Everybody Fights, Nobody Quits: Can Compulsory Service Effectively Man the Military; Master's thesis

摘要

Sustained operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have created the perception among policy makers that a gap has formed between U.S. strategic requirements and the nation's capability to effectively meet the manpower demands of a 'long war,' renewing questions regarding the viability of an All- Volunteer Force (AVF). With combat operations straining the Army and Marine Corps and a perceived compromise on enlistment standards, some claim that the AVF is no longer sustainable and suggest that conscription would be a better alternative to the current military manpower policy. Proponents of a return to compulsory military service assert that a draft would create a force more representative of American society, would eliminate the growing civilian- military gap, and fix many social ills by creating a sense of civic duty and responsibility among the populace. This thesis will disprove the claims regarding the effectiveness of conscription as manpower policy by conducting a historical analysis of the drafts implemented during the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Vietnam.