Will there ever be a draft again?

[kanerf]

That stopped selective service registration for a time right after Vietnam ended. I fell into that time period when I turned 18, so I have never registered. Not that any service would want an over 60 anyway.

 

[Orion Nebula]

I don't know anything but I have a genuine question. Not meant to be offensive so I'll just put that disclaimer out now: aren't there enough career military folks for a non-world war?

The amount of people enlisting has been in a steady decline for many years. I know when Afghanistan came into the picture the military branches were pretty much taking anyone willing to sign up. However it was questionable on how many of them really were "fit" for combat. And not just from a physical standpoint. The Army for instance even loosened up it's requirements, such as allowing felons and those who never graduated high school to enlist. And they still fell short on the numbers needed.

 

[Moliphino]

I always thought it was unfair that my DS had to register but my 2 DDs didn't.

It's because the military has discriminated against women for so long. They only lifted the ban on women serving in combat in 2013.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Didn't they just draft reservists today.

 

[Moliphino]

Didn't they just draft reservists today.

Ukraine did.

 

[DLgal]

Didn't they just draft reservists today.

No. Reserve troops get deployed all the time. It's called being activated, not being drafted. It's common practice. That's why they exist. It doesn't mean anything in regards to an actual draft.

ETA:
However, the services are NOT currently doing well with meeting their recruiting numbers, at least the Marines are not. They have struggled all of last year and the struggle continues today. It's a big problem. They don't know how to get kids motivated to join.

In recent years, they did away with the 20 year retirement plan and restructured it so its more like a civilian job with a 401k and company match. It pays out less after a 20 year career but it also allows people to build up a larger portfolio (if they contribute enough, that is). I think that has caused a lot of people to reconsider, given that military pay isn't as high as comparable civilian careers, especially on the enlisted side.

Officers, after about 10 years, get paid handsomely. My husband is an 0-5 with 23 years of service and his "real world equivalent salary" (taking into account tax benefits) is $190,000. When he retires next year, considering the VA disability he will surely qualify for because of how broken he is, he will be looking at a six figure guaranteed monthly income, with annual COL adjustments, for the rest of his life, just for waking up in the morning. It's a lucrative career if you go in right out of college (that they pay for) as an officer. He will be 44, and plans to move right into a second career in the civilian corporate sector, where he will likely make another six figures. Or, he can get another federal or state government job and retire with a second pension in 20 more years. It's a good deal financially, but there are very real costs. His mental and physical health has suffered immensely and he has some issues that you don't commonly find in people until they reach their 70s. It's definitely a trade off.

 

[GreatLakes]

Part of the problem isn't motivation, it is qualification. I was listening to a podcast a little while ago that was talking about the high number of enlistees that can't pass the basic physical assessment.

But to answer the original question I would be shocked if a draft was ever re-implemented. There may be a change to benefits to incentivize more people to join but I don't think we will see a Vietnam era draft again.

 

[tvguy]

That stopped selective service registration for a time right after Vietnam ended. I fell into that time period when I turned 18, so I have never registered. Not that any service would want an over 60 anyway.

I am in the same situation. I believe if you were born in the last half of 1956, all of 1957 and the first half of 1958, you never had to register.

 

[tvguy]

I also grew up in a military family in a military town, Columbus GA / Fort Benning. A large percentage of the people I graduated high school with enlisted. Not because they wanted to serve their country but because enlisting provided them with a great career path that with work guaranteed promotion and stability.

I'm in Sacramento. If we don't have the largest number of military retirees here, I would be surprised. Mather AFB, McClellan AFB, the Sacramento Army Depot, Rough and Ready Naval Depot and Sharpe Army Depot are now closed, but were all active when I graduated from High School in 1975. Travis AFB and Beale AFB remain open today. That is a lot of military installations basically within about a 60 mile area. But many of my high school classmates were Military Brats, and them going into the military was just the natural thing to do. Hard to blame them, at the time it was a 20 year career......with danger for sure during the Vietnam War.......that paid lifetime benefits.
My wife's step sister's husband put in 22 years, retired from the Air Force at age 42 as a Master Sgt, then took the skills he learned to get hired in a $90 an hour job working for Boeing in Louisiana.

 

[CP3uhoh]

Sir, this is a Disney message board.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Sir, this is a Disney message board.

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[GAN]

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