ANALYSIS – In my November 28 PDB, I discussed America's need to bring back a “Fair Military Draft – For Men And Women” since our current all volunteer force (AVF) is an abject failure. While wokeness in the military, and in our youth, is a huge driver of the growing recruiting crisis, there are other factors as well.
The solution, according to Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Dennis Laich and Col. (Ret.) Lawrence Wilkerson, is replacing the AVF with a lottery-based draft for men and women, with no deferments or exemptions. I see tremendous value in their proposal.
And we may need to seriously consider it sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, we aren't the only ones facing this dilemma. Our European allies have all been seeing their militaries shrink even as the Russian bear is fighting a war of conquest right in their front yard, and the guarantee of massive U.S. support in a European war might be seriously lessened if we were focused on conflict with China.
Two of our biggest allies come to mind, Britain and Germany.
As Breitbart reported:
According to an analysis by British newspaper the Daily Telegraph, this fall means the British Army is now at the smallest size in 200 years, no mean feat given the population of Britain in 1820 was only a little over 20 million souls, while it rapidly approaches 70 million today.
Recruitment is a long-term issue for the British military, with deteriorating pay and conditions, and even quality of life issues like a sustained loss of traditions in recent decades running down the factors that help bring in new troops and retain them. But the United Kingdom is not unique in these challenges in Europe, and Germany continues to struggle with armed forces that lack in both manpower and capability.
Speaking to the national newspaper of record Die Welt at the weekend, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that while the government was working on plans to stabilise the armed forces through a series of changes, if these measures failed ultimately there are other options on the table to make sure the military doesn't collapse for want of soldiers. When asked if one of those options is compulsory service, Pistorius said he is considering “all options”, calling the decision to suspend conscription in 2011 “a mistake”.
However, while it would be legal and constitutional to bring back full conscription in Germany, it would be politically challenging. Breitbart added:
“That's why I'm looking at other models, such as the Swedish one”, Pistorius told the newspaper. In Sweden, while all young people are eligible for conscription, only a few thousand a year — men and women — are actually called up.
Whatever model these countries decide on, they need to do it quickly. Putin is currently increasing Russia's arms production by more than 60 percent.
“At the same time,” Pistorius notes, “[Putin's] threats against the Baltic states, Georgia and Moldova must be taken very seriously. This isn't just saber rattling. Dangers could lie ahead at the end of this decade. But by then we will be prepared for it.”
However, as Breitbart noted, many see this German assessment of Russia's ability to pursue war further into Europe as optimistic, with Poland warning that NATO should be ready to fight in three years, not 10.
Meanwhile, Professor Katarzyna Pisarska, co-founder of the Warsaw Security Forum, warned last week that Europe is “entering an era of wars” and will need to count less and less on American support.
She added that the era of “this lifestyle, the focus on the welfare state, on prosperity under the American protective umbrella” is “over” and Europe must urgently prepare to fight for its life.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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