{"id":4143,"date":"2013-11-18T13:13:53","date_gmt":"2013-11-18T18:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/nsj\/?p=4143"},"modified":"2013-11-18T13:40:36","modified_gmt":"2013-11-18T18:40:36","slug":"the-reverse-draft-bringing-the-military-and-society-back-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/nsj\/2013\/11\/the-reverse-draft-bringing-the-military-and-society-back-together\/","title":{"rendered":"The Reverse Draft: Bringing the Military and Society Back Together"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lieutenant Joseph Hatfield*<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If we cannot find a practicable political and economic rationale for inducing broader societal participation in military service, we should create a \u201creverse draft\u201d that places active duty service members in schools, non-profits, and other areas of American society.<\/p>\n

Sound crazy?\u00a0 Actually, a reverse draft is a politically feasible alternative that solves several of the problems associated with the all-volunteer military without the drawbacks associated with conscription.<\/p>\n

Last year General Stanley McChrystal came out in favor of<\/a> the military draft\u2014sparking a short-lived discussion over an issue most Americans probably assume was settled shortly after the Vietnam War.[1]<\/a>,[2]<\/a>,[3]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0 Sure, it crops up now and again.\u00a0 But the issue has not featured in presidential politics seriously since Nixon-McGovern<\/a> in 1972.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

General McChrystal offered the following reasons: the draft prevents the military from being unrepresentative of the population, the burden of war should be felt broadly across society, the all-volunteer military divorces public opinion about war from its human costs, and\u2014as Iraq and Afghanistan have shown\u2014too great a burden is placed on a small group of service members, doomed to multiple combat tours.<\/p>\n

While these arguments are not new, demographic trends suggest the disconnect McChrystal feared has already developed.\u00a0 When I was commissioned as a Naval Officer in 2006, less than 1 percent<\/a> of the U.S. populace had ever served on active duty. [5]<\/a>\u00a0 This is a 900 percent decrease from when my grandfather departed Europe in 1945 after fighting Nazi aggression in Patton\u2019s Third Army.\u00a0 In 1975, as my father finished a tour with the U.S. Army\u2019s Berlin Brigade, 70 percent<\/a> of Congress had worn the uniform.[6]<\/a>\u00a0 Today, this has dropped to just 20 percent.<\/p>\n

The disconnect between the military and broader American population leads some critics to characterize<\/a> the all-volunteer military as merely \u201ca mercenary army of the disadvantaged.\u201d[7]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a> \u00a0Critics worry that recruits fail to represent the nation\u2019s citizenry and are increasingly drawn from disadvantaged families residing in poorer regions of the nation.<\/p>\n

Yet in an economy that fails<\/a> to provide disadvantaged groups a means to achieve the American dream, one could argue that today\u2019s recruiting patterns play a positive role in achieving social justice.[8]<\/a>\u00a0 Though it would be better to cure the broader problem of economic inequality, military service offers an avenue of hope for the socially disadvantaged while such inequality exists.<\/p>\n

In terms of technical military prowess, abandoning the draft was arguably the first step toward the modernized force that today has no symmetric rival. As General Petraeus argued in his U.S. Army Field Manual on Counterinsurgency, it is this overwhelming conventional military superiority\u2014which includes the professionalization of its members\u2014that leads enemies of the United States to fight unconventionally.[9]<\/a>\u00a0 Still, better to be harassed by terrorists than on the brink of the Cold War\u2019s nuclear holocaust.<\/p>\n

Politically, a return to conscription seems impossible.\u00a0 While rolling back the volunteer-nature of our military recruiting process might help glue our society and armed forces back together, it comes at the price of a significant loss in individual liberty.\u00a0 Milton Friedman, an early supporter of an all-volunteer force, argued on the grounds of individual liberty<\/a> (1966) and for economic<\/a> reasons (1968) that in the long run a military draft could not and should not be maintained.[10]<\/a>,[11]<\/a><\/sup> What was libertarian advocacy then has become\u2014justified or not\u2014the common sense of today.<\/p>\n

A reverse draft would \u201cdraft\u201d active duty service members, already in uniform, to serve productive roles in American society as a dedicated tour of duty.\u00a0 Draftees might serve on farms, at schools, or in non-profits.\u00a0 They would connect with young and old, rich and poor, upending stereotypes about military service while providing useful social services.\u00a0 Able draftees originally recruited into the military from disadvantaged backgrounds could have the opportunity to enter social networks previously denied to them.\u00a0 More Americans, in turn, would be able to say they had some positive connection to military service.<\/p>\n

Of course, the devil is in the details.\u00a0 Critics might ask how having uniformed Wal-Mart greeters helps anyone.\u00a0 Would draftees replace civilian jobs?\u00a0 Who would match service members with particular organizations?\u00a0 How long would draftees be off their military \u201ccareer path\u201d?\u00a0 Would pilots have to re-qualify after time out of the cockpit?<\/p>\n

