The All-Volunteer Force, Five Years Later,
Abstract
For the approximately two million young American men who reach military age each year, there is probably no single public policy decision in the past 25 years more important than the termination of the draft in 1973. The importance of this decision, however, goes far beyond the implications for those most immediately affected by the draft's removal. Whether viewed as an instrument of economic and social policy or in terms of its effects on the maintenance of the U.S. defense effort, the draft was a key element of public policy and touched on nearly every aspect of defense management. The advent of the All-Volunteer Force (AVF) accordingly marks the beginning of one of the largest and most important experiments of its type ever conducted. With the exception of a short 18-month hiatus in the draft following World War II, the Armed Services have been forced to rely on true volunteers as their sole source of military manpower for the first time in more than three decades. Never before in modern history has a nation with such global military responsibilities or such an emphasis on defense been without the authority to conscript young men into military service.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA061094
Entities
People
- Richard V. L. Cooper
Organizations
- RAND Corporation