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I think this is being looked at the wrong way. If we assume approximately 25million 18-24 year olds that means 29% are in a physical condition to join the army immediately. That's 7.25 million people they could draft instantly.

I think what about 400,000 were drafted in WWII? So in terms of physical numbers they would be fine. I think the logistics of arming/feeding/clothing that number of people might be more problematic.

Also people are likely to be more aware of the realities of war because of the media and there may be more resistance to a general call up.

And finally WWIII won't be won by the number of soldiers but by the number of nukes. An army of 10,000 is worthless when you drop a nuclear bomb on it. Things will likely escalate too fast for a drafts to be worthwhile.

 Daemonhost Cherubael wrote:
According to the Pentagon, an estimate of 71% of Americans are not physically qualified for military service.
source: https://www.quora.com/What-would-happen-if-there-were-to-be-a-military-draft-in-the-U-S-today

With that being said, I feel as if generation Y would most likely be draft dodgers/rebellious being that they grew up with
all this technology like social media, text-messaging, IPhones, instant entertainment (Youtube, Netflix), celebrity influences, all of which give them this rebellious mentality.

In other words, a lot of today's millennials from what I can gather from my own personal experiences have gone really soft, with a few sprinkles of stubbornness and self-entitlement.

An example of this would be towards the end of Vietnam in 1973, when a lot of drafted privates (who were probably draft dodgers from the start) began turning on their sergeants and superiors. Yet there were still some who were willing to honorably serve their country.
Fast forwards forty or so years and compare that generation to this one.

What do you guys think?

I think it's more I really don't want to be told to pick up a rifle and kill someone, whilst risking injury or death in return.

Oh, and seeing the shameful way previous soldiers - drafted or volunteers are treated after they've done their 'service'.

So it's not being soft. It's not being entitled. It's the sure and certain knowledge you'd only be deployed for economic reasons, and then cast off once the horrors of war have done their work.

As for entitled?

I was born in 1980. By the time I was 18, University was no longer free. By the time I was 25, houses were already out of reach, I could whistle for a decent pension, and the majority of jobs paid a piddling minimum wage.

All because Baby Boomers enjoyed the largesse of the rightfully named Greatest Generation, but didn't much fancy paying into that system. That is entitlement. All I ask is the same perks my parents and their contemporaries took for granted then pulled out from under us. Not much to ask now, is it?

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I think it's more I really don't want to be told to pick up a rifle and kill someone, whilst risking injury or death in return.

Oh, and seeing the shameful way previous soldiers - drafted or volunteers are treated after they've done their 'service'.

So it's not being soft. It's not being entitled. It's the sure and certain knowledge you'd only be deployed for economic reasons, and then cast off once the horrors of war have done their work.

As for entitled?

I was born in 1980. By the time I was 18, University was no longer free. By the time I was 25, houses were already out of reach, I could whistle for a decent pension, and the majority of jobs paid a piddling minimum wage.

All because Baby Boomers enjoyed the largesse of the rightfully named Greatest Generation, but didn't much fancy paying into that system. That is entitlement. All I ask is the same perks my parents and their contemporaries took for granted then pulled out from under us. Not much to ask now, is it?

This exactly. I'm not dying for the Boomers who have demonised me my entire life, nor the rotting husk that is our "society" they now govern.

Sticking to the chronical lettering of Gen X, Y, and Z; the boomers are Gen W. The Worst Gen. And I say that deservedly too, for it is them who now complain about the wests uncertain future after having pissed it all away in their turn in power.

This thread sucks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNs8NCkrK0o

I think we would be ok if the new generation would have to fight if ww3 broke out, labeling millions of millennial young men and women as wimps just isn't true.. same could be said of any generation I know plenty of my generation x that wouldn't last 1 minute in the job I did in the army... of course your going to have your anti war protest people but also millions who will step up to fight for their country.

 sebster wrote:

 LordofHats wrote:
To be fair, I find there's a general conflation of the tail end of Gen X, and the Centennials (Gen Z) with Millennials. People just like bitching about people younger than them sometimes, and vice versa.

