Do you think every American should serve a term of no less than two years in the military?

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Ray H	There are too many whiny little brats, to implement that sort of plan. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

DietrichVonQuint	I would say no. The reason that I say so is that not everyone is suited to the service. However if it were national service and not military service then yes it would be a good idea. The military should be a volunteer force. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Lion Rickey	As a Veteran, no we are a free country and that should be a choice each person makes. Of course in extreme times we can implement a draft until the need is over. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Coriantum	I don't believe that we should do anything just to be like other countries. They have to use forced military service because what they have is not worth fighting for. Our situation is much different, and with the exception of extreme war issues we should continue with the original plan - volunteer service. We should, however, do a much better job of educating the youth as to what it means to be an American and why they should WANT to serve. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

pangleton88	no. most people aren't cut out for the military. i'm in the military and its not so bad only because you have to enjoy it. its a mental game. you have to go in wanting to be there. most people probably can't do that Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Dr Jello Doctor of Science	Of course not. Forcing people to work at something they don't choose is just another form of slavery. The military should always be kept voluntary. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

melissa	Interesting, because you're right, it IS the norm outside of the U.S. But usually people who are in the US military are in for much longer, plus they end up on other sides of this rather large country. I dont know, I'm on the fence. I dont think anyone should HAVE to join something they dont want to do, or fight a war they dont believe in though. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

open4one	If we assume that the average person will work from age 22 to age 65, that's 43 years of their working life. If we assume that each person works 2,000 hours per years, that's 86,000 hours of life spent working, which is a total of almost 3600, days, or 9.8 years working for a living. If you figure a standard tax rate of 15% plus the 7.51% FICA, that's calculates as about 2.2 years of the average American's life spent just to pay federal taxes. And you want two more? On a more basic philosophical note, the Constitution prohibits "involuntary servitude", and despite the Draft having been effected before, there's no way to conscript in the United States without violating the Constitution. Even for those of you who can perform the mental gymnastics necessary to overlook this, there's no way to refute an assertion that having a Draft totally contradicts anyone's notions of "freedom" such that if America has a Draft, America isn't America. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

hangarrat	WOW!!! I was drafted out of a good paying job, while I was going to evening college to become an engineer. I would otherwise never have gone into the military, being drafted was not the answer. I'm now writing a book... A NARCOLEPTIC in the U.S. Army I can only thank GOOD that I survived my 13 months in Vietnam, not to mention the mental anguish I suffered at the hands of D.I.'s, and the crapy way I was treated by the "old brown boot" lifers when i got back and still had 12 months to serve (I took an extra year to stay out of the infanry as an aviation mechanic). So the answer is a firm no, for heavens sake look around you. Do you want some of the riff-raff you see walkng the streets defending your freedoms?? Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Riley Boy's Mommy	Absolutely not that will open our military up to rogue individuals who do not want to participate so they will sabotage our well being. I for one would love to be able to enlist however due to my eyesight I was turned down. Being a part of our elite forces should be an honored privilege not a forced part of life. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Bill H	I agree. 2 year national service, not necessarily military though. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Heather	I don't think that we should. We have enough people that willingly join the military every year. There are many exceptions that would be made in any case so I think that we "run" our military as it should be Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

smars442002	We are not most countries, we get enough volunteers to enlist to protect our great country. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

irockarolex	When should this happen? Especially for the college bound? I don't see it as being feasible Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Rawbert	I agree that every American should serve, but not every one can. It would help you to mature and look for a purpose in life. Gave me a chance to grow and get the partying out of my system. Now I appreciate things more. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

jeeper_peeper321	Nope, for a very simple reason. We can not afford it. There are 2 million 18 yr old males 2 million 18 yr old females 2 million 19 yr old males 2 million 19 yr old females. A two year national service, we would have a military of atleast 9 million, more likely 10 million. Thats vs the 1.5 million we have today. We do not have the bases or barracks to house 10 million service members. We would have to convert every stateside Base we have now, just to get them thru Basic training. We currently put about 150,000 people thru basic training a year now. With a two year national service, that would increase to 4 million a year. We would need almost as many DI's as the Marine Corp currently has Marines. And again, what would they all do all day ? With a 2 year enlistment, they couldn't be trained to do anything technicial, not enough time. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Greg D	No. I wish that everyone would on their own volition as I did. But I think it would infringe upon our personal freedoms to mandate military service in a time such as this. Mandatory service was necessary during WW1, and WW2 because of the circumstances; however, times are different now. I believe that the government should have the right to draft people (under specific circumstances), but otherwise I would keep our military as a volunteer military. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Ahhtchoo	Do I think they SHOULD? Absolutely - if they're able-bodied and wish to preserve the freedoms that we all enjoy, then yes. To those who say that military members are poorly educated, I beg to differ. To those who say that the military is "stupid," I say you're wayyyy out of line - if there were no United States military, YOU would not be able to sit here and type uneducated, disrespectful things. Do I think it should be mandatory? No. People who don't want to be there will drag morale down for everyone and cause terrible division among the ranks. Our Army would no longer be a great team. I am so angry that people view the troops as "stupid" and "mindless." The Soldier's Creed dictates that we protect their right to feel that way, though, and I'll fight for it to my dying breath. I'll also fight for other countries to have the freedoms that we enjoy - it's not right at all for people to be afraid in their very own homes, no matter what their ethnicity or country of origin. War aside, even, how do you people think that foreign aid gets brought to countries who need it? Do you think Angelina Jolie brings enough rice and water for entire villages in her backpack? Nope. WE, the military, deliver it. You don't have to support this war - we servicemembers make sure that you have the freedom to disagree. But don't bash the troops - we, no matter what you civilians think, care about our people so much that we're willing to die for you. If someone tried to invade the United States, we would take care of the situation. What's that? You say that no one IS trying to invade us? OF COURSE THEY'RE NOT. Would you like to know why? BECAUSE THEY'RE AFRAID THAT WE WOULD ANNIHILATE THEM - and for good reason. Quit bashing the troops - we don't bash civilians even though they haven't the courage to stand up for what's right. Understandably, there are those that can't serve for medical or other reasons - and that's ok, because we know that you would if you could. Thank you for trying! So, in short, I think Americans SHOULD serve, but I don't believe it should be mandatory. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

