This letter is in response to Robert Baptiste’s July 24 column, “Selective Service too selective for equality.” More than 58,000 men and women were killed in the Vietnam War and 61 percent of those soldiers were under the age of 21. Now think of how many of those men and women were drafted. Along with violating free will, reinstating the draft would have negative effects on the workforce and is not a way to guarantee experienced, positive soldiers. The draft did not have positive effects during the Vietnam War and will be no different now.

First of all, the draft is a violation of free will. American citizens are granted the right to choose to do whatever they wish with their own lives when they reach the age of 18. Sending a person to war could very likely take away their right to live. If that person was killed in war, or perhaps severely injured, it would no doubt affect what they could do with their lives in the future. They may not even be able to work and would be forced to live off of welfare.

Another result of the draft being reinstated would be the lack of workers. If the majority of men go off to fight the war, who will be here to build the weapons they need? If all the women are drafted to nurse the wounded soldiers, who will be available to care for those in need here? Who will be here to watch over the children?

Reinstating the draft would not ensure soldiers would be willing and properly trained. Our military would consist of scared young adults who probably never held a gun until they were trained by the army, let alone shot one. If we reinstate the draft, it wouldn’t happen until we absolutely needed the manpower, and that would mean there would be no time to train those drafted. During Vietnam, drafted soldiers only got six weeks of training — do you think that is enough training before fighting in a war?

Also, we would be sending soldiers who have minimum training to fight soldiers who have been training for years. It would be like sending a group of fifth-graders who have just learned to play football out to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If you enjoy the task you are doing, you perform it well, and if you do not enjoy the task you are doing, you will perform it poorly. The same idea applies in war. Soldiers who are scared to kill or don’t want to, for that matter, will not do it efficiently. They will be nervous; they may run at the sound of gunfire and unknowingly run into an ambush and get themselves killed. They may fire a torpedo at the wrong ship and endanger members of their own army. There are a number of things that people can do wrong when scared and unmotivated.

If the draft is reinstated it will no doubt directly affect you and your family. The draft calls men and women between the ages of 18 and 26, and going to college is not an excuse the government accepts.

Reinstating the draft should not be considered in our war against Saddam and Iraq. It would violate our rights, deplete our workforce and not ensure a victory.

Lorainna Williams

Senior

Performing Arts