AS for Military Service; The Constitution for the
united States of America,Article 1 section 8:
"To raise and support Armies, but no
Appropriation of money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;"
"To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union,supress Insurrections and repel Invasions;"
"To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service
of the United States..."
As you can see the Army is to exist for only two years at a time (unless we are at war)
Our defense is to rest at the State level(thru the Militia),this is to prevent standing Armies
A problem discussed in the Declaration Of Independence.
"He has kept among us in times of peace,Standing Armies without the consent of our legislature."
I submit the concept of the people’s Militia was designed to combine the price of freedom with the practice of defense for the average citizen. A people’s Militia organized without a traditional military may be unworkable due to the fact that many weapon systems require specialized expertise.
I propose mandatory basic military training and service for every citizen when they reach the age of 18. At age 20, they then must serve two more years under conditions similar to the present National Guard. This would enlighten the average citizen to the price of freedom, enlarge and decentralize our army as well as make every citizen familiar with cleaning and using a firearm.
Timetraveler,
You make a good point about needing a larger military to be viable force in the world. A militia simply would not be competative against professional armies in other nations. America has created a strong, ethical, and professional military. The military structure now is far better than a militia concept. Could you imagine if upon deciding to invade Iraq we had a bunch of untrained hillbillies grab their shotguns, jump on planes, and head off to war? The professional structure of our military is certainly a plus.
As far as mandatory basic training I have to disaggree with you. I see your point in wishing to instill patriotism in the youth, but I believe there are draw backs to this.
The current ALL VOLUNTEER FORCE is far superior to any military structure in the past. During Vietnam, individuals were drafted and forced to fight in a war they did not want to fight. These cowards behaved horribly and shamed the United States (I am talking about the people that did not want to go / not the true patriots). They commited war crimes like the My Lai massacre and destroyed the morale of the soldiers that actually wanted to defend their country. The current all volunteer force removes the cowards from the equation. It doesn't benefit our military force to have cowards in the fox holes with them. With an all volunteer force, the people that enlist are their because of something in their spirit, and they conduct themselves more honorably and create a much stronger military because of this.
I think our military structure is perfect the way it is now. The National Guard is still there for those who wish to participate in a militia type fashion, and of course there is the unorganized militia which is simply every America.