Military service for 18 year olds
The September 11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent War in Iraq hasfocused attention on the all-volunteer nature of the United States ArmedForces. The United States Army is suffering from a drought of juniorofficers, such as lieutenants and captains. This decrease is happeningprecisely at a time when the United States is increasing its militarycommitments all over the world, such as Iraq, Afghanistan and in other Various solutions have been offered towards beefing up the UnitedStates armed forces. Some suggest allowing women to serve in combat duty. Others have proposed increasing education and other benefits for enlistedsoldiers. Still others suggest returning to the military draft. In the face of the strong need for more personnel, however, many havecalled for raising the age of required military registration for young men This paper argues that military registration needs to be a choice opento all young men, starting at age 18. After all, at this age, young menare legally recognized as adults. They have generally graduated from highschool, are allowed to vote and could legally be tried as adults. I
Macontosh, the Court haddenied citizenship to applicants who protested the draft out of reasons ofconscience (Burk). Many teens are leery of signing up with the Selective Service. The system of Selective Service strives to balance the country's needfor an active pool of reserves and the rights of individual citizens whooppose military conscription. Plan of Action One way to address these concerns is to maintain the SelectiveServices System, making it mandatory for all 18-year old male citizens toregister. One 15-year old Junior ROTC member, for example, expressed reluctance tocommit to "dodging bombs, bullets and lethal chemicals" ("Young peopleexpress wariness about military draft"). In the separate 1985 case ofWayne v. The new realities of chemical and biologicalwarfare, as well as additional awareness regarding equal rights of women,however, will make future decisions more complicated. In both cases, the Supreme Court ruled against the challengers and infavor of the Selective Services System. Arguments against military service The current system of conscription in the United States is dubbed the"Selective Service System" (SSS). For Schwartz, this current systemof Selective Service provides less protection for men, who could be draftedand sent into battle ("A Few Good Men "). Furthermore, until women are able to participate incombat units, the registration should be limited to young men only. US, the plaintiff charged by notifying the Selective Service boardof his refusal to register had resulted in a "selective prosecution"(Burk). An 18-year old is legally recognized as anadult who could make decisions regarding his vote, career decisions, hisability to consent to marriage and sexual activity and his culpability inthe commission of crime.
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