Voluntary or Obligatory?

“Should military service be voluntary or obligatory?”

Well, the original question I was working on was:

“Do you think military service should be compulsory?”

But… whatever. Question merges can be weird.

We are dealing with opinion, here.

My perspective is that, sure, it should be compulsory/obligatory… in an ideal society, which most countries are not.

Last July, I answered the question “If the US army suffered severe casualties, how quickly could a civilian force be made operational?”and most of my feelings on the matter then are similar to those now: it is all about “quantity versus quality.”

Historically, a conscript-heavy military hasn’t fared well in terms of casualties and the public support for the conflict. From personal experience, even with the idea of an all-volunteer Army, some folks have a difficult time in fitting into the subset of American society they willingly chose to participate in. To bring in the reluctant recruits, in our current nations’ conflicts, would be to add unnecessary fuel to an already challenged operational environment. At the same time, the follow-on costs of providing the same medical and educational benefits would inevitably add to an already burdened Veterans Administration.

“So, why not just change the qualifications for those benefits to favor those who volunteer?” one might ask.

Ah, the epidemic of entitlement and protests for equality would seem to be lost on those who would venture such a suggestion. I can easily foresee an uptick in outrage were selective benefits to be mandated:

“Conscript or not, those who serve deserve compensation – after all, they didn’t want to serve!” And they would be correct in making such demands, in my own view. However, the fact of the matter is that the issue would become heavily politicized and contentious… without much in the way of sane and determined resolution.

So, we have the idea of quantity – adding more numbers to the already difficult notion of military service… what about quality?

Again, there is a challenge in getting someone to take up arms for a cause they neither believe in or have any desire to be part of. As I have written in the answer before, the 2015 numbers for those serving were 0.4% of the American population at the time. The other 99.6%?

[shrug]

In 2017, the outlook wasn’t all that good:

Three leading preventable causes of not being able to join the military include being overweight, lacking adequate education and having a history of crime or drug use… 71% of young Americans aged 17 to 24 are ineligible for military service.

I don’t imagine that these areas are key points of national focus today, either.

Obesity, education, and criminal history all paint a rather bleak picture of poor self-control, personal motivation, and societal cooperation for those not put into harm’s way. Consider how that would pan out under the threat of indirect or indirect fire… or when entrusted with the well-being and safety for the person to the left and right of them… in a questionable conflict with poorly-structured political goals?

Let me revisit an earlier point:

My perspective is that, sure, it should be compulsory/obligatory… in an ideal society, which most countries are not.

Compulsory or nationally mandated service could work – and has – for nations under constant threat for survival… or with a much more effective national will/identity necessitating such measures. Such service might foster a more cohesive national identity and sense of cooperation… and it could even be beneficial in providing a more intimate understanding of the relationship between policy and public opinion as well as an appreciation for the cross-section of society which would be forced to work towards a common goal in spite of actual or perceived differences.

The reality is, however, that for us… things would be par for the course. People would find ways to avoid compulsory service – either through influence, injury, or education. We just don’t operate well on the basis of idealistic notions.

“Do you think military service should be compulsory?”

Nah.