Ready for National Service?

While young Americans were enjoying their summer vacation, Charles Rangel, representative from New York, introduced H.R. 5741 in the House on July 15th. This Selective Service Act requires a two year mandatory service for the United States. The first paragraph reads:
To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, to authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strength requirements of the uniformed services, and for other purposes.
Interesting. All persons means women too. And what does "for other purposes" mean? Sounds like a catch-all phrase for anything the government wants.

Ready for the draft?

As you can see by this article, John McCain, Republican presidential nominee, is just the kind of war hawk to get us involved in more conflicts. The army is exhausted already, so the only way he can tell other countries what to do is to draft you. Yes, you.

As the new draft is written, it says all men and women, between the ages of 18 and 42, must serve two years in the military. You can't get out like people did during the '60's and '70's, where those in college were exempt. They've taken that away. So get ready to exchange your textbooks for a rifle and grenades.

I'm sick of war, especially now that we've been in Iraq for longer than the U.S. fought in World War II. And it's costing the U.S. 12 billion dollars a month! That comes from you and me, the taxpayers.

Army stretched and needs to grow

The draft is inevitable. The newly minted Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullin, said the army is not broken, but is "breakable." He said that Americans are in “a long, generational decades kind of conflict against the radical, extremist jihadists,” and that the Army and Marine Corps are unlikely to return to a peacetime posture in the near future.

"In this era of persistent engagement and conflict, I don't see our global responsibilities diminishing anytime soon," he said. "In fact, given the potential for regional instability throughout the world, I see our military missions expanding, not contracting.” Read the full article here.

Military missions expanding, not contracting. Long, generational decades kind of conflict. Interesting words. Only one way to fight that kind of protracted, drawn out war - with lots of people. Translation: the draft. As it's written now (see my other posts for a copy), all men and women between the ages of 18 and 42 must serve two years in the military. Time to write your rep in Congress and tell them to bring the troops home now and leave the rest of the world alone.

Prepare yourself to fight

The government will be calling for you soon. The war in Iraq is going poorly, and our army is tired and in dire need of rest. Two weeks ago, one of the army's generals said the army needs three years to re-equip, rest, and re-train. Even the National Guard is fighting over there. So it's only a matter of time before Congress reinstitutes the draft. It's actually been proposed twice in the last two years (for everyone between the ages of 18 and 42!). That's how government works. They keep introducing a measure, it keeps getting shot down, and just when you think it will never happen - there it is - law!

Read the House bill in its entirety here. And this time you can't get out if you're in college like someone could during the Vietnam War.

Better start doing more tricep and bicep work so you can toss those grenades far. Or brush up on your driving skills - I hear those tanks are hard to maneuver.