psyche by a woman?s wounding, death or capture can have disastrous results on a unit?s performance in battle.



While the all-volunteer force remains an attractive concept, years of disjointed personnel priorities and a relentless operational tempo have seriously damaged its effectiveness. The key shortfall is found in the military?s obsession with hardware that has downplayed attention to more important human elements. Blinded by our current advantage against Third-World targets such as the Taliban and Iraq?s weakened military, our military commanders seem oblivious to inherent weaknesses that might lead to setbacks and defeat against a stronger foe.



America needs and deserves a military force that is indeed, second to none. The draft debate will come, and when it does we must all take part.



Ralph Omholt is a Contributing Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at skydrifter@attbi.com.


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Sempers,

Roger