Toadwater Inn => The Padded Cell => Topic started by: Skcubrats on April 01, 2005, 05:56:01 am
Title: "Patriotism".. A Sticker on Your SUV
Post by: Skcubrats on April 01, 2005, 05:56:01 am
I guess TW should be re-written for handhelds so soldiers can play it on the battle field?
WASHINGTON - If American forces aren't pulling out of Iraq in a
year, a
draft will be needed to meet manpower requirements, military
analysts warned
Wednesday.
With recruitment lagging and no end in sight for U.S. forces in
Iraq, the
"breaking point" for the nation's all-volunteer military will be
mid-2006,
agreed Lawrence Korb, a draft opponent and assistant defense
secretary in
the Reagan administration, and Phillip Carter, a conscription
advocate and
former Army captain.
"America's all-volunteer military simply cannot deploy and sustain
troops to succeed in places like Iraq while still deterring
elsewhere in the world," Carter concluded in the March issue of
"Washington
Monthly."
Korb is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a
liberal think
tank, and a senior adviser to the Center for Defense Information.
Carter is
attorney who writes on military affairs for Slate.com and other
media. They
debated at a symposium on the draft Wednesday.
While conceding that the Army, Marines, National Guard and Army
Reserve --
the branches serving most in Iraq -- face recruitment
difficulties, military
officials have denied any plans to revive the draft, which was
an all-volunteer force in 1973.
"The 'D-word' is the farthest thing from my thoughts," Army
Francis Harvey said at a Pentagon press briefing last week. He
said the
all-volunteer force has proven its value and applauded the
performance of
soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"When you get over there, there's no difference between the
active, the
Reserves and the National Guard. The quality is high across the
board. ...
It's seamless," he said.
During his re-election campaign, President Bush declared flatly
that he
would not reinstate the draft. And there is little support for
conscription
on Capitol Hill.
"Today, no leading politician in either party will come anywhere
near the
idea -- the draft having replaced Social Security as the third
rail of
American politics," wrote Carter.
However, the analysts said that the all-volunteer army is on the
verge of
"breaking" under current circumstances. The 3rd Infantry Division
based in
Fort Stewart, Ga., and the 4th Infantry Division based in Fort
Hood, Texas,
are among the units that are being sent back for a second tour in
Iraq.
The National Guard and Reserves historically depend on men and
women leaving
active duty to fill their ranks, Carter pointed out. But they're
not going
to join if it means they will be sent right back to Iraq in an
unit, he said.
Military men, women and machines are all suffering from repeated
deployments.
"What keeps me awake at night is what will this all-volunteer
force look
like in 2007," Richard Cody, the Army Vice Chief of Staff, told
Armed Services Committee on March 16.
Korb, assistant secretary defense for manpower from 1981 through
1985, said
the current rotation is unfair to the "patriotic" men and women
volunteered for military service and are stuck on a cycle in and
Iraq. Since only a tiny segment of the populace is sacrificing,
political pressure to change the system, he said.
"If you had a draft right now, I think you'd be out of Iraq," Korb
The American society "hasn't gotten the message that we're at
war," agreed
Carter.
"Those at peril are completely divorced from those in power," said
Shields, a syndicated columnist and TV commentator who moderated
symposium. "It's 'Patriotism Lite' -- you put a sticker on your
SUV."
Title: Re: "Patriotism".. A Sticker on Your SUV
Post by: Noval on April 01, 2005, 07:17:53 pm
I was discharged from active duty in 1995. This week I got a letter asking my readiness status. :o
Post by: Anok Naiiawah on April 01, 2005, 10:17:12 pm
Quote from: Noval on April 01, 2005, 07:17:53 pm
You have read the news where the military are openly saying "we will need the draft again in2007"?
Post by: Gnomer McGnomeicans on April 03, 2005, 04:19:07 am
LAME! when i turn 18 is when they might be doing the draft. Goodbye america. Hello canada.
Post by: faust on April 03, 2005, 04:33:02 am
Wow. Don't forget to write us from Baghdad, alright? But only when you're not too busy losing vital body parts...
Post by: LordShaggy on April 03, 2005, 08:00:28 am
its a good thing they wont be calling me thats for sure ;D
tho id love to tell them to shove it
Post by: Night-Eagle on April 03, 2005, 08:07:34 am
It is a shame so many people form stereotypes on the "average" "American".
...always wondered what death is like...*wanders off*
Post by: Matt Siegman on April 03, 2005, 09:36:42 am
I don't think the draft will happen anytime soon. I sure hope it doesn't... I'm in their little age group...
Post by: Duff Man on April 03, 2005, 07:47:54 pm
Quote from: Gnomer McGnomeicans on April 03, 2005, 04:19:07 am
See ya later bye!  :-*
Post by: Matt Siegman on April 03, 2005, 10:04:12 pm
If you aren't willing to fight when your country needs you, then you should move to Canada. Get the fuck out. NOW.
Post by: Night-Eagle on April 03, 2005, 10:07:01 pm
Quote from: Brother Treebeard on April 03, 2005, 10:04:12 pm
If you aren't willing to fight when your country needs you, then you should move to Canada. Get the fuck out. NOW.
Some people shouldn't call themselves American.
It is just not right.
(I agree)
Post by: Ajira2k on April 04, 2005, 03:33:58 am
partiotism at its finest
When I was their age, I probably would have gone to Vietnam. We had the draft and my birthdate would have been in the next draft. I had military training, etc.
Nowadays, I am very adamant, that I will only fight on my soil and not overseas. There is too much politics involved in foreign wars.
They won't be able to pull me back in. I have been out of active duty for 10 years and off Inactive Ready Reserve for 6 years.Â
I already have a National Defense ribbon from the first time we did Iraq.
Legally I am covered. They just have their paperwork screwed up.Â
By the way Treebeard, your local recruiter needs you and is waiting.
Hey Toad, are you from Wales or Australia?
I said if they draft, I won't be a little bitch and try to get out of it. There is a difference.
Fighting when your country needs you and fighting when Dick Cheney and his oil buddies need you are 2 different things
Post by: LordShaggy on April 04, 2005, 10:37:41 pm
Quote from: Qill on April 04, 2005, 05:32:42 pm
so very true