The James Dicks Blog

 

Since President Obama started campaigning years ago, he has been talking about some sort of national service; although this sounds like an interesting concept when you first hear it, there are many things to consider.

 

Do we need another draft?  The reserves are taxed; the National Guard is taxed and more specifically used for operations that may stretch their very scope.

 

What happens when people stop volunteering? I mean it was only about 10 months ago that the military branches were struggling to meet recruiting goals, then comes a horrible economy and recruiting goes up; but that isn’t the real answer to the problem nor is a draft. I was just discussing this very issue with my uncle and he had some great insight.  Instead of paraphrasing what he told me I decided to just share it with you as he wrote it.

 

What people probably don’t remember is every time you force someone to do military service you divide the country. History has proven this time and time again. It doesn’t work.

 

On the other hand for very little additional money you can make service so darn financially and motivationally attractive that few would turn down.  Give full education as it use to be. Give health benefits; give career assistance with actually a job preference and government contract preference to people who serve. People will be standing in line. And if someone argues that this produces a system that attacks the poor, my real argument would be… give me a generation and you will see the greatest distribution of wealth the country has ever seen because the poor who take advantage of jobs, increased wages, health care and post military education will no longer be the ones who are poor. Adults will tell their children in the next generation they better serve or else.

 

I couldn’t have said this better myself, in fact most of this is supposedly already being done or shall I say it was supposed to be done or offered.  If you are currently serving or have served you know that we are falling short of what should really be offered.  If you are not a veteran think about this and if you are, you know what I am talking about.  Prior to getting out of the service, you have to start planning for your medical journey with the VA and that will be a journey like no other.  Trying to get your benefits through the VA is a long and drawn out process, if it ever does get handled correctly.  I know lots of politicians are trying to make a better system but many of them have never served or tried going through the system; it can literally take years before you get you benefits. 

 

The horror stories you hear are some of the very reasons that recruiting suffers and that mandatory service is spoken in the halls of Congress among other places; fix what we have and deliver what we already promise we will do.  The military is like a business and there is no better way to attract new customers (new recruits) than to deliver, as promised.

 

James Dicks