Talk about words to shiver your timbers.

They would have been fighting words even ten years ago, but right now? One can speak them and not even have to duck, so tenuous is the state of our country and its military.

When the world moves closer every day to a major conflagration, but our Department of Defense seems more interested in social programs than, well, “defense,” people notice.

Diversity is a strategic imperative critical to mission readiness and accomplishment. We were on site for the 2023 inaugural @DoD_ODEI Summit as DEIA experts led forums to advance the DEIA and DoD mission — because our people matter. pic.twitter.com/VX42BC1Imo

— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) February 18, 2023

They wonder where the military they served in has gone, what the focus of this military is now, and why should they steer their children into an organization determined to divorce itself from every principle in the oath one takes to serve.

Plenty of rights afforded citizens on the outside are surrendered when one enters the military, all assurances to the contrary aside, so it would make sense that those rights you hold would be even more sacrosanct, wouldn’t it? But as Ed pointed out just today, political operatives will leak a servicemember’s information if it helps their cause, and there seem to be no consequences for anyone but the servicemember victim.

Parents notice that. Servicemembers coming up to the end of their enlistments notice that.

Trust in the institution has evaporated. As anyone who was booted for not “taking the jab” and is now being begged by recruiters to come back in knows all too well. The military can kiss their cammies.

When I wrote (back in October) about veterans like my husband and myself, who could not encourage their children to follow them into the U.S. military, my thoughts were echoed uniformly in the comments by parents in similar circumstances. Some actively advised their kids “don’t even consider it,” which is heartbreaking to proud veterans, especially in traditional military families such as our own.

Then there’s the fact that a majority of today’s eligible American young people could never make the entry requirements, even if they had any desire to do so.

It may well be time to start thinking the once unthinkable.

Our nation is facing a national security threat: there are not enough military age people joining the U.S. Armed Forces. Yet, the world is still a threatening place, necessitating a robust American military. Democracy is being tested in Ukraine. China is a looming threat over another democracy, Taiwan. The United States must be ready to answer these and other potential challenges. A peace time draft can help solve this problem. At the same time, drafting politically polarized Americans can help bring the American people back together through a shared sacrifice and a sense of patriotism that military service fosters while simultaneously ensuring the political engagement of modern youth.

The Department of Defense in 2022 found that only 23% of people in prime military age (ages 17 to 24) qualify for service. Why so low? Obesity, drugs, mental/physical health, or a combination of these. Obesity is the largest single factor.

The Army has prep courses for potential recruits to try to help them drop the weight and get them physically up to basic snuff. The Air Force has raised the age to enter to 41, which is an absolute stunner. The Navy is offering up to a $50,000 enlistment bonus.

And yet they still can’t meet recruiting goals. What that does to the folks currently in the ranks is make an already miserable grind unbearable.

…But this experiment in an all-volunteer force has come with a price, a price we are now being asked to pay. An entire generation of servicemembers fighting the Global War on Terror found themselves deployed multiple times, with relatively short “dwell times” between deployments. Exhaustion of personnel and their families set in, not to mention an exhaustion of equipment. Yet the general public was woefully unaware of much of this. By having an all-volunteer military, Americans have essentially contracted their war-making to a small caste of their fellow countrymen. Out of sight, out of mind.

This must end.

The author makes a valid point. Too few are carrying the entire burden for too many.

…It is time for all Americans to share the responsibilities that come with enjoying the benefits of living in a democracy. The founders of this nation knew this, hence their use of militias to augment the small numbers of professionals during times of crisis. Citizen soldiers had been a hallmark of American history until 1973, only serving when needed, for however long it took to quell the crisis. Between 1940 and 1973, in an era of near-permanent crisis, the citizen soldier answered the call by either volunteering or mustering through the draft board for a few short years of service. Military service was almost accepted as routine – almost every American had a veteran in the family or knew someone whose family member had served. It was considered a patriotic duty.

This is what is missing in today’s military age youth: patriotism. A shared American identity. A July 2021 Pew Research Center study is revealing. Among Americans aged 65 or older, the last generation to be drafted, only 10% believed that other countries are better than the United States. In contrast, 42% of those aged 18 to 29 believed that.

I don’t know if his arguments for reinstating a peace-time draft will carry any weight, but they certainly need to be discussed seriously. The current situation is unsustainable, both for the country’s sake, and the health and well-being of the servicemembers in uniform.

For all the howling about the selective service, I am a big proponent of everyone being required to sign up. If you are physically able to serve, male or female, you need to trot down to the office when you hit 18 years old. This isn’t the 50s anymore – it’s not even the 80s, where one might still have been able to use the “but she’s a girl” excuse.

The services are fully integrated and women are a good part of at least 3 of them (Officer corps are: Army 18%, Navy 18%, Air Force 21%, Marines 7% female.). As combat infantry jobs aren’t on the table, there’s no excuse for every able-bodied American – from the girl next door to Triggly Puff at U Mass in her Wymmins Studies program…

#TheLegend https://t.co/FphyIOnWq9

— tree hugging s*ster 🎃 (@WelbornBeege) February 20, 2023

…not to be a part of protecting this country if need be.

The time to start getting down to brass tacks was yesterday but now will have to do.