A Proposal to Bring Back the Draft In "Let's Draft Our Kids" (Op-Ed, July 10), Thomas E. Ricks makes a persuasive case to reinstate the draft (or an alternative national service program). I am a Vietnam veteran who served as an officer in the Navy from 1968 to 1973, during the period of national upheaval caused by our drawn-out foreign engagement. By contrast, consider the relative passivity of the nation during the past decade of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I believe that this is directly related to the lack of a draft. Mr. Ricks agrees with Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal that a draft might make Americans think more carefully before going to war. That's exactly right. It might also make Americans more vocal in their opposition to having mistakenly gone to war. GARY FISHMAN Albuquerque, July 10, 2012 As someone who was a draft counselor during the Vietnam War, I am less optimistic than Thomas E. Ricks that a new draft might "make Americans think more carefully before going to war." Although the Vietnam-era draft aroused almost unimaginable controversy and hostility, it still succeeded in providing the government an endless supply of bodies to send to the quagmire that was Vietnam. I wish I could share Mr. Ricks's optimism, but I fear that a new draft would just succeed in providing bodies for another war. Thomas E. Ricks's plan for reinstating the draft, while certainly interesting, forces 18-year-olds to make serious life decisions that they may not be ready for. Giving teenagers the opportunity to opt out of the draft or alternative national service at the cost of forfeiting all future government benefits is both reckless and unfair. The average 18-year-old is simply not in a position to understand the ramifications of such a decision and may end up sacrificing benefits that turn out to be essential. Thomas E. Ricks puts forth some good new ideas about creating a national service requirement. But "teaching in low-income areas" should never be equated with cleaning parks or mowing military lawns. Low-income students and others with high needs require experienced, well-trained teachers, not conscripted teenagers. These teenagers would be welcome in the classroom as assistants, but Mr. Ricks needs to remember that teaching is a profession, not a volunteer job. The writer is a teacher.