University of Virginia Library

Draft Alternatives

The nation's media have lately been
making much of the supposed unanimity of
support from the left and right for a volunteer
army. President Nixon supports it. So do
Barry Goldwater, Allard Leowenstein, and
George McGovern, to name but a few of the
strange political bedfellows the issue has
attracted. In the euphoria over this sudden
unity, however, observers tend to lose track of
some of the real deficiencies of the volunteer
army, which is not, in the final analysis, an
adequate reform of our present draft system.

The volunteer army appeals to both the
left and the right for various reasons.
Right-wing proponents are attracted by its
adherence to classical economy. The volunteer
army would make military service just another
competitor in the job market, giving it
increased pay and benefits. The increased cost
to the nation would be borne by the increased
tax revenues accrued by allowing young men
capable of holding high-paying jobs to pay
taxes on their higher wages. Left-wing
adherents, as well as libertarian right-wing
elements, like the volunteer army because it
seems to promise elimination of involuntary
servitude by conscription. They also feel that
eliminating the draft would make the army
large enough to defend the vital interests of
the nation, but too small to embark on
adventures like the war in Vietnam.

It seems like a rosy picture, but there are
drawbacks which should be ironed out before
the plan becomes law. In the first place, the
volunteer army as it is construed in nearly all
of the legislation now pending does not
outlaw the draft. It merely places it in
abeyance until some vaguely defined national
emergency fouled up the market mechanism
and more men are needed. The draft would
then be used just as it has been for the past
several years. Thus the prospect of some
ill-considered declaration like the Gulf of
Tonkin resolution allowing the President to
use the draft and involve the country as
happened in Vietnam is raised, but not
satisfactorily answered by the volunteer army
proposal.

If the volunteer army is ever to become
law, something must be written into that law
to insure that only in the most dire
circumstances — such as when Congress makes
a declaration of war - can American youth
ever again be conscripted into military service.

But there is a better alternative to the
present draft system, one that would entail
sweeping reforms of the present draft system,
but which would eventually be of greater
benefit to the nation and the young people
who are called upon to serve.

The first reform must entail the structure
of the draft boards themselves. National
guidelines must be set which would limit the
autonomy of the local despots who often man
boards today. In addition, selective service
reform must include provisions for the people
who are being called to be represented on
each local board; no longer can we tolerate
boards composed solely of septuagenarian
American Legionnaires.

The alternatives to military service must be
expanded. Any citizen ought to be able to
obtain Conscientious Objector status if he is
able to demonstrate firm belief that war
should not be an acceptable instrument of
national policy. More important, people ought
to be able to substitute other forms of service
to the nation for their military obligation. At
present Peace Corps and Vista returnees can
be drafted when their tour of service is over.
The draft law should be amended to
acknowledge that they have served their
country as well as any soldier. In addition,
new channels of national service might be
considered, encompassing police work, teaching
in depressed areas, etc.

Finally, the draft should be changed so
that each person knows, perhaps through a
lottery system, exactly where he stands with
respect to the draft. Such a lottery could take
place at the beginning of each year and be
implemented for people who turn 19 during
that year. Those who were called and wished
to go on with college could do so, with the
understanding that upon graduation they were
liable to be called. This, at least, would
eliminate the anxiety that comes with the
uncertain status of all today's draft eligible
men.

Reform of the draft must be given highest
priority. Either the volunteer army plan, with
safeguards against the unwarranted resumption
of conscription, or a totally reformed
draft system would be superior to the present
system's chaotic injustices.