<&nbs><&nbs><&nbs><&nbs><&nbs>Having joined the Army to avoid the draft - for an extra year I got my choice of schools, and a much easier time in Basic Training - I have mixed emotions about a draft.

<&nbs><&nbs><&nbs><&nbs><&nbs>I rather favor a system similar to the one postulated by Robert Heinlein in his book, Starship Troopers. In this governmental system, one could live all his or her life without ever seeing the inside of a barracks, but if s/he wished to become enfranchised, vote or hold elective office, s/he must voluntarily successfully complete a term of civil service. This with the understanding that after volunteering, s/he would be placed in a job that fit the needs of the government and the abilities of the volunteer. Thus with the right abilities, one could become a starship pilot or navigator, or a research biologist, or a mud foot infantryman - unlike the movie, Heinlein's infantry was not co-ed.

<&nbs><&nbs><&nbs><&nbs><&nbs>This may seem tough, but it was designed to insure that anyone who desired to vote or hold elected office must have become imbued with the ideal of placing the good of others above personal good.

<&nbs><&nbs><&nbs><&nbs><&nbs>Dave