Andrew Bacevich misses a significant point in his Feb. 2 op-ed “Once a duty, military service recast as a right,” which decries the demise of duty in military service “whether pursuant to defending the homeland, advancing the cause of freedom abroad, or expanding the American imperium.” That most of our country’s military engagements since World War II have fallen into the second or third of those categories explains much of the change from obligation to right. Sending people off to die, whether in Vietnam or Iraq, for a cause that makes our country no safer is a poor way to inspire people to serve.
However, I do lament that, going forward, most Americans, including those in government who’ll make the deadly decisions to put their countrymen in harm’s way, will not have served in the military. Serving provides a perspective on the capabilities and limits our military. It certainly did for me.
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If all young adults were required to serve for a time in the military, either the time in question would have to be so short as to be useless, or the military would swell to such great size that the misadventures you rightly worry about would be inevitable. The generals simply wouldn't be able to resist swinging a hammer that big.