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more dangerous. Some seemed to

lower rates than do volunteers. Increased

think that, if they were in uniform

turnover would hike total costs: the

when US troops were deployed, they

Pentagon would have to train larger numbers

would inevitably be deployed and,

of conscripts and offer more generous reen-

consequently, be put in harm's way.

listment pay and bonuses to build and retain

Some suggested that recent military

a career force. In addition to that would be

ventures were motivated by the inter-

the costs of classification, induction, and

ests of national leaders--Congress or

enforcement. Such a national conscription

the President--but were not in the

apparatus would have to be even more exten-

national interest. They objected to

sive and draconian today when the case for

being put in jeopardy to fight some-

the draft--and thus the social consensus

one else's battles.90

behind it--would be so weak.

In 1982 the Reagan administration's

Parents share that concern. Indeed, they

Military Manpower Task Force concluded

"generally were not supportive of this evolv-

that a return to the draft would actually hike

ing role for the United States military."91

budget costs by about $1 billion annually:

However, neither sons nor parents ques-

"The anticipated cost savings," stated the

A return to

commission, "would probably be illusory."93

tioned "the need for military service in either

conscription

defense of our own country or in domestic

Similar estimates of increased costs from

assistance, e.g., hurricane relief."92

other studies during the mid-1980s ran from

would yield a

$1 billion to $1.5 billion.94 A report by the

The reluctance of potential recruits, their

less-experienced,

parents, and current service people to sup-

consulting group Syllogistics, Inc., conclud-

less-stable, and

port today's interventionist policies indicates

ed that "as a method of personnel procure-

that those policies don't make sense or have

ment, an active force draft could be quite

less-efficient mil-

costly compared to today's AVF."95

been inadequately explained, or both.

itary.

Policymakers should deal with the policies

Conscription would also make the mili-

that are causing the problem instead of rein-

tary less efficient because the services

stituting the draft. Conscription would elim-

would make less effort to use productively

inate the need to justify dubious deploy-

their most valuable resource: manpower.

ments, not make them more justifiable.

Before becoming navy secretary, Richard

Danzig observed that "when it receives peo-

ple at no cost, the military, like most insti-

The Mirage of Cost Savings

tutions when this happens, tends to treat

them as if they were virtually of no

worth."96 Thus, the advent of the AVF

Coercion is not cheaper than voluntarism.

Some savings in recruiting costs might be

caused manpower analyst Kenneth Coffey

achieved, but even radical pay cuts would

to propose more carefully calibrated mobi-

save little because first termers earn the least.

lization and deployment policies to meet

the threat of a Warsaw Pact invasion.97

And the obvious unfairness of dramatically

reducing benefits for the unfortunate few

The existence of a draft also affects bat-

singled out for conscription would likely dis-

tlefield tactics. The availability of essential-

courage Congress from slashing draftees'

ly endless supplies of manpower allowed

pay, limiting any potential savings.

the North in the Civil War and most of the

Moreover, any savings would be offset by

countries participating in World War I to

increased costs elsewhere. For example, con-

undertake those bloody wars of attrition. In

scripts tend to serve shorter terms (volun-

the latter conflict, British prime minister

teers can be asked to serve four or more years

David Lloyd George raged, "The generals

compared with the typical draft term of two

could not be expected to judge the issue

years) and, as noted earlier, reenlist at far

dispassionately. Their reckless wastage of

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