Should Military Service Be Mandatory in the United States?
Angela R. Jewell
Non Commissioned Officer Academy – Advance Leader Course # 13-003

Should Military Service be Mandatory in the United States?
In the world today, there is approximately fifty percent of countries that mandate their citizens to serve in their military for an extended period of time. Those countries that do require their citizens to serve base it on the simple fact that they need to be ready for war AT a moments notice and if all their citizens know how to fight they will succeed in any battle in which they are placed. Israel, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Germany, and Russia are some examples of democratic countries that require their citizens to serve the national government, not just in the military, in order to mold a better-quality adult in today’s world. With any serious subject that is being considered for implementation, there are those who believe that such an action would be beneficial to any country and those that deem it would do nothing but tear down a society and what a country stands for. As this topic is debated in the United States, both sides need to seriously consider if the implementation of national service helps build the patriotism of its young, if it helps in solving some of the social ills that plague society, and how it develops the character of the individuals that serves. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States of America came together in an act of extreme patriotism to aid those with monetary donations and volunteer efforts who were directly affected by the tragedy. As the world looked at America from the outside, they could see a large nation who prided themselves on their patriotism and if anyone stood in their way, there will be consequences. If conscription were implemented Americans would be able to unite around a common cause and not care about what religion, race, or what background one another came from and only care about how each other completes the task at hand and succeeds with the mission. In an article written by Samantha Dewees, Markus Salolainen, a citizen of Finland who served under conscription in the Finnish military remarks, “The military gives a unique opportunity to bond with men from all over the country. In my mind, this experience of ‘togetherness’ is an important building block for a healthy national self-esteem and positive patriotism,” (Dewees, 2012). Serving in a government position also promotes the thought of working together as a team which in turn promotes patriotism and not only thinking for ones own egotistical needs and wants. On the other hand, such actions can also be the foundation in which extreme nationalism and dislike of foreigners may come about unknowingly. There are those who also state that if our young were forced into government service it can only cultivate hate against any authority and weaken the skills that a person might have learned. By allowing all countrymen to serve also poses the risk of increased deviant behavior such as rape, assault, harassment, stealing, and murder. Today the military is not allowing those who do not have high school degree, or have been convicted as a felon be accepted into the service. The reason for this is that in the past by doing so, the moral of the military saw a significant decrease as the number of crimes that have been committed have increased to great heights by letting those individuals serve their country in some capacity. “One of the mass army’s enduring myths—in the United States and elsewhere—is that, because it brought together individuals of various backgrounds in common cause and in a collaborative spirit, it provided a setting well-suited to breaking down fundamental social cleavages,” (Krebs, 2006, p12). The fact remains that when people are from different parts of the globe, have different religious views, and have different family histories come together for a cause, those same people do not tend to bother with the trivial endeavors that plague our society. Instead they feel as thought they are apart of a team to get the larger end goal complete. When the draft ended in 1973 there are some who claim that the line between the rights of individuals and the obligations of the same became blurred and to this day remain the same. Because of that blurred line, military service is now what civilians see as patriotism not an obligation to the country. A different type of plague on society that can be cultivated while serving ones country is militarism. By definition, militarism is maintaining a strong military spirit or policy or it can be the tendency to regard military efficiency as the supreme idea of the state and to subordinate all interests to those of the military (Online Dictionary 2010). Even with being in the military that has not been conscripted, a lot of those who serve think that they can get away with anything. An example, on a smaller scale of militarism, is when a Soldier in uniform gets pulled over. Majority of those that are pulled over by the cops think that they will be let off just because they wear the uniform even if they know that they were speeding. Another result of making military service mandatory is that the social status you have or how much of an education you have received does not matter. You will still be under the command of someone who is higher in rank than you and your past does not matter to folks who should take a personal interest in you. Under a militaristic society, all of those who serve will just as soon as become brainwashed adults that believe that they are superlative and unbeatable to each and every different walk of life. Does the average American fresh out of high school know the types of skills that are valuable in today’s workplace? Does the average high school graduate have such great responsibilities that include making sure their buddies to the left and right of them makes it back to their families alive? Does the average student who goes onto college appreciate their freedom to such a great extent that they would do anything to make sure that they stay free? Unless faced with unusual circumstances that promote and encourage such feats, none of the three questions that were listed would be answered yes. If a compulsory military service were to be introduced to the American society, young adults would be able to display the characteristics of an exemplary citizen. Such characteristics include but are not limited to, respect for those in authority, needed discipline, skills in leadership, courage to face life’s challenges, knowledge, and of course responsibility. But it is impossible to dictate the outcome of such a drastic change in a society. If mandated in the United States of America, military service would no longer be patriotic and it would escalate to be like, if not indistinguishable, to what happened during and after the Vietnam War when the draft was still in place. Take Israel for example. They are a small country who are constantly on alert ready for war because of the threat that is posed to them on a daily bases. America has no such threat and although some argue that terrorism is a real threat here on American soil, Americans do not have to run and hide every day from mortar attacks or rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) . Both of the movements that are in support of and against conscription equally have very valid arguments for their cause. Arguments that consist of how mandatory military service affects the patriotism of citizens, how it shapes the social climate, and how it has an effect on the character of individuals are just a few of the many topics that critics and supporters have. For the United States to believe that mandatory military service should take place within a certain amount of time after the age of 18, they first need to take into consideration how will affect our young and the country as a whole. The United States also should ask before the implementation of any serious change that would affect the entire country, are we in need of such a substantial force to battle the enemies of today and tomorrow?

References
Dewees, Samantha. "Verde Magazine." Verde Magazine. Wordpress, 4 Oct. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
Krebs, Ronald R. Myths of the All-Volunteer Force: Rethinking Military Recruitment and the Fate of the Citizen-Soldier. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, ND. p 43. http://www.polisci.umn.edu/~ronkrebs/Publications/Myths%20of%20the%20AVF% 20(complete).pdf.
Militarism. (n.d.). Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/militarism.