Kat, freightdawg is absolutely right on this one; there is ZERO chance that the draft will be reinstated. Several Dems have attempted to introduce the bill to put a fright into the voters and give Kerry something to talk about, but the current state of the military will never require a draft again for several reasons not stated above.


Each of the current members ot the armed services have a lethality that previous service members did not have. For example, the radios we used in the Nam were called PRC 25s and weighed about 25 pounds, and were issued at the platoon level, now each member of the platoon has a radio link, some as small as cell phones. We used lensatic compasses to shoot artillery, now they have GPS and laser target designators. All this to say we will never need the size of the military we had in the past, and the Army will continue to decrease though my Marine Corps will hold at it's current level.

There is a higher requirement to get in the service, with at least a High School diploma or a GED. I know because many of the students I have at the Job Corps have to wait long periods of time just to try out for the entrance exam (ACT).

In addition there was the stupid comment by Rangel that there were only several graduates from Cornell entering the service, and he wanted more of Americas elite in the military. His ignorance of the level of education now required to enter and stay in the military is breath taking. In the enlisted ranks you have little chance to make Staff Sergeant if you don't have either an AA or BS degree. And to rise above major you need a Masters. In fact, several years ago INC magazine had a front cover of a Marine Officer with the cutline, the "Best Business School in America". (The Marines use the cover as a recruiting poster now, for OCS/NROTC). Many of the General grade officers, have PHDs. I have never heard that the Marines suffered from a lack of Cornell graduates, and who knows, they may have failed the physical.

I will close by reminding some people that I was drafted in 67, and when the Marines came into the room to select their 10%, I stepped across the line. Later, though I had only a college level education of a Sophmore, I was selected to OCS and went to the Nam as a Lt. It turns out that I was one of only three draftees in the Corps to become an officer out of the draft. Times have changed and that would never happen now.

And as for the poor becoming our soldiers, a buck private makes $11.13 an hour, or $18,000 a year with full medical for he and his family, a housing and food allowance based on the local economy, and 30 days vacation the day he starts, and a full retirement in 20 years. How you doin'?