More About The Draft Architecture

On November 18, 2006 there was a Veterans Day parade in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with high school bands, police cars, fire trucks, VFW groups, the mayor, and scout troops. There were an estimated 200 spectators. Two weeks later on December 2, 2006 on the same streets, same day of week, equivalent weather conditions, there was a Christmas parade with an estimated 10,000 spectators. The difference seemed to be Santa Claus, parade floats and dogs in the latter parade.

My only point to this comparison is to buttress my belief that lack of participation in our Armed Forces causes most people not to care. This will only get worse as participation in the military continues to narrow due to a lack diverse richness of socio-economic enrollment in the military.

I continue below outlining general concepts of a new draft plan:

West Point, Naval Academy, and Air Force Academy would continue to function under current guidelines and would be unaffected by new rules of volunteering or the draft.

All young people would register for the draft when their age becomes eighteen (both men and women).

Young adults would update their registration when their age becomes twenty-two (the usual age to graduate college).

Once again, update draft registration at age twenty-five (the theoretical age for completion of advanced degrees of business, law, clergy, etc).

Computers, Internet, and Information Technology make updates and keeping track of draft age citizens much easier than in the past.

The draft age range from 18 and 26 but could go to age 30 if deemed necessary.

College graduates would be drafted each summer after undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

The Department of Defense would catalog data about the make-up of military personnel and requisition from draft boards across the country the breakdown of people needed. This would comprise of male, female, race, education level, type of degree.

Draft boards accumulate names within their jurisdiction of each category and assign a number to each name. A random number generator would choose from each pool within the categories to decide who would be drafted.

Medical exams and processing centers would screen the people chosen and reject any who don't meet the basic physical and mental qualifications. Everyone else would enter a branch of service as determined by the Department of Defense.

Three years would be the length of active duty service.

The reward for serving in the military would be lifetime reimbursement payments of medical insurance premiums for the veteran and qualifying family members. This would be in addition to education, VA home loans, burial and other existing benefits.

Return here on Friday, December 8 for more about the draft.

Have a good day!