Imagine, in the teeth of the coronavirus crisis, President Trump had been able to call up a literal and figurative army of trained volunteers, both to swell the ranks of a strained military and to help with essential civilian and humanitarian tasks in cities and states hammered by the pandemic.
That, say, advocates for the revival of the military draft or a U.S. universal service obligation, would be the case if their arguments had been listened to.
Those advocates say the current crisis could kick-start a moribund national debate on conscription and service, drawing on the labor provided from America’s youth.
The release of a two-year, blue-ribbon panel’s report on the draft attracted little notice last month as the COVID-19 crisis dominated the news, with the biggest headlines focused on its recommendation that young women be required to register for a hypothetical future draft.
But some say the events of the past four months have transformed the debate.
“In a military crisis of this magnitude, young men have in the past been called up and trained virtually overnight to perform numerous skilled jobs in the armed forces or in the civil service,” Charli Carpenter, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, wrote in an analysis last week for ForeignPolicy.com. “Young women have been mobilized as well — into the military, the medical corps or factory work.”
Ms. Carpenter goes on to paint a picture of a world where 20-somethings are trained intensely and quickly to fight the virus, building hospitals and distributing food. Some could even be trained to act as nursing assistants and emergency medical technicians.
“A civilian service draft is at least as reasonable today as a military one was for our grandfathers,” Mr. Carpenter wrote. “The risks from this pandemic are greater than from any war the United States might imagine fighting.”
Because of their age, millennials and members of Generation Z are among the Americans least at risk of serious illness from the coronavirus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only an estimated 1% of people who contract COVID-19 between the ages of 20 and 54 years will die from the virus.
Currently, the only active registration system is through the Selective Service. Within 30 days of turning 18, young men are required to register with the Selective Service in the event that Congress and the president seek to revive military conscription, which has stood at a standstill since the Vietnam War.
Although there is no standing conscription system for civilian national service, some argue that the coronavirus outbreak has changed more than a few minds.
One popular meme notes the only demand for sacrifice of the rising generation so far has been that they practice social distancing techniques and stay home: “Your grandparents were called to war. You’re being called to sit on your couch. You can do this.”
Last month, the National Commission on Military, National and Public Service released its final report, backing major changes to the current Civil Service registration system and new goals for American enrollment in national service programs. One primary goal is to see 1 million new annual enrollments in the national service sector every year by 2030.
Commission Vice Chair Debra Wada said in an interview that the U.S. government does not have the tools or capacity to mobilize even willing volunteers nationally to fight the current pandemic.
“The time you would need on a national scale to put something together — you’re talking about months,” she said. In the current crisis, by contrast, “Days matter, not months,” Ms. Wada said.
Congress is expected to consider the commission’s work in the coming months.
“From the commission’s point of view, if our recommendations are taken up and implemented, if we were to find ourselves in a similar situation in a couple of years from now, we may be better prepared,” Ms. Wada said.
In the wake of the current pandemic, Ms. Wada praised the contributions of AmeriCorps volunteers who have offered service to the elderly and most vulnerable in communities across America during this difficult time.
“The current pandemic could be the catalyst in which people truly understand that service in their communities is something, one, we do as Americans, but two, we have now an opportunity to ingrain into our society and our communities,” she said.
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