[Salon] Limited States Military Draft in prospect?

[Chas Freeman <cwfresidence@gmail.com>]

Blog/War

Posted Aug 11, 2023 by Martin Armstrong     https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/war/limited-military-draft-september-29-2024/

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The US military has been struggling to recruit new members for years. I have reported on this various times and noted that the computer predicts that a US draft may be approved on September 29, 2024. This date marks 51.6 years from the precise day that President Richard Nixon ended the draft on January 27, 1973.

The US military is already discussing the prospect of a “limited draft.” They are seeking 160,000 eligible people from a population of 30 million. The all-volunteer force has reached a “breaking point,” as Military.com put it, and the most effective way to solve the crisis is to force the youth into service. The military is now throwing around the idea of dedicating one month per year to recruiting a Selected Service to meet the annual recruitment goal.

Numerous countries ask all citizens to sign up for some type of service when they come of age. The US military never had the need for such a service as patriotism was high, and each branch offered numerous incentives to join. Military drafts or “conscription” date back to ancient times in Mesopotamia. The United States instituted a draft or conscription during the Civil War, which led to a series of bloody draft riots. Resistance to the draft, as managed by the Selective Service in the United States, reached a historic peak during the Vietnam War.

 

Every branch of the US military besides the Marine Corps has failed to meet their recruitment goals. We are low on ammo, as the commander-in-chief pointed out, and soldiers. The problem is two-fold. No one wants to enlist, and the number of young Americans who would actually qualify has reached a record low. A 2022 poll showed that only 9% of those eligible want to join the military, a major decrease from 29% in recent years.  Over half of the respondents (57%) were worried that they would suffer psychological damage from serving. A more recent poll from May 2023 indicates only 13% of 18 to 29-year-olds are “highly willing” to serve.

The last generation had the hot topic issue of 9/11, terrorism, and protecting their country’s freedom. This generation has been raised in classrooms where they sit for the pledge of allegiance and are taught that their country is inherently bad. They watched the Commander in Chief abandon their mission in Afghanistan and continually disrespect members of the military. Not to mention the military fired servicemembers who declined to take the experimental vaccine. One proposed solution was to offer citizenship to illegal immigrants who enlisted. Since top government agents are unable to define women, expect everyone to be targeted.

The US military could go into a hybrid model of recruiting new soldiers. War is coming either way. September 29, 2024, would be shortly before the next US presidential election. That, too is right on target, as the only possible way for Biden to stay in power would be to forego a real election process.