Introduction
Mandating the military service has happen almost to all countries including the United States. The Universal Military Training and Service Act is passed in 1951. This bill is the original bill that was passed by the congress which is to lower the draft age from 19 to 18 years. This military service will continue from 21 to 27 months. As the time change the bill is also changing. A bill in 2003 were introduced by the United States House of Representatives that not just young men, but also women ages from 18-26 can be called to service. Although this is not active right now because there is not a major war going on, it can happen anytime. Mandatory military service or conscription is one of the strategy that are used by countries to build a powerful and large military that are ready to deployed when there is war and to protect their country. Everyone have a strong opinions on both sides. Every problems always have a pros and cons. which is why I chose this topic because I am currently enlisted in the army national guard and I want to experience the military life to build confidence and go to college paid by the military.
"I saw courage both in the Vietnam War and in the struggle to stop it. I learned that patriotism includes protest, not just military service"
- John F. Kerry -
This video, "America From Scratch", on the right talks about if the U.S. should mandate the military service. It also show the statistics how the U.S. population with military experience is significantly decreasing. Since 1980 to 2015, the U.S. percentage of citizens who are in the military decreases from 18% to 7%. According to the Department of Veteran Affairs, they predicted that the percentages will continue to decreases as low as 3.5% by 2040. Should the military needs to mandate the U.S. military service? Will this affect the U.S.? How will this improve the U.S. if the military service is mandatory? What are the consequences if you oppose the military mandate? What is a National Service?
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