Perhaps tours should be limited to \u201cnation-building\u201d enterprises such as schools, hospitals, public works, and the like.\u00a0 Tax-incentives to accept draftees (by choice) may help induce broader participation on the part of private interests.\u00a0 As in any draft, a skill-matching process could be implemented to ensure draftees can contribute to their assigned position. Some military jobs would simply need to be made exempt.<\/p>\n

These particulars would have to be worked out.\u00a0 But who said reconnecting the military to society would be easy?\u00a0 The status quo is not a long-term solution.<\/p>\n

The good news is we have already successfully accomplished similar initiatives.\u00a0 For example, the \u201cTroops to Teachers<\/a>\u201d program re-trains retiring service members to become schoolteachers. These newly minted teachers are often sent to inner city or troubled schools, thereby filling an important social need.\u00a0 Other programs include: community involvement of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), White House and other government Fellowships, ROTC programs on college campuses, voluntary community service provided by active duty service members, and more.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, a reverse draft does not solve the uneven distribution of war\u2019s human costs across American society.\u00a0 But it goes a significant way toward addressing the increasing disconnect between military service and American society.\u00a0 As a policy that preserves individual liberties and addresses issues of social justice, the reverse draft is a politically feasible proposal that should be on the national agenda.<\/p>\n

Joseph Hatfield<\/b><\/a> is an active duty U.S. Navy Lieutenant stationed in Sicily and a PhD Student at the University of Cambridge.\u00a0 He has published in Studies in Conflict and Terrorism<\/i> and the Armed Forces Journal<\/i>. \u00a0His dissertation focuses on the ethics of war.<\/b><\/p>\n


<\/p>\n
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[1]<\/a> Rogin, Josh, 2012. \u201cMcChrystal: Time to Bring Back the Draft,\u201d Foreign Policy<\/i>, (03 July 2012), Accessed: 30 October 2013. http:\/\/thecable.foreignpolicy.com\/posts\/2012\/07\/03\/mcchrystal_time_to_bring_back_the_draft<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[2]<\/a> Ricks, Thomas E., 2012. \u201cLet\u2019s Draft Our Kids,\u201d New York Times<\/i>, (09 July 2012), Accessed: 01 November 2013. http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/07\/10\/opinion\/lets-draft-our-kids.html?_r=0<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[3]<\/a> Rangel, Charles B., 2012. \u201cReinstating the Draft: Other Perspectives,\u201d New York Times<\/i>, (12 July 2012), Accessed: 01 November 2013. http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/07\/13\/opinion\/reinstating-the-draft-other-perspectives.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[4]<\/a> Glass, Andrew, 2012. \u201cU.S. Military Draft Ends, Jan. 27, 1973,\u201d Politico<\/i>, (27 January 2012), Accessed: 30 October 2013. http:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/stories\/0112\/72085.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[5]<\/a> Tavernise, Sabrina, 2011. \u201cAs Fewer Americans Serve, Growing Gap Is Found Between Civilians and Military,\u201d New York Times, <\/i>(24 November 2011), Accessed: 31 October 2013. http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/11\/25\/us\/civilian-military-gap-grows-as-fewer-americans-serve.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[6]<\/a> Eikenberry, Karl W., and David M. Kennedy, 2013. \u201cAmericans and Their Military, Drifting Apart,\u201d New York Times, <\/i>(26 May 2013), Accessed: 02 November 2013. http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/05\/27\/opinion\/americans-and-their-military-drifting-apart.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[7]<\/a> Goodman, Amy, 2004. \u201cNoam Chomsky on Yasser Arafat, Iraq and the Draft,\u201d Democracy Now! <\/i>(15 November 2004), Accessed: 02 November 2013. http:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2004\/11\/15\/noam_chomsky_on_yasser_arafat_iraq<\/a> (at 56:00).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[8]<\/a> Stiglitz, Joseph E., 2013. \u201cInequality Is a Choice,\u201d New York Times<\/i>, (13 October 2013), Accessed: 03 November 2013. http:\/\/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com\/2013\/10\/13\/inequality-is-a-choice\/?_r=1<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[9]<\/a> Petraeus, David, and James F. Amos, 2006. Field Manual 3-24: Counterinsurgency. <\/i>Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. (Section A-5) http:\/\/www.fas.org\/irp\/doddir\/army\/fm3-24.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[10]<\/a> Friedman, Milton, 1966. \u201cA Volunteer Army,\u201d Newsweek<\/i>, (19 December 1966, p. 100), Accessed: 01 November 2013. http:\/\/0055d26.netsolhost.com\/friedman\/pdfs\/newsweek\/NW.12.19.1966.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[11]<\/a> Friedman, Milton, 1968. \u201cThe Draft,\u201d Newsweek<\/i>, (11 March 1968, p. 82), Accessed: 01 November 2013. http:\/\/0055d26.netsolhost.com\/friedman\/pdfs\/newsweek\/NW.03.11.1968.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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