The decision to draft or not raises fundamental issues that every society and government has to confront. It is a question of individual liberty against the responsibility that a person has to the country or society. Different countries have applied military drafts with varied level of success in situations of war to raise the military numbers required in a battle zone. Those in support of military drafts assert the need for increased manpower, the draft as a rite of passage, a chance for personal development and its role in ensuring justification for war. The counterarguments include violation of personal choice, indifference in the military, poorly trained and low-quality soldiers.
Arguments for Draft
The government may need to carry out a military draft to get increased manpower when there is such a need. The military numbers are an important psychological boost both to the nation and the soldiers, especially in combat situations. A draft has always been used when the military numbers could determine the winner in combat. Ruschmann, (2013) asserts that e ven though it was used extensively in the 20th century to give numerical advantages and win wars during an age in which war was less technological, it is still necessary especially when a nation wants to mount a credible battle or defense without entering into military alliances with other countries. Whereas alliances can be beneficial, they can also lead to leakage of military intelligence that could be costly to an army.
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According to Hod, (2014), a military draft is considered “an important rite of passage which serves to enhance social solidarity in the society.” The fact that every person of a given age has to serve in the military is important and acts as an equalizing factor for all. It will enhance a sense of patriotism and a greater understanding and appreciation of the challenges of the military life. The army needs not to be perceived as made up of people from a given religious, social or economic background but an amalgamation of all the different groups of people in the society. If made up of people from all walks of life, there will be a wide range of viewpoints within the military which is healthy for the nation. Currently, the American military is perceived to be made up of the conservatives who are evangelicals and Republicans in their political orientation. A military draft can help to solve this perception by having people of the selected ages all having to serve their countries regardless of their backgrounds.
Simon & Abdel-Moneim, (2011) argue that a military draft is “often a good opportunity for the conscripted to get an education and other forms of training that the others cannot access.” While in the military, the soldiers have to learn team working skills and important training in other areas such as engineering and medicine which offer support to the combat soldiers. The skills that they gain can still be applied in their lives after the military. They are often successful because they apply discipline and other soft skills that they learn in the military to their areas of work.
A military draft will lead to greater accountability and justification from the authorities for the need to go to war. When some of the traumatic incidents that occur in war become real to a greater segment of the population, there will be greater opposition to unnecessary wars. Ruschmann, (2013), argues that “t he reality that the children of the affluent will be called up to take arms and got to battle will make them question the merits of some wars especially when the nation's internal security and interests are not threatened.” A case in point is the Vietnam War where the conscription fueled to anti-war sentiments.
Arguments against Draft
The fact that military draft is a compulsion has made many to consider it a form of slavery which many consider immoral. According to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, ‘forcing a person to serve against their will is illegal globally’ (United Nations Centre for Human Rights, 1996) . In some instances, military drafts have been compared to the severe violation of human rights such as sex slavery and human trafficking among others. In the US, a legal challenge against draft did not get a favorable ruling as it was considered an implied power of the Congress which is also mandated to declare war and appropriate funding for the same.
Conscripts that have no interest in service pose a great danger to their colleagues in the army and indeed to the entire service. According to Rostker, (2016), i n their indifference, they are likely to engage in reckless behavior that could lead to danger, accidents, and deaths. They could sabotage important military activities so that they can find their way out of the service. Additionally, their limited motivation for the military activities makes them slow in learning important military skills and therefore unnecessary wastage of resources.
It has been argued that conscription produces low-quality soldiers compared to a system in which the soldiers volunteer to serve in the army. In many cases, those enlisted in the draft do not have the mindset or the physical attributes required to actively engage in combat. They often constitute an ineffective fighting force that just increases the numbers but not the quality of combat. In many cases, the nature of their training is related to the limited resources that are often at the disposal of the army to train the huge number of conscripts. As a result, each soldier has a low resource allocation for their training as compared to the situation if there was a less number of volunteer soldiers. The conscripts get only basic training and are expected to learn the real tactics of battle in the war zones. Essentially, this results in the caliber of soldiers who can only march and shoot on order but do nothing else.
Conclusion
Even though opinions remain divided on this important and at times emotive issue, the government has the ultimate power to make the decision in the best interest of the country. Because of this mandate, there has to be a balance between social responsibility and individual freedom for every person. The right decision would depend on the situation; massive military campaigns in which a country is under threat would demand a military draft. In any other military situation, the country can use the voluntary soldiers for the stated reasons.
References
Hod, B. (2014). The need for a military draft: Prepare to see the world . Place of publication not identified: AOM Pub. Unit.
Rostker, B. (2016). I want you!: The evolution of the all-volunteer force . Santa Monica, CA: RAND.
Ruschmann, P. (2013). Mandatory Military Service . New York: Infobase Pub.
Simon, R. J., & Abdel-Moneim, M. A. (2011). A handbook of military conscription and composition the world over . Lanham, Md: Lexington Books
United Nations Centre for Human Rights. (1996). Advisory services and technical assistance in the field of human rights: 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 . Geneva, Switzerland: Centre for Human Rights.
