Libertarianism 101: Volunteer Military

As an Air Force veteran, I have a feeling of deep respect, admiration, and gratitude for those who are making extreme personal sacrifices to serve in our armed forces - both in combat and non-combat areas and roles. Being in the military isn't easy. The pay stinks, you are routinely placed in harm's way, you and your family are frequently forced to pack up and move, there are extended periods of family separation, and any retirement compensation is an all or nothing proposition (i.e., 20 years minimum service). Oh yeah, the chance to be wounded, maimed, or killed is a lot greater than in the civilian world.

But, somehow, there are individuals who volunteer for this duty. Some, including members of Congress, would rather we re-institute the draft. Why do they want to do this? Because our forces are depleted and we're not able to recruit qualified soldiers? Nope. They want to re-institute it as some sort of social engineering program ... because there aren't enough rich kids, or white kids, or congressmen's kids volunteering. Is this at all logical? Have you ever coached one of your kid's sports team? Which kids pay attention, follow direction, and cause the least amount of disruption? The ones who want to be there or the ones whose parents forced them to be there? Pretty obvious, isn't it? Likewise, why would we want to force unqualifed, unmotivated, spoiled brats (in many cases) into our military - just because we want the military to represent society as a whole (another Congressional affirmative action argument)? If so, would we have to place caps on the number of, say, Black officers? Say what? Well, Black college graduates comprise some 12 percent of the officer corps in the all-volunteer force, yet only 7.6 percent of all college graduates are Black. Should we insist on a representative force by placing a cap on the number of Black officers? Sounds pretty silly ... doesn't it?

Some additional rationale:

Higher Quality Individuals
When you rely on conscripts, you pretty much get what you get. Yeah, they have to meet the minimum physical requirements, but the mental ability is an unknown. Today's military is extremely high-tech. Sophisticated weaponry and support systems are everywhere. Do we really want high-school dropouts operating this stuff ... even with training?

Higher Rentention
What happens when the service requirements expire for a conscript? More than likely they leave the military. If they had wanted to be there, they wouldn't have been drafted ... they would have volunteered. Volunteers are far more likely to stay in the service ... which results in less recruiting costs, less training costs, and a more efficient fighting force.

Individual Liberty
The Government of a country built upon the concept of freedom and individual liberty shouldn't be forcing it's citizens to do anything ... other than obey the law. Conscription would undermine the very individual liberty that makes our nation worth defending. Do we really want people defending America who aren't motivated to do so without government force?

Check out what some other folks (who are much more intelligent and coherent than I) think:

• The Virtue of an All-Volunteer Force


• The Libertarian Roots of the All-Volunteer Military


• Fighting the War Against Terrorism: Elite Forces, Yes; Conscripts, No