Many countries require a short period of military and/or civil service from most or all of their citizens when or before they reach a certain age. Given the general lack of discipline, respect for authority, and maturity present amongst those age 35 and under (I'm in that group, by the way) I believe that a short period of military and/or civil service would be an overall benefit to our society. I've often said that I believe that 90% of our population would greatly benefit from going through Basic Training.
So, considering that perspective, would you support some sort of required military service for US citizens (with those termed conscientious objectors and/or with other mitigating circumstances performing civil/community service instead of military service)? It would be for a limited period of time and there would be exceptions, of course. For example, those attending college after high-school could delay their service until they graduated, as long as their service was completed by, say, age 30. There could be different types and/or lengths of service with some types of service roles, e.g. medical, technical, mechanical, logistical, etc., that would [optionally] last for a longer period of time but would result in some sort of technical/trade degree or certification that would, say, be equivalent to two years of college, e.g. an AA or Community College degree, or perhaps more. Those who chose to delay their service until after graduation could enter service roles related to their degrees with medical personnel, for example, doing their residency during their time of service and lawyers working in the military and/or civil court system(s) during their service. This would give those with degrees a period of time which would count both as military/civil service as well as work experience.
All of the details would have to be hashed out, of course. However - assuming that the details were worked out as satisfactorily as possible for a vast majority of our citizens - and this issue were put to a nationwide referendum, how would you vote on this issue?
So, considering that perspective, would you support some sort of required military service for US citizens (with those termed conscientious objectors and/or with other mitigating circumstances performing civil/community service instead of military service)? It would be for a limited period of time and there would be exceptions, of course. For example, those attending college after high-school could delay their service until they graduated, as long as their service was completed by, say, age 30. There could be different types and/or lengths of service with some types of service roles, e.g. medical, technical, mechanical, logistical, etc., that would [optionally] last for a longer period of time but would result in some sort of technical/trade degree or certification that would, say, be equivalent to two years of college, e.g. an AA or Community College degree, or perhaps more. Those who chose to delay their service until after graduation could enter service roles related to their degrees with medical personnel, for example, doing their residency during their time of service and lawyers working in the military and/or civil court system(s) during their service. This would give those with degrees a period of time which would count both as military/civil service as well as work experience.
All of the details would have to be hashed out, of course. However - assuming that the details were worked out as satisfactorily as possible for a vast majority of our citizens - and this issue were put to a nationwide referendum, how would you vote on this issue?