Yeah, and there's nothing wrong with bitching about young people because holy crap they are annoying. It's just that we shouldn't trick ourselves that other generations were any less annoying when they were young.

Tell me about it. Saw these young whipper snappers trolling through the store the other day, so loud that you could hear them a football field away, and they just decided "oh hey the bike section lets ride them and then not buy a damn thing, or even have the courtesy to put them back when we're done!"

Damn kids these days

 Ouze wrote:

 Daemonhost Cherubael wrote:
What do you guys think?

I think Millennials are probably pretty fething tired of hearing how spoiled they are because they have smart phones by the generation that could afford college with part time jobs, had great union jobs and could own homes and raise families by their mid-twenties, who then torched the economy after they got theirs.

I think the crappiest generations should stop complaining about the kids that are cleaning up all their messes while enjoying so much less opportunity.

I want to save this post for posterity.

How dare you call out the generation that invented participation trophies for bitching about people getting participation trophies!

I see Dakka is jumping on the jumping on millennials bandwagon.

And assuming there was a spike in millennial service, I'm sure it wouldn't quite be enough.

I mean, yeah, the past generation already killed the economy. housing market and so many of our opportunities, now we are being blamed for now killing enough people.

And I love how you try to wrap this bashing in just wanting a discussion. I mean this will all sincerity, but you need to do something better with your life than find a way to bash on people who are not you.

I had to do quite a bit of study to learn how to deal and manage with the millennial generation. Yes, they do think and behave differently. However, I would find no difference in the dedication to the US should a significant and bonafide crisis hit this country.

I spent over 20 years active and reserve in the military and really cannot fault them for much of their philosophies. The only real annoying issue I find is they are definitely the "LOOK AT ME" generation - everything has to be on social media for everyone to see. I find that a bit annoying, but would never hesitate for a second to serve next to one in battle.

 MDSW wrote:
The only real annoying issue I find is they are definitely the "LOOK AT ME" generation - everything has to be on social media for everyone to see. I find that a bit annoying, but would never hesitate for a second to serve next to one in battle.

Not all of us, but you'd never know that except for me drawing attention to myself.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, I'd think in battle the first person you'd want to have next to you is the person who can't help but draw attention to themselves.

 daedalus wrote:

 MDSW wrote:
The only real annoying issue I find is they are definitely the "LOOK AT ME" generation - everything has to be on social media for everyone to see. I find that a bit annoying, but would never hesitate for a second to serve next to one in battle.

Not all of us, but you'd never know that except for me drawing attention to myself.

I don't think Millenials are really worse than us Gen Xers when it comes to social media addiction. I know plenty of people my age and older who cannot go very long without posting to or checking up on their social media sites.

Damn Vietnam Veteran Millenials, covering their vehicles with Vietnam Vetetan stickers, wearing Vietnam Veteran hats and shirts, getting Vietnam Vetetan tattoos, joining Veteran groups, flying veteran flags.

Such a "look at me" generation.

Well as Marine Vet, I can tell you that the majority of Marines are 19 year old kids. Not only are they young millennials though they are better trained, better equipped, and an overall superior fighting force to the Marine Corps of WWII. This despite the near mythical status the Pacific campaign and it's war fighters holds in our beloved Corps. The real question is can we expect to do traditional maneuvers in this heavy ass gear and have sapi plates cost more lives than they have saved due to the decreased mobility. Mobility on the battlefield being the crux of how we fight after all.

 Hordini wrote:
A very large portion of the military right now are already millennials - that should tell you something. There have been multiple Medal of Honor recipients who are millennials. Most of the anti-millennial criticism is pure golden age fallacy.

]
People seem to forget that millennials aren't just teenagers, but people in their 20's to mid 30's as well.

And naturally, the OP hasn't been back since starting this thread. Always so willing to stand by his nonsense.

Speaking of millenials:

A couple months ago I was watching a shop keeper who was explaining how to use a postcard. I felt old...

