If your country drafts you for a war...

[Arkan]

If they brought back the draft, before I got called, I'd join the Air Force.

[Walsingham]

Make sure you learn your maths or languages and get assigned rear echelon roles.

[metadigital]

I'd join the Illuminati.

[astr0creep]

I'd join GIJoe. Those dang Cobra terrrists need a buttkickin' for goodness.

 

That and Scarlett

[Lucius]

Why not the Ordo Malleus?

 

[LoneWolf16]

I'd rather join the Spartans.

 

[Musopticon?]

Your recruitment age wooshed past a decade ago.

 

And no one really likes intense psychotheraphy and bone-augmentation.

[Sand]

Why bring up Nazi Germany? That war has been done and over with for 50 years. Those who fought it, on either side, are old and on the verge of passing on. There is no reason to bring up old wounds.

 

As for the draft I would be against it. I believe that an army of volunteers, those who seek to fight and seek to train to fight, are better equip to handle the rigors of combat and the extreme situations that it brings than someone who is forced to fight against their will. If my government brought back the draft I would be very much against it and if they tried to draft me I would refuse.

 

In fact I would bring arms against my country if they seek to bring back the draft and limit our freedoms even more than they already have.

Edited December 1, 2006 by Sand

[Enoch]

Thankfully, I am now too old to be drafted under the current selective service law.

 

That said, education is a great way to ensure that you get a military position well outside the range of enemy fire. If drafted, I would go (refusal would probably ruin my career) and count on that to keep me safe. Then again, my current boss was a reservist in the Army JAG corps a few years back, and was called up and sent to Iraq to handle legal disputes with contractors. So nothing is guaranteed.

[Fionavar]

Thread Pruned: Let's walk a little more lightly and respectfully please.

[LoneWolf16]

Your recruitment age wooshed past a decade ago.

 

And no one really likes intense psychotheraphy and bone-augmentation.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In an ideal world, my fellow forumite, in an ideal world... :'(

 

And who doesn't like those things, or the inherent badassness that comes from surviving training? ^_^

 

Ok, fine, I'll settle for the ODST corps.

 

 

Although, being encased in a metal casket, hurtling through a planet's atmoshphere with a strong possiblity that its breaking mechanisms might malfunction does sound a little disconcerting. Then again, I get sweet armor and weaponry....decisions.

Edited December 1, 2006 by LoneWolf16

[Musopticon?]

Helljumpers "Feet first into the fire"

[Eddo36]

Make sure you learn your maths or languages and get assigned rear echelon roles.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

No difference, if you push paper around to get somebody killed, you're still part of the system of the killing machine. Blood is still on your hands.

 

If you choose refusing, you'll be executed and others will look upon you in shame.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Ok, so refusing to go off and murder innocent women and children and taking a stand against injustice and dying for your beliefs would cause people to look upon you in shame?

 

 

If it's the popular belief of everyone else in the country at that time, then yes it would cause people to look upon you not only in shame, but a coward.

[~Di]

If I were drafted, I would serve my country to the best of my ability. I wouldn't line up civilians and slaughter them, but I am not naive to the realities of war. If one is not willing to fight for one's country, well, there are a lot of countries out there. Choose another one.

 

I'm deadly serious. When a country is at war, real war, its citizens shouldn't have the luxury of deciding whether they will participate or just take the benefits that others will bestow upon them through their own sacrifice. I hate the Iraq war. I believe it to be a massive mistake. Yet people I care about are serving there, and doing their level best to perform their duties, whether those duties are trying to enforce security in the midst of chaos (yes, yes, a chaos that wouldn't exist if they hadn't been sent there in the first place, but that is a discussion for another thread) or rebuilding schools and hospitals and trying to get decent water and electricity to ALL of Iraq, not just the Baathist areas in and around Baghdad, which was the only place Saddam offered these nice little perks of civilization.

 

Maybe it's old school, but JFK was right. People who only take the good stuff from their country without being willing to give back to it, whether they refuse to give back under the guise of "personal morals" or just plain lazy selfishness, should find another country, one that they care enough about to be part of society rather than just a drain on it.

[Kaftan Barlast]

If I was to be executed if I refused the draft then I would of course join, unless I could somehow flee the country. And if I did join, I would desert at the first opportunity to do so.

 

 

Sacrificing your life or murdering other people for a cause you dont believe in is complete madness. Very often its madness if you do believe in it aswell.

[LoneWolf16]

If I were drafted, I would serve my country to the best of my ability.  I wouldn't line up civilians and slaughter them, but I am not naive to the realities of war.  If one is not willing to fight for one's country, well, there are a lot of countries out there.  Choose another one.

