The Grandfather Dialogues: Four

Grandson: "Why did you really leave the army, Gramps?"

Grandpa: "Mostly because your late Grandma was pregnant with your aunt Veronica Lynn. She was very   sick most of the time—I mean real life-threatening sickness for more than half of her pregnancy."

Grandson: "Sounds scary."

Grandpa: "It was. Almost immediately after we got married at Fort Carson, my platoon Sargeant told me that he owned a house in the City of Colorado Springs which was only a ten minute drive from the fort. Your Grandma and I were new to Colorado Springs. She had just arrived from San Antonio, Texas. We soon rented it."

Grandson: "Didn't they have a U. S. O. back then?"

Grandpa: "Yeah, but in the early 1960s some of those so-called 'United Service Organizations' were not so united, in Colorado Springs, Colorado—especially when we were concerned—if you catch my drift. Every morning I left that house I was afraid for your Grandma. She bled a lot. One day, by sheer luck, I got home two hours early. She had passed out on the floor in a pool of blood. Later the Emergency Room doctor told me that had I been an hour later, your Grandma would have bled to death."

Grandson: "Gramps, nobody ever told me about that."

Grandpa: "I'm not surprised. Anyway, that did it for me. The next morning I headed straight for Captain Miller's office. He was my company commander. After I explained the situation to him I asked for what was then known as a 'Compassionate Leave'. We were in peacetime America. I had no doubt that he would grant such a valid request. He denied it. I immediately told him that if he wouldn't give me an emergency leave... I would 'give myself an emergency leave!"

Grandson: "You didn't like the military, did you?"

Grandpa: "Actually, I did. I still do. I have to admit that I don't like the all volunteers aspect of today's military services."

Grandson: "What's wrong with volunteers, Gramps?"

Grandpa: "Nothing's wrong with volunteers. I volunteered myself. What I don't like is the absence of a draft."

Grandson: "How come?"

Grandpa: "An all volunteers military creates the illusion of choice. The reality is that more than eighty percent of those volunteers are poor people who volunteered so that they could eat, learn a trade and/or get an education. To put it another way: in large part America's military is a collection of forces in which poor people are sent to fight wars created by rich people. The concept of what I call 'a pseudo-volunteer military' has become so ingrained in the American psyche that more than a few soldiers do not recognise that their decision to volunteer is more the product of an elitist socioeconomic phenomenon than their own. Poverty can be a perception-numbing drug, son."

Grandson: "Okay. Is that your only reason?"

Grandpa: "No. I also think an all volunteer military relieves too many Americans of the responsibility of doing what I think is their patriotic duty."

Grandson: "Exactly what do you mean?"

Grandpa: "I mean that if you enjoy—for better or worse—the privileges of American citizenship, and you like to claim that citizenship, you should be willing to defend America if you are physically able. Male or female, you should defend America."

Grandson: "I can agree with the fairness in what you're saying, but..."

Grandpa: "Most, not all, of the big shot politicians who think an all volunteer military is great say that it cost too much to train soldiers in various locations only to lose them to private industry when they reach the end of their draft terms' limit."

Grandson: "I have to tell you, Gramps, I think those politicians are right on this one. Money is important."

Grandpa: "Well it seems to me that what they are really saying is that money is more important than people. While the old system of the draft was not perfect, it created the likelihood of rich and poor Americans serving side by side. That rarely happens these days. With a draft, the responsibility of military service is distributed more equitably among the citizenry."

Grandson: "I guess so."

Grandpa: "I think that any intelligent person can see that America does not have enough military personnel. As a nation we should not be concerned about having taught draftees vocational skills that they might leave the military to practice in civilian life. We should not forget that those who serve are Americans who—in many cases—risked their very lives for all Americans. You can't put a price on that."

Grandson: "Okay, I'm starting to get your point."

Grandpa: "If the former President Bush knew that there was a real possibility of his sons or daughters having to duck battlefield bullets in Iraq, or Afghanistan, he would not have been so eager to invade Iraq—especially not under false pretences—as he did. A nation's military draft creates its own checks and balances."

Grandson: "No nation should rush into a war."

Grandpa: "I agree. During the First and Second World Wars—along with various other conflicts before and after—history is replete with moving accounts of draftees who fought, died, survived and served America valiantly. In fact, some of these same politicians who are now in favour of an all volunteer military would not be alive today but for the field-of-battle bravery of their dead and alive comrades-in-arms who were reluctant draftees."

Grandson: "I didn't know that."

Grandpa: "When a nation chooses to go to war it should do so with such overwhelming force of numbers and just-cause that a swift and decisive victory is inevitable. A draft would ensure sufficient numbers of soldiers."

Grandson: "You're talking about big bucks, Gramps."

Grandpa: "Yes, but think about it. America has been at war for nearly ten years! Not once during that period have there been enough boots on the ground. It cost one million dollars to keep one American soldier at war for one year. The war in the Middle East should have been over six or seven years ago! Tyrants have come to realize that America is short of soldiers, sailors and marines. If there were more military personnel, America would have saved billions of dollars by now."

Grandson: "I never thought about it like that before."

Grandpa: "Son, if you still don't think America needs to resume the draft, I urge you to talk to some of the widows and widowers whose spouses have recently been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, after having been sent to those war zones for the third or fourth time beyond their agreed upon enlistment dates. They know better than anyone how desperately America needs a draft."

Grandson: "Hey, Gramps. I just thought of something."

Grandpa: "What's that?"

Grandson: "The Republicans—well, maybe not all of them but most—want to cut taxes again. Without more taxes how is America going to pay for these wars?"

Grandpa: "There is real logic in that question, son. You may want to consider politics as a career. I mean, if there was ever a need for a dose of logic in American politics, now is the time."