Use a what now?

 d-usa wrote:
Speaking of millenials:

A couple months ago I was watching a shop keeper who was explaining how to use a postcard. I felt old...

Oh those weird flat texts my grandmother use?

I had to explain to a 19 year old how a VHS player worked. I'm 30, but old age caught up with me at that point...

The very idea of a draft is essentially obsolete. Any conflict that would require it would go nuclear in very short order and render the whole thing moot. Even if it didnt, the structural changes required to society, the government, and the military would take quite some time. More to the point, if attrition rates were high enough to require a draft, equipment would probably be a bigger issue. If the US outright lost 1000 tanks and IFV's, unrecoverably, there is no replacing those. No new US Abrams tank hull has been made in over two decades, those facilities no longer exist, all new tanks have been rebuilt old ones, and they cant be produced at any pace that would match battlefield losses. If the US lost fifty F22's, it would take many years and cost more than the GDP of most nations to replace them as those production facilities would have to be rebuilt almost from scratch and production time is tremendous. The weapons and vehicles of WW2 were dramatically more primitive than what we have today, but were orders of magnitude simpler and cheaper, you could produce three P51 fighters for the modern equivalent of $3 million, which is about 1-2% of the cost of a single F22, and they could produce dozens of P51's every day as opposed to a handful of F22's per year (assuming a new plant was built, or that such is even possible). If you're taking human losses that would require a draft, there is no way we could afford or produce in a timely manner any the equipment of the modern military that would replace such losses.

This makes the question rather moot.

To say nothing of the fact that almost everyone in a combat role today would be considered a "millenial", basically anyone younger than their very late 30's.

 Ouze wrote:

 Daemonhost Cherubael wrote:
What do you guys think?

I think Millennials are probably pretty fething tired of hearing how spoiled they are because they have smart phones by the generation that could afford college with part time jobs, had great union jobs and could own homes and raise families by their mid-twenties, who then torched the economy after they got theirs.

I think the crappiest generations should stop complaining about the kids that are cleaning up all their messes while enjoying so much less opportunity.

Yeah I'm so glad I'll never get to own a house or have a stable job because higher education is insanely over priced and most of it is worthless (and I can't survive going to collage and working).

Though I value the western way of life, I would have no desire to fight for the status quo of this.
What am I fighting for?
It's only getting worse and they want it worse.

But hey I have a stupid Iphone so life must be amazing!

Draft drones.

They're cheaper, far more mobile and don't complain.

 JimOnMars wrote:
Draft drones.

They're cheaper, far more mobile and don't complain.

It takes on average 10 people to operate a single drone.

Please, keep telling us more.

 djones520 wrote:

 JimOnMars wrote:
Draft drones.

They're cheaper, far more mobile and don't complain.

It takes on average 10 people to operate a single drone.

Please, keep telling us more.

You don't have to give them Purple Hearts, so that might be some cost savings

 curran12 wrote:
And naturally, the OP hasn't been back since starting this thread. Always so willing to stand by his nonsense.

Welp I learned my lesson today.
Ya talk sh!t, ya get hit

 d-usa wrote:

 djones520 wrote:

 JimOnMars wrote:
Draft drones.

They're cheaper, far more mobile and don't complain.

It takes on average 10 people to operate a single drone.

Please, keep telling us more.

You don't have to give them Purple Hearts, so that might be some cost savings

Most soldiers that receive Purple Hearts are no longer alive to accept them. As far as that goes, I would gladly pay the cost to make that Purple Heart to give to that soldier's family.

The war I grew up with was Vietnam....

When folks were drafted to do what exactly?

I am not seeing things getting easier for the next generation - instead I am hearing folks from my generation or earlier complaining about how they are not going to foot the bill to make the next generation great.

My generation is no longer paying forward - we are wrapped in what is there for us.

Yeah, this reads of more of the same....



The Auld Grump - but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now....

Really loving these amazing comments! Especially when nobody has even answered the question