cheechalini	Although i do beleive in duty to ones country, both civic and otherwise, i do not feel as though compulsary military service in our country is best. Sure it does work in other country's, and well in most. The best example is Isreal as far as i am concerned. But this sense of duty in part of their upbringing, and further more, they have an enemy that is a real and everyday threat to their exsistance, reguardless of your political views. Also, not everyone is cut out for militray service. An all volunteer force ensures that you have people that are ready willing and able to do what is needed of them. I, and im sure i can speak for everyone in the armed forces, would not like to go to war with someone that does not beleive in what they are doing. Now im not talking about the battle, but rather the career they are in. For the US at this time period, no, it is not a good idea. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Robert S	Amazing how much anger and hate this question sparks. My opinion is no because manditory military service would be impractical and too expensive. The US does not depend upon massed manpower as a military strategy. While it would prove to be an eye-opening experience for many who take living in this country for granted, pushing large numbers of conscripts into the military would prove to be more trouble than its worth. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

pointblizzy	Not at all. The military changes many people mentally. Any one in the armed forces faces the risk of seeing combat. Many Americans are not cut out for it. But there are more than enough of us willing to go to war for our country. Just as ther are many people against war. To make service mandatory would cause many to despise our country, resulting in a less than efficient military. Anti war activist groups would rise up suddenly and before you know it, the citizens would protest causing more problems for our government. this would produce anti war terrorist groups sabotaging our own military thus blurring the lines between foreign and domestic terrorism. Eventually new laws such as national curfews would come into play followed by a state of martial law. At that point our country would be at it's weakest. Our foreign enemies would use this opportunity to perform a mass attacks on American soil. Every major city with a "City Hall" will have their widen streets of their center city cleared out to support space for military tanks and air crafts, because those streets are the only ones with ready made areas to support room for aircraft landings and take offs. Every thing would be a mess a we live panicking in our homes under red alert! The short answer is "No" Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Dave M	As a Veteran, I really do think that every American should serve a couple of years service to the country. The way I think it should be set up, two years after high school and before college, no actual service designation just military. Second year the different branches of the military would be allowed to recruit for 4 to 6 yr. enlistments. Absolutely under no circumstance would they be allowed to serve over seas nor fight in any undeclared war. Also realizing the military is not for everyone there would be allot of exemptions. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Tish	And in a lot of countries, you can be shot for raising your glass in a toast to freedom...you think we should do that too??? Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

zombi86	No. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Audrey	i think it would be good if most people served. but the military is not for everyone. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

texreiver	Compulsory service should not exist in this country. As it was, people who joined the service only for benefits and didn't want to be there were miserable to work around. They also made our burdens twice as hard, because they did crappy work or shirked their responsibilities altogether. I can't imagine how much it would suck to force people to be there who plainly didn't want to be there at all. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Jason J	NO. As a retired Air Force SMSgt, I do not want people working for me that do not want to be there. the only way to keep our military strong is to continue with an all volunteer force. I have been to allot of countries that implement a mandatory military service and those countries do not have nearly the strength that we do. Keep it all volunteer and keep the military strong. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

HotSteel	I served 8 yrs active, and because I defended people's freedom of expression and choice then that's the way it should stay, a choice. However, I think it would be a good a idea to make it much more beneficial to serve so people will want to make that choice. Germany does something like that now, it's not mandatory but it greatly behooves you to serve in their military. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

bwah-ha-ha	I understand where you're coming from, but my answer is "No". I served eight years in the Army, and I can say that I would not want anyone watching my back that did not want to be there... Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Neil	Yes. Even the women. And no malls for 2 years either. Lets get them mature and disciplined. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Daniel	Able-bodied Americans-absolutely. Look at all we have. It isnt free. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No