When there is talk about reviving the draft, history comes to mind. Americans have generally opposed a military draft except in cases of a direct threat to the nation. Even during the Civil War there was opposition as in the New York draft riots. I suspect part of the reason is that the selection process has not been uniformly applied. During the Civil War is was common for wealthy men to pay someone to serve in place. More recently President Bush managed to avoid service in Vietnam (but to be fair he was in the National Guard but served at home). If the U.S. military is overextended abroad and we decide to accept a national draft, let's be fair about it and require everyone who is physically and mentally able to serve. No going to college to avoid service and no exceptions for the rich and politicians. There is no reason to restrict a draft to only military service. Those morally opposed to all war, others who are otherwise "incompatible" for military service and resident aliens who want citizenship should have alternatives. It could include border control, conservation or helping rebuild highways. To be even more fair, soldiers would only serve three years while non-military draftees serve five. Such a program would help young people with maturity and self-discipline which in turn might help with social problems and crime. A draft would also serve to meld people of diverse backgrounds together with a better sense of American identity.

That's almost exactly what I was writing. In fact I went as far as suggesting those individuals who were going to College, or who wanted to go instead of serve, be allocated credit hours commensurate with heir work, and their progress in whatever field they were serving in.. I disagree with the amount of time. I think it needs to be a minimum of 2 years. 5 years is too long these days for som folks to committ to just about anything. 2 years would also be just a starting point. If you signed up for another year, you'd get money for college (to be used for education only.) Sign up for 2 years, and you get more. If you make it attractive people will be more apt to accept it. And I whole heartedly agree with making it mandatory for every able bodied individual, regardless of social status or political affiliation.