Who serves

[Cletus]

That doesn't surprise me at all. I'm sure that, over the years when there was a draft, many men who would have never voluntarily sought out a career in the military discovered that it really was for them. Would you also agree that at least a good portion of the problems with conscripted individuals tend to subside, if not disappear all together, in a war zone?

Absolutely.

I have never really shared the idea that draftees were a big problem. I knew a good many who chose to stay in and made a career of the Army. They found a home and became good soldiers. Sure, there will always be some who simply don't want to be there and end up being problem children, but I think they would always be a minority and there are mechanisms in place to deal with them. That is even true of enlistees. We have at least one on this forum that I have no doubt was a pain in the ass when he was in.

Here is where I differ in my thinking from a lot of "volunteers". One of the things the draft does is bring in people with special skill sets who otherwise would probably never enlist. Mechanics, skilled tradesmen like welders, plumbers, EMTs, LEOs... These are all people who, if the military vets them properly can be assigned in billets relevant to their skill sets and save the service lots of time and money training them from scratch. Many draftees are older and bring experience it takes years to acquire. Many, because they are a little older, can help scared young kids make the transition from civilian to soldier.

While I don't think a draft is in general a good idea in time of peace, although I can see certain advantages to it... such a building a large Ready Reserve, able to be called to active duty in a crisis with minimal training time, I do not believe it is the recipe for disaster that a lot of people would like to make it out to be. It time of conflict, it becomes much more important.

[Tahuyaman]

I enlisted after the draft was eliminated. I don't recall any career soldiers when I joined being draftees. I'm sure that some did reenlist, but I believe the number was rather small.

[GrummanTomcat]

I was actually the first in my family to join the military. The jobs they offered interested me. But now being a vet who had working on Naval aircraft, fanboys make me want to claw my eyes out with some of the stuff they post on Naval aircraft groups on Facebook. It reflects the disconnect between civilian and military.

[Cletus]

I was actually the first in my family to join the military. The jobs they offered interested me. But now being a vet who had working on Naval aircraft, fanboys make me want to claw my eyes out with some of the stuff they post on Naval aircraft groups on Facebook. It reflects the disconnect between civilian and military.

My wife was a Squid, so was my Brother in Law. She was a radioman. I don't know what he did, but I know he was a Plank Owner on the Carl Vinson.

[Standing Wolf]

I was actually the first in my family to join the military. The jobs they offered interested me. But now being a vet who had working on Naval aircraft, fanboys make me want to claw my eyes out with some of the stuff they post on Naval aircraft groups on Facebook. It reflects the disconnect between civilian and military.

Naval Air "fanboys"? Dare I ask what kind of stuff they're posting?