40th Anniversary of the All-Volunteer Force

[JLawson]

Statement by Secretary Hagel on the 40th Anniversary of the All-Volunteer Force
07/01/2013 11:55 AM CDT

IMMEDIATE RELEASE   No. 482-13
July 01, 2013
Statement by Secretary Hagel on the 40th Anniversary of the All-Volunteer Force

            Forty years ago today, the Department of Defense implemented one of the most consequential and far-reaching changes in the history of America's armed forces with the establishment of the all-volunteer force.

            In commemorating the birth of our modern military, we recognize and thank the millions of men and women and their families who have served our country -- on active duty, in the reserves, and in the National Guard.  Skeptics and detractors claimed an all-volunteer force could not be sustained, but these remarkable Americans proved otherwise.  They helped win the Cold War, stood against aggression in the Persian Gulf, kept peace in the Balkans, and put their lives on the line in Iraq and Afghanistan in the years since 9/11.  They choose to serve our country because they believe in a cause that is bigger than themselves.  They've always put the interestsof the nation first, as have their families.  It's because of their sense of duty that the American military remains the most trusted institution in our society today.

            Our all-volunteer force faces challenges.  It will need to rebalance, adapt, and evolve, as it has over the last 40 years.  America's all-volunteer force will continue to make our military the strongest, most capable, and most respected fighting force in the history of the world.

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=16132

[JoeG]

we recognize and thank the millions of men and women and their families who have served our country -- on active duty, in the reserves, and in the National Guard. 

       America's all-volunteer force will continue to make our military the strongest, most capable, and most respected fighting force in the history of the world.

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=16132

Yes we do!

And Yes it is!

[santahog]

For the good of the military, I think it's best.
For the good of the "society at large", well, I think we would all benefit if we could get a little more of the "boy" out of the newly declared "adults" before we have to endure their decisions..
Having served, I changed my mind from draft to volunteer by the time I got out..
(If that makes any sense..) 

[fightingquaker13]

For the good of the military, I think it's best.
For the good of the "society at large", well, I think we would all benefit if we could get a little more of the "boy" out of the newly declared "adults" before we have to endure their decisions..
Having served, I changed my mind from draft to volunteer by the time I got out..
(If that makes any sense..) 

I agree. It would also level out some class distinctions as the Ivy league types who almost never serve and went to private schools would get a dose of reality. That said, as many have said before, the military's job is not to  be a lab for social experiments, but to fight wars. So on that note, I'd leave it alone.

[rojawe]

The biggest challenge they have now is Obama

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