Does the war in Afghanistan touch your life?
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Although all young American men are required to regis-
ter for the military draft, none has actually been drafted
since the 1970s. (Registration exists in the event of a
national military emergency.) In place of conscription,
the Department of Defense has recruited all-volunteer
military services. In times of peace, most generals prefer
a volunteer army: Professional soldiers are better
trained and often more attentive to orders; but in times
of war, when recruiting officers struggle to fill quotas
and tours-of-duty are extended, many generals call for a
return to the draft.
By 2010, a heated debate among officers surfaced in
theArmed Forces Journal.Most defended the profes-
sional army, noting that the quality of recruits was
higher than in two decades, partly because the economic
downturn had resulted in a scarcity of jobs. But other
officers called for a return to the “citizen soldiers” envi-
sioned by Washington and Jefferson. One reason was
that wars fought by conscripts ensured that the nation as
a whole engaged in the war effort. The Seattle Times
observed that although the Iraq war had gone on far
longer than World War II, “life for most Americans has