Making service pay - Letters

Washington Monthly, Jan-Feb, 2002 by Wendell Jennings

Two cheers for your campaign to bring back the draft ("Now Do You Believe We Need a Draft?" November 2001). I'm not completely convinced, but the Moskos/Glastris piece offered a sound argument even while deflating me a bit. Before I attended Mr. Moskos' school I was a volunteer in the Marine Corps and, yes, an MP for a while. I thought I was just a quick learner when they slapped the MP on my arm so quickly. Now I find out there wasn't much to learn. But the authors do underestimate one point: We have to make service so rewarding that those who duck it know there's a cost. I would suggest making it the top line on most job applications and an added stipend in the social security check later on, with a lot of other stuff in between.

WENDELL JENNINGS via email