Military Draft Essay -- United States Military Army Essays

Military Draft According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the United States military now maintains a force of around 1.4 million active duty personnel. In times of relative peace, this is sufficient to protect U.S. interests at home and abroad. But when the United States engages in a larger scale operation, the military may need to call up reserve forces. In a major conflict, the United States may even institute the draft, drawing soldiers from the general civilian population. The idea of a military draft, also called conscription, has been around in one form or another since ancient times. In its relatively short history, the United States has implemented a number of different conscription systems to fill its military ranks in both peacetime and wartime. Currently, the United States is not practicing conscription; it has an all volunteer military, meaning active troops serve on their own accord. By offering a range of benefits to enlistees, the military is able to recruit enough troops to fill its ranks, at least during times of peace. Additionally, the United States maintains a volunteer national guard and a corps of volunteer reserve troops. These highly trained forces stand ready to assist the military at the president's command. In times of peace, the SSS's, Selective Service System, main task is to put together a list of potential draftees in the United States. The potential draftee pool is made up of male U.S. residents between the ages of 18 and 25. Und...