Having the offspring of power serve their country in uniform is something the British nobility has done for hundreds of years and in fact royalty led their armed forces into battle. As a Veteran of Military service and the son of two Veterans, I believe the Commander in Chief is a position that should be held by someone who has served a minimum of four years active duty in any branch of our Military service and I don’t mean ducking into the National Guard to avoid being drafted. If you are going to lead troops, you should at very least have been one of the troops. We should also rename the Department of Defense the War Department, like it was by the end of WW2.
“A n y o n e w h o h a s e v e r l o o k e d i n t o t h e g l a z e d e y e s o f a s o l d i e r d y i n g o n t h e battlefield w i l l t h i n k h a r d b e f o r e s t a r t i n g a w a r .” Chancellor Karl O t t o V o n Bismarck
Comments (16)
Terribly sorry, I didn't realize a copy and paste would do that to the quote.
“Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war.” Chancellor Karl Otto von Bismarck
. . .
After five years of war, my grandfather lost his middle finger in World War II. I like to joke he was being cheeky to Nazis.
However, I am not so sure about this proposal, as much as I admire its anti-war sentiment. Should we then ensure that the Health Service is run by a doctor, Justice by a lawyer, and all information matters by a journalist? On the face of it, sounds good except - running the armed forces is not the only job of the Commander-in-Chief.
Ideally, if the president is doing their job properly, war should be the least of their concerns? A better option might be for vets to have executive level input into current and future laws and wars, so that the CiC is guaranteed advice from those who have served on active duty. Rather than just the current system where the one with the most political nous makes it to the top.
In respect,
jason brown
avaiki nius agency
. . .
It's not a government of the Military by the Military for the Military. Only about 1/4 of the country's population has served in the military. The rest of us are citizens too.
I knew you wouldn't like it. As long as people are impressed by military might, it will always be easy for those who have no idea what they are doing to send troops into battle and get to prevent photos of coffins returning. Too bad we don't have a draft. If that were the case, we wouldn't be so ready to jump into a war over something as suspicious as 9/11.
As for guaranteed advice, I'd say that was a rather dismal failure during the last administration. CiC is also part of the job description. I never said anything about military for the sake of military. That's your fantasy.
panther_dave,
sorry, we would miss out on very good Americans by doing this. I would not be apposed to a mandatory 2 year service for all Americans. lots to be done, and the military isn't all war related. engineers, technology, nurse, humanitarian is happening now, and much much more.
besides, it would be a good well rounding/mixing of the people.
This shows me that while most Americans are perfectly willing to absorb all of their Constitutionally granted freedoms, they aren't willing to do anything to preserve them. Remember one thing, its the civilians who start wars, it's just the Military's job to finish them and when the war gets to a particular point, the civilians are supposed to take over again. If you believe for a single moment the civilians have done a great job with our foreign policy lately, you're off your meds. How about instead of 4 active, as 5 minutes appears too long for many, make it 2 active and 6 Reserve. If they knew this was a requirement, just like the citizenship and age, they'd either join or find another job. My new goal is -1,000 by next week.
I went a little off topic, I wasn't talking about the pres serving 2 just all Americans in general.
If you look at most wars they are in the name of religion. And since the US was fundamentally founded on freedom of religion (also including no religion) then you are mocking the very essence of our liberties, the freedom of choice. If we choose not to participate in the war we still have a choice and ability to lead our country.
While the church may have been a driving force in getting cannon fodder for their wars, the main thrust was property, just like Herr Schickelgruber wanted lebensraum. They wanted to increase their empires. All they had to do to convince poor dirt farmers to join their crusades was tell them they would get their reward in heaven, just like the Islamics told their cannon fodder they would get 77 virgins if they died fighting the infidel. People will believe anything, especially if its in the form of a religion. The more negative votes I get, the more I believe we should institute the draft. Scream on!
panther_dave,
Do you really want a group of unwilling fighters next to you in a battle?
Have you ever seen how many people look on or walk off when a pedestrian is hit on the street?
I think the unwilling are better on the sideline then hoping your bacon is backed up...
Change it to Close family members of the executive & congress must fight in any action they begin
If more of America were potential cannon fodder, they wouldn't be in such a rush to get into the war. It was draft resistance that helped end Vietnam. If there was a possibility you could be sent to some resource war and the perpetrators wanted your support and large numbers were able to say no, it might make it more difficult to start their wars.
Just breeching the topic scares people, which is as far as I expect this to go, but if the possibility existed you could be sent, you wouldn't be so ready to send the troops if you were one of them.
I'm disappointed in you people. How am I going to reach -1,000 by next week?
I want to help you reach -1,000 by next week but they won't let me vote again. I am so sorry you would not beleive it!
I thought it said on the front page this was the last day? may 21st to the 28th.
You are and yes I do.
Just to give you a chance, how about the first week of June?
Who would have guessed there were this many Americans not worth defending.