Discussion US Military Draft

[Lost in a Dream]

https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/07/the-return-of-the-military-draft.html

Has anyone living in the US heard about the possibility of the military draft returning, or anyone on here live in a country that already has it? So far, it doesn't sound like this is actually happening, but the mere possibility is bad enough. The day the US government tries drafting me, when it can't even be bothered to grant its citizens rights over their own deaths (Death with Dignity not being fully legalized or even discussed by politicians), I really will have had it with this world.

What do you think? Is this a possibility that concerns you? I kind of want to discuss this because it's giving me anxiety when I'm finally on the right medications and starting to feel better.

Edit: I noticed this was discussed in a different thread about WW3 after I posted this one, so I apologize for bringing the topic up again.

 

[SweetItalianS]

Hey Lost in a Dream, glad to hear that you are feeling better, personally I doubt that US will start military draft because the politicians seem to convey the idea of not intervening, for example remember all the military bases they abandoned in the past years? Of coarse things might change after the election but doubt that it's the case.

I did live in Russia which has military draft going on, I didn't want to participate in the war that is ongoing with Ukraine so I left the country.

Keep in mind that usually military draft does not include everyone who's of certain age, some people might be able to avoid it due to health/mental health issues. If you are taking medications and have a serious diagnosis such as depression it's quite certain that you are safe.

 

[TAW122]

I would think that even if the draft was reinstated, I'm likely to age out (currently 34) unless they increase the age significantly, and also expand eligibility criteria as well as rigorous enforcement. Chances are that I will be screened out or I will just refuse to serve (and likely face consequences as a result of such, legal and social alike).

As distasteful as this sounds (no offense to anyone who served or are currently serving), perhaps it may be a viable CTB method for me if I couldn't do it as a civilian. I'm sure with my tendencies (assuming I don't get screened out and it becomes compulsory) and how the stress of being in the service does, it might even push me to CTB easier (overcoming the SI, doing something dumb and dying or just turning the weapon against myself), but I digress...

 

[Lost in a Dream]

Hey Lost in a Dream, glad to hear that you are feeling better, personally I doubt that US will start military draft because the politicians seem to convey the idea of not intervening, for example remember all the military bases they abandoned in the past years? Of coarse things might change after the election but doubt that it's the case.

I did live in Russia which has military draft going on, I didn't want to participate in the war that is ongoing with Ukraine so I left the country.

Keep in mind that usually military draft does not include everyone who's of certain age, some people might be able to avoid it due to health/mental health issues. If you are taking medications and have a serious diagnosis such as depression it's quite certain that you are safe.

I was feeling better until I heard about the draft being a possibility. It's mostly why I've been more active on the forum the last couple days. I took a nice long break but had to come back. I'm glad you escaped from Russia and didn't have to participate in the war. I'm not sure how I would've gotten out being as poor as I am.

I hope you're right about the government not bringing back the draft. Even if I was exempt because of past hospitalizations for mental health, people I know might get drafted and end up as messed up as me or worse.

 

[SweetItalianS]

I was feeling better until I heard about the draft being a possibility. It's mostly why I've been more active on the forum the last couple days. I took a nice long break but had to come back. I'm glad you escaped from Russia and didn't have to participate in the war. I'm not sure how I would've gotten out being as poor as I am.

I hope you're right about the government not bringing back the draft. Even if I was exempt because of past hospitalizations for mental health, people I know might get drafted and end up as messed up as me or worse.

News are mainly a source of negativity because negativity brings engagement, I'd suggest to stop watching them for some time and see if it decreases your anxiety levels, there are also some positive news agencies you might consider using them instead of the mainstream ones.

 

[DarkRange55]

There are exemptions for example IIRC they don't let people who are on medication for bipolar disorder handle a weapon. You can have back pains since muscle tissue doesn't show up on X-ray. Religious exemptions. College exemptions. Essential workers, Etc.

I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[ThatStateOfMind]

I was feeling better until I heard about the draft being a possibility. It's mostly why I've been more active on the forum the last couple days. I took a nice long break but had to come back. I'm glad you escaped from Russia and didn't have to participate in the war. I'm not sure how I would've gotten out being as poor as I am.

I hope you're right about the government not bringing back the draft. Even if I was exempt because of past hospitalizations for mental health, people I know might get drafted and end up as messed up as me or worse.

Yeah I agree with others, don't stress yourself out about the draft. I'm pretty sure my thread about WWIII is the one you're talking about, but I wouldn't worry about it. I also agree with SweetItalianS that the news is also terrible for mental health as they tend to cover the bad stuff because that's what gets them the most money and views. Plus, I feel the US would have a hard time reimplementing that draft as I feel like a lot of people just wouldn't show and face the consequences of draft dodging. I don't see them using the draft anytime soon though, the military is the US is huge with a little over 2,000,000 service members if you include the reserves.

 

[Leiot]

I really doubt the draft would come back unless we got into WWIII or something where we were attacked directly by another nation. This suicide bombing crap wouldn't do it.

Funny, it reminded me about the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) that came up in the '70s that would have granted men and women equal rights here in the US. I was against it - not because I don't think women deserve to be treated differently (or less bad, really) but because we had just come out of Vietnam and it would have meant women would have had to register for the draft.