Does the Army Need a Medical Draft
Abstract
The study identifies the magnitude of the shortfall of health care personnel to meet the wartime medical requirements of the United States Army. It identifies the total personnel shortfall, critical types of personnel and specific job skills by component. The Army's dependency upon elements of the Reserve Component which may not be available upon mobilization is reviewed . The effect of the shortages on trained strength in units is noted. Some of the history of the draft in the United States and historical solutions to the medical strength problem are then reviewed. Among the conclusions drawn are: (1) without legislation enacted and a medical draft mechanism in place before M-day, no solution discussed will solve the problem (even within six months); (2) without new draft legislation, expanded use of retirees appears to be the most responsive alternative; (3) the 'best' apparent solution is a 'standby' draft keyed to the strength of the Selected Reserve, the Individual Ready Reserve and the Inactive National Guard. An operating 'standby' draft would provide units that are training together and near full strength along with an identified pool of individual replacements on M-day. The study concludes that if a standby draft cannot be ongoing, the only other suitable alternative is legislation permitting a draft of medical manpower well in advance of the mobilization of the force. Keywords: Military theses.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 31, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA212701
Entities
People
- Jack L. Killen Jr.
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College