Disclaimer: As a female way past the age of draft-ability, my take on a the discussion of a volunteer military has limited credibility. I do have, however, relatives of a draft-able age.

Because of those constraints I seek reasonable, thoughtful, knowledgeable people from whom I can borrow wisdom. Without all of Bacevich's writing in front of me, I run the risk of mis-stating his premise. However, if I recall correctly, his point about a military that is divorced from the rest of society resonates for me. When I can stand it, I check out the comments to articles in my local newspaper. As I have alluded, I live in the heart of an agrarian community in transition. When I read things like, "they volunteered, they knew what they were signing up for, no one forced them, too bad they were killed, but it's their job" in response to articles about military casualties in Iraq - it makes me wonder about the relative wisdom of an all volunteer force.

I also have to wonder whether those constrained volunteer numbers really do prevent future Vietnam-s when our state department can find and deploy Blackwater-type alternatives. I imagine there have always been mercenaries in every war. I don't recall the presence of mercenaries in numbers as we've seen in Iraq. And, at this point, I'm not sure Blackwater, et al have improved the potential for positive outcomes. The all volunteer force may have prompted a condition ripe for some unintended consequences.

IIRC, An Anon last evening made the observation that the problem was the absence of a draft. I just wanted to offer a source who has done some critical thinking in that regard. I found Bacevich compelling, but the topic isn't one on which I feel I have a particular expertise. I'd only offer that in a guns vs. butter argument, I tend to come down on the side of butter.

And, buttercups to you, Bop ;-)

I hear ya, karrsic. Solemn is precisely the right word for it.

And, yes, RMP. It is very CLEAR. Sir!

From ThinkProgress:

http://tinyurl.com/2hndlt

Lowest number of recruits in history of all-volunteer Army.

“The Army began its recruiting year Oct. 1 with fewer signed up for basic training than in any year since it became an all-volunteer service in 1973,” said commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command Gen. William S. Wallace. Achieving new recruiting goals is more difficult now “because the Army has decided that it must grow its active-duty force by several thousand soldiers a year in order to relieve strain on war-weary troops.”

Wonder how the other branches of the military are doing? Wonder what happens when Iraqi Parliament throws the mercs out of Iraq? Wonder what happens when tours are extended yet again, via some creative accounting methods? Wonder when it will end? Wonder if it can end?

I'm going to guess (and, it's not a particularly well educated guess) that "John" might John Cole of Balloon Juice. I'll leave it to you to trace out the exchanges and issues between Confederate Yankee and the 'residents and the regulars' at Balloon Juice.

IIRC, you said you never had a little brother. If not, then how'd you come up with this?

I half expect Glenn to come back and say...

"What's all this screaming?! You kids pipe down - I can turn this blog right around and there'll be no new post for anybody!"

It's pitch perfect. Ah, nostalgia; a 9 passenger station wagon with 6 kids in it.

HawkDriver has a couple of comments up at Manjoo's The Case of the Angry Colonel which s/he made sometime today.

The relevant page of comments can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/2x8ato

The single comment entitled Cheap Shot seemed especially relevant to the direction the thread has gone, and can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/2bqqqe

I'm finding wisdom in this person's words.

People used to vote with their money, then people voted with their money and their feet. Now people are voting with their money, their feet, and their eyeballs.

Memo to CBS: There is a reason the mainstream press is struggling to stay relevant. This interview might contain some clues. Study it, and think about it, eh? It's not rocket science.

.... but it's a really good question.

Found over at Talking Poinnts Memo; http://tinyurl.com/24jsg4

A Last Thought Before the Senate Judiciary Committee Confirms Judge Mukasey; By John W. Dean

...Before the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee completely cave-in to Bush, at minimum they should demand that Judge Mukasey appoint a special prosecutor to investigate if war crimes have been committed. If Mukasey refuses he should be rejected. This, indeed, should be a pre-condition to anyone filling the post of Attorney General under Bush....

Re: John Dean's take on Mukasey's confirmation

The ACLU has an Action Center page. One of their 'take action' items is a link on Mukasey's confirmation. It contains a message that will be sent to your representative on your behalf. There is an editable portion of the message which the ACLU encourages you to personalize. It occurs to me that John Dean's request for a special prosecutor might be just the thing to insert into that editable portion of the message.

Click my sig or try: http://tinyurl.com/yuo945

...is will you sell me your copy of Once a Runner?