 

I'm deadly serious.  When a country is at war, real war, its citizens shouldn't have the luxury of deciding whether they will participate or just take the benefits that others will bestow upon them through their own sacrifice.  I hate the Iraq war.  I believe it to be a massive mistake.  Yet people I care about are serving there, and doing their level best to perform their duties, whether those duties are trying to enforce security in the midst of chaos (yes, yes, a chaos that wouldn't exist if they hadn't been sent there in the first place, but that is a discussion for another thread) or rebuilding schools and hospitals and trying to get decent water and electricity to ALL of Iraq, not just the Baathist areas in and around Baghdad, which was the only place Saddam offered these nice little perks of civilization.

 

Maybe it's old school, but JFK was right.  People who only take the good stuff from their country without being willing to give back to it, whether they refuse to give back under the guise of "personal morals" or just plain lazy selfishness, should find another country, one that they care enough about to be part of society rather than just a drain on it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Right. In an ideal world where forced service breeds the best possible fighters.

 

Ask people in the military, I know a few. The general consensus, that I've seen and heard, is that they don't want a draft. It makes for poor soldiers, poor morale, and a considerable increase in mortality rates, not just my virtue of there being more people there to die, but more inexperience, and less ability to actually perform.

 

Who would you want beside you in that fox hole? A drafted soldier who's too scared to move and wishes nothing more than to NOT be there, or a volunteer who's devoted his time and life to the service, keeps his head down, and knows what he's doing.

 

There's a reason most who go into boot camp don't become soldiers. They're deemed incapable of performing up to the exceptional standards of our armed forces.

 

These people are truly the cream of the crop. Throwing someone like me in there would lead to my death and possibly that of other soldiers.

[~Di]

Er, you seem to be under the impression that I am in favor of reinstating the draft. I'm not, not unless it was a matter of our country's survival, as it was in WW2.

 

The question was not whether I was in favor of reinstating the draft; the question was simply that if there was a draft and I was drafted, would I serve. And I would.

[LoneWolf16]

Mostly focusing on the "I'm deadly serious. When a country is at war, real war, its citizens shouldn't have the luxury of deciding whether they will participate or just take the benefits that others will bestow upon them through their own sacrifice." part.

 

Took it as relating to the primary subject matter, the draft, or just took it upon myself to relate it then make what I thought was a valid point.

 

I was wrong.

 

Edit: Quoted the wrong damn line.

Edited December 1, 2006 by LoneWolf16

[~Di]

Out of curiosity, I searched how many countries have mandatory drafts. There are, according to this site , nearly 50 nations where military service is compulsory, including most nations south of the USA, lots of African and Middle East nations (not surprisingly), Asia and more than I would have though in Europe.

 

Just a bit of topic-related trivia. Carry on!

Edited December 1, 2006 by ~Di

[Gorgon]

I don't see why people should feel obligated to serve in a war they feel is imoral. A lot of people fled to Canada or Europe during Vietnam, and considering that the whole enterprise was a monumental failure I don't see how serving out of a sense of possibly misguided loyalty is better than refusing.

 

A war where litterally everything is at stake like ww2 is another matter.

Edited December 1, 2006 by Gorgon

[Hurlshort]

Again, there is no draft on the horizon in the US, so this is all just talk, but I really liked what ~Di said. People fail to see the people through the politics when we are dealing with Iraq and Vietnam. They are unpopular wars, but jumping off a carrier isn't going to stop it from getting to its destination. Also, complaining about isn't going to change anything either.

 

If you really want to stop the Iraq war, figure out how to end sectarian violence and bridge the gap between Muslim countries and the Western world. So many people spend all their time complaining about our very presence in Iraq, but the fact is if we pull out completely, things will likely get worse.

 

People love to complain about stuff, but not enough people are willing to work towards change. The avenues are available. Educate yourself, find like minded people, and institute change. The tricky part is keeping an open mind during the process and not closing yourself off to other options. That's how you get extremists and violence.

[Dark_Raven]

I'm not worried about any draft, being 30 something has its benefits.

 

A few years ago, the patriotic side of me would have accepted being drafted. It's the duty of a citizen to serve their country. But now with some wisdom gained and not being a blind patriot, I refuse to go fight and die for a bunch of clowns sitting in Washington. They want to cause an unjust war to happen, they go fight it, not I.

[Kaftan Barlast]

I refuse to go fight and die for a bunch of clowns sitting in Washington. They want to cause an unjust war to happen, they go fight it, not I.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

.. only, they e

 

I think thats a healthy attitude. People can go on about serving your country but all in all, its about doing the bidding of a bunch of suits that are only in it for the money. And duty, honour etc. are just constructions to persuade you to do it.

[thepixiesrock]

Wait, since when could women be drafted in the US?

[Dark_Raven]

Women are in the armed forces why would they be immune to it, if it ever happened?

 

But maybe it would be, lucky us.

Edited December 2, 2006 by Dark_Raven