National Service (posted 5/17/10)
I was fortunate enough to serve my country in the military for a little over 6 years. I confess that I didn’t like the military much, but I did appreciate the opportunities and the personal growth that came from it. I served when there was a conscripted military and I believe that there were benefits that we should reestablish. First, we had a military with a number of people who were civilians at heart. They weren’t interested in furthering their careers and would ask questions and challenge leadership when the “lifers” didn’t want to appear non-supportive of a policy. Many policies needed to be challenged. The second advantage was that when they got out of the military, we had a civilian population that understood the military. This is important too. There were problems with the conscripted military of the 1970’s too. The rich and elite tended not to serve, which is a real shame as they especially need to serve their country and there was no draft for women.
So, how do we deal with this problem:
- Every person between 18 and 25 must serve the country for 2 years - no exceptions
- Service can be military, a civilian work force, care for elderly as long as it’s part of a service program but it has to have military discipline and must be covered by a UCMJ equivalent.
- They make almost nothing - say $400 a month in 2010 dollars, but their meals are provided in a mess hall, they have housing in a barracks and their medical care is provided free.
- Everyone honorably discharged from service is eligible for a GI Bill program
- Only those who receive an honorable discharge from their service are eligible to vote