Abel Del Pino

Period 6

How Beneficial Would Conscription Actually Be?

Mandatory public service has been an issue that has been brought up for many years.
People have increasingly debated on whether or not the benefits of having mandatory public
service outweigh the potential problems that can arise from having mandatory public service.
Even though there are benefits to mandatory public services, the downsides involving financial
reasons and lack of necessity negatively outweigh these benefits.
Mandatory public service or conscription is the compulsory enrollment of persons
especially for military service (Conscription). Although there has never been a passed
conscription law, there has been attempts at passing laws for required service and drafts for wars
in the past. In 2013, the Universal National Service Act was introduced. The act declares that it
is the obligation of every U.S. citizen, and every other person residing in the United States,
between the ages of 18 and 25 to perform a 2-year period of national service (United States,
Congress, House 748). This proposed act was never passed by Congress. There have also been
many drafts during wartime in the U.S. The military draft was used during the civil war, both
World Wars and for the Vietnam War. People were randomly drafted as opposed to all people
being forced to join with conscription. Instead of having forced service, there are currently many
voluntary government sponsored programs such as the Peace Corps that are an option to people
wanting to volunteer (National Service). There are many people on both sides of the argument.
Having conscription would intrude on peoples freedom and cause problems for people
during and after their service. The one year someone is away doing service after high school or
college could cause them to forget a lot of material they have learned in school. During the two
and a half month summer vacation, students already forget a lot of what they have learned in the
past year. If the period is extended to a year, the amount of knowledge they would retain from

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the past year would be significantly less. Then a person who enrolled to a university after their
service would face much more difficulty compared to if they had gone to college the same year
they graduated from high school. If someone decided to do the service after finishing college or
after already having a stable job, that person could have difficulty finding a job and/or re
accustoming themselves after their year of service.
There are many people who do support conscription. Some of their arguments include
that conscription would increase our military strength. Also, people argue that the number of
workers could help address social problems. Certain programs such as VISTA, AmeriCorps,
Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America have been effective in helping communities with
social problems. These groups tend to be close to communities (Caprara). Other programs like
Volunteers for Prosperity give opportunities to skilled American professionals like doctors,
teachers and engineers to help people abroad in developing countries. Currently tens of
thousands of people have used their skills to give help to those who need it (Bush). Thus people
argue that conscription would help these programs in many ways. Of course the number of
workers that would be in the programs would significantly increase. The number of people who
would receive aid in this country and other countries would as a result also significantly increase.
People out of college would be able to use skills they have learned to help those in need.
International volunteers efforts have also helped promote positive ideas and help drop support
for violent terrorism. Volunteers have also healed conflicts between tribal and religious lines
(Caprara). Volunteers could have an even greater impact in the US and internationally.
Conscription would also entail a large increase in soldiers. The US armed forces would see a
large boost in strength because of all the new recruits they would have. All the new recruits
would probably make the new US armed forces secure the USs spot as the country with the

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most powerful army. Even after people have completed their year of mandatory service, they
would still be in reserves for a couple of years in the case that they would be needed. Millions of
citizens would be fit and able-bodied to be part of the army. Thus a more active lifestyle would
be promoted. If conscription were to exist, the US would have a large number of soldiers and
workers that would significantly help the US and international countries.
Although it may seem that having so many people able to help others and make our
military stronger, there are many reasons why this would be logistically hard to have in our
country. Current voluntary programs aid the people they are targeted to aid. But, this is because
those people volunteer to be part of those programs by their own decisions. These people are
motivated to volunteer in the program and help others. If millions of people are forced to join
these programs, a large majority of them would probably be unmotivated to do so. As the phrase
goes, quality over quantity. The work that unmotivated people who do not like the work they
are doing because they feel they are being forced to do the work or for some other reason, will
have a much less impact on others compared to the work of someone who volunteered to join a
program. The number of workers will not allow make a large impact. Motivation and will are
also required for these programs to have a significant impact. Instead of forcing people to join
these programs, it would be much more beneficial for the programs to promote themselves and
make people want to join them. When it comes to the military, such a large force is not needed
currently. The country already has one of the largest militaries. There is currently no threat that
would warrant such a large army and there has not been one for many, many years. If a larger
army were needed the US could promote volunteers and use a draft like they did for WWI and
WWII. Mandatory service is not as needed compared to other countries who do have it. For
example, the country of Israel has a legitimate reason for having required military service. Since

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even before Israel was officially a country, it has faced constant thought from Arab nations
around it. Israel has a mandatory three year service for males and two years for women to protect
itself (National Service). The US does not face a threat like the threat Israel does. Also the US
already spends more money on military than any other country in the world. In 2013, the US
spent around 660 billion dollars on the military. This is around three and a half more times the
amount that China, the country that spent the second most money on military, spent in 2013
(SIPRI). It is no secret that the US has a very large amount of debt. The increase in the number
of soldiers in the armed forces would significantly increase the amount needed to support the
military. Thus the money needed for this would either be taken from other programs or increase
the nations debt. The issue of money also applies to the increase of workers for non-military
programs. The government would have to pay for every worker to have food, shelter and other
essentials and possible pay them for the work. The impact that the large increase in workers and
soldiers would have would not be as meaningful as with volunteers and would be very
expensive. The benefits are outweighed by the negatives conscription would have.
On the surface it may seem like conscription would help the countries in many ways,
conscription actually has many downsides relating to money, the quality of the work and the
effects on citizens freedom. The government would have a very difficult job if they wanted to
implement conscription in the country.

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Works Cited
Bush, George W. "National Service Improves American Communities." National Service. Ed.
Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from
"Remarks on Voluntarism." 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
Caprara, David L. "National Service Addresses America's Social Problems." National Service.
Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from
"Renewing America Through National Service and Volunteerism." 2009. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
"Conscription." Merriam Webster. Merriam Webster. Web. 29 Oct. 2014. <http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/conscription>.
"National Service." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2014.Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
"SIPRI Military Expenditure Database." Stockholm International Peace Reserach Institute.
Stockholm International Peace Reserach Institute, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/milex_database/milex_database>.
United States. Cong. House. Universal National Service Act. 113th Cong. H. H. R. 748.
Washington: GPO, 2013. H.R.748 - Universal National Service Act. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.
<https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/748>.