Military Service

 

When I graduated from high school, I was eligible to be drafted into the military unless I was enrolled in college.  That would give me a four-year deferment but eventually I would have been drafted.

If I dropped out of college, which I did 5 semesters later, I was again eligible for the draft, so I enlisted in the US Navy Reserves which required me to serve two years on active duty and four years in the reserves.  Two years of active duty was what would have been required if I had been drafted, so I figured, I had made a good deal.

The US military draft ended in 1973, and I was released from active duty in the summer of 1972.

The GI Bill gave me 4 years of college plus an allowance for being married and having a child.

All of that, for serving less than 24 months on active duty.  I say less than 24 months because I received an early out of three months to go back to college.

It is my belief, right or wrong, that EVERYONE should spend TWO YEARS in the military and there should be no exemptions due to health, religious beliefs, or handicaps.   There is something that can be done by everyone without being sent to a potential war zone.

In return for those two years, the government needs to give something back in return similar to the GI Bill of the Vietnam Era which paid for my 4 years of college.

Let's say something that's worth $5,000 to $10,000.  

Of course, that amount of money won't even pay for one semester of college at today's prices.  College tuition back in the late 1960s early 1970s was about $2500/year which also included room, meals, and books.

Every American should give two years out of their life to their country.  There are numerous other countries that already require that two-year mandatory service.