Description of U.S. military enlistment:

• Volunteer military
  • Both male and female can enlist, but females cannot be in combat.
• Over 18
• High school diploma
• In good health and physical fitness
• During war, if more troops are needed, the President can call for a draft.
  • This means all men over 18 can be required to enlist if they are chosen.
  • Selection during the draft is random.
  • Refusing to serve if drafted is against the law (go to jail).
  • The last time this happened was the Vietnam War.

Blog post:
Written by P. Hedt, summarized by A. Tomanek

What would happen if the United States required mandatory military service for its young people? First of all, it would raise patriotism, and it would also make out government less likely to go to war. Our society would become stronger, both physically and mentally, and other nations would be less likely to attack the U.S. because of our strong society.

If men and women go from high school to the military, it would require an assessment test when the students leave high school, to assess knowledge and intelligence levels. This would increase the educational standards in the school system. Students and parents will take school more seriously, because their futures depend on it. Schools will receive more money and supplies, and teachers will receive more respect, because of the important role they will be playing not only in the lives of children but also in the future of the military.

Soldiers would be required to serve at least two years in the armed forces. In that amount of time, they get to travel the world, learning about other cultures and world events. They gain a wealth of knowledge from their travels, and they learn that the rest of the world does not have many of the things Americans take for granted. They will carry this knowledge about world events and cultures with them to teach their children, making the world less America centered on Americans.

Because people would be required to become physically fit, obesity levels in America would drop. This would also cause medical problems related to obesity such as diabetes to nearly disappear. Life expectancy would go up, and money which had previously been poured into health care would be saved.

If everyone is required to serve in the military, this would include children of the president and Congressmen. In the past, soldiers were primarily from the lower, poorer classes of society. The government would me much less likely to go to war, knowing that their own children would also have to go fight.

The effects of making military service mandatory are numerously good. A chain reaction would take place, and American society would reform itself. We would become better educated, more physically fit, and more sensitive to the problems of the world.

Video of speaker: