Military Officer - January 2007 - (Page 31)

washingtonscene No Draft On Tap MOAA symposium panelists dismiss talk of resuming the draft, barring war for national survival. But sparks ﬂy over force size and the quality of new recruits. L E G I S L AT I V E N E W S T H AT A F F E C T S Y O U M ore than 300 MOAA stalwarts and guests braved tornadic winds and driving rain to attend MOAA’s Military Professionals Symposium Nov. 16, at which a distinguished panel of experts discussed whether the all-volunteer force (AVF) can be sustained in an extended conﬂict. Participants included: ■ the Hon. Stephen Duncan (moderator), director of the Institute for Homeland Security Studies and former assistant secretary of defense for Reserve Affairs; ■ Gen. Barry McCaffrey, USA-Ret., former commander, U.S. Southern Command, and former advisor to the secretary of state; ■ the Hon. William Chatﬁeld, director of the Selective Service System; ■ Mike Dominguez, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for Personnel and Readiness; ■ Lt. Gen. Mike Rochelle, USA, Army deputy chief of staff for personnel; and ■ Tom Donnelly, senior advisor for the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. House Armed Services Committee Ranking Minority Member (and chairman-to-be in the incoming 110th Congress) Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) had been scheduled as the introductory speaker but had to cancel when a House leadership meeting was rescheduled for the same time as the symposium. If attendees expected any of the panelists to call for reinstitution of the draft, they were disappointed. One thing the panelists appeared to agree on — especially in their answers to multiple questioners on that topic after their prepared remarks — is their belief that Congress and the country wouldn’t stand for that in any scenario short of a war for national survival. The panelists all agreed that the AVF today clearly is highly motivated, of superb quality, and more capable than the conscription force. McCaffrey said that shortly after the draft was ended in the early 1970s, “You couldn’t ﬁnd a general in the Army who liked the all-volunteer force. But 10 years later, when they saw the quality they were getting, you couldn’t ﬁnd one who wanted to go back to the draft.” McCaffrey provided most of the symposium’s ﬁreworks, expressing strong views on adjustments in recruiting standards and force sizes. “Generally speaking, we’ve quadrupled the number of lowest mental category recruits, we’ve quadrupled the number of non-high school graduates, and we’re granting 6,000 to 8,000 more moral waivers,” he said. “When you tell me that you think enlisting a 42-year-old grandmother is the right thing to do, you don’t understand what we’re doing. We need 19year-old boys and girls in good health to carry guns and ﬁght.” Several panelists highlighted an issue that MOAA has pushed for years — that today’s forces are far too small for the huge missions being thrust on them. “Are we undermanned?” asked McCaffrey. “Of JANUARY 2007 General McCaffrey’s Weekly Reader ■ Gen. Barry McCaffrey, USA-Ret., has kindly granted MOAA permission to use a video clip from the November professional symposium in which he turned to MOAA President Vice Adm. Norb Ryan Jr., USN-Ret., and praised MOAA’s weekly Legislative Update. “You have the only [e-mail] newsletter that I read in Washington,” he said. MILITARY OFFICER 31

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - January 2007

Military Officer - January 2007 Contents From the Editor From the Chairman Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: Osprey Rising? Battlefields of the Great War I Resolve ... New Mission Pages of History Information Exchange Advertising Index MOAA Scholarship Donors MOAA Member Services MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Member Books Encore

Military Officer - January 2007

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