■■ :■ ■; ■
AP Analysis
Voluntary Service
By Fred S. Hoffman
AP Military Writer
WASHINGTON (A 1 ) _ The
question of whether the United
States should return to an all
volunteer armed force is caught
in cross-currents of argument
over race, military influence,
patriotism and cost.
Some people oppose the draft
because they feel it bears un
fairly on blacks.
At the same time, others op
pose an all-volunteer force on
grounds it would be largely
black — their theory being that
poor Negroes would be more at
tracted by the higher pay than
would whites who can get better
civilian jobs.
President Nixon’s special com
mission weighed the pros and
cons for nearly a year before
recommending last Saturday the
draft, except for emergency
standby machinery, be allowed to
die next year and that it be re
placed Iby an all-volunteer force.
It stated its belief that the
United States could raise and
maintain armed forces totalling
about 2.5 million men in peace
time without the draft, chiefly
by boosting the pay of first-term
servicemen and some other im
provements in military life.
Past studies have reached the
conclusion that it would cost pos
sibly as much as $17 billion a
year more to assure armed forces
of that size.
The last time the U.S. govern
ment attempted to get along with
out the draft was a 15-month
period in 1947 and 1948.
In those days, the United States
had a military force of about 1.5
million—about one million fewer
than the Nixon commission’s tar
get.
However, there were about 50
million fewer Americans in the
total population, and the Nixon
commission is counting on the
growing supply of youths for the
necessary volunteers into today’s
bigger force.
The commission pointed out
that more than half of the pres
ent force of 3.3 million men are
volunteers. But critics reply that
many of these volunteers sign up
in the Air Force, Navy and Ma
rine Corps—which make little or
no use of the draft—to avoid
being drafted into the Army.
In his presidentiab^mpaign in
1968, Nixon came out for the all
volunteer force and said that “in
terms of morale, efficiency and
effectiveness, a volunteer armed
force would assuredly be a better
armed force.”
His commission said:
“A return to an all-volunteer
force will strengthen our free
doms, remove an inequity now
imposed on the expression of the
patriotism that never has been
lacking among our youth, pro
mote the efficiency of the armed
forces, and enhance their dig
nity.”
In other arguments for the
all-volunteer force, the commis
sion said:
—“Men who are forced to serve
in the military at artificially low
pay are actually paying a form
of tax which subsidizes those in
tha society who do not serve.”
—The draft “has been a cost
ly, inequitable and divisive pro
cedure for recruiting men for the
armed force.”
—“It has weakened the politi
cal fabric of our society and im
paired the delicate web of shared
values that alone enables a free
society to exist.”
More than five years ago, Gen.
Earle G. Wheeler, chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told
Congress he would be against a
volunteer professional army be
cause “the U.S. Army always has
been closely identified with the
broad base of population, and I
like it that way.”
There is no indication that
Wheeler has changed his mind.
In its 211-page report, the pres
idential commission listed some of
the major objections to the all
volunteer force, and answered
those objections.
Here are some of those objec
tions, and the commission’s re
plies.
1. Higher pay for voluntary
force will be especially appeal
ing to Negroes who have rela
tively poor civilian opportunities.
Answer: “The frequently heard
claim that a volunteer force will
be all black or all this or all that,
simply has no basis in fact. Our
research indicates the composi
tion of the armed forces will not
be fundamentally changed by end
ing conscription . .
2. “The presence of draftees in
a mixed force guards against
the growth of a separate military
ethos which could pose a threat
to civilian authority, our freedom,
and our democratic institutions.”
Answer: “Historically, volun
tary service and freedom have
gone hand in hand ... In either
a mixed or volunteer force, the
attitudes of the officer corps are
Bulletin
TONIGHT
Hillel Club will meet at 7 : 30
p.m. in Hillel House.
Aggie Wives Bridge Club will
meet at 7:30 p.m. in the MSC.
The Port Arthur Hometown
Club will meet at 8 p.m. in Room
110 Military Science.
The Aggie Christian Fellowship
will meet at 7:30 p.m. in Room
304 Physics. The program will
be “The Normal Christian Life,”
a three week series on Romans
5-8, led by Don Geiger from
Houston.
THURSDAY
DeWitt - Lavaca Hometown
Club will meet at 7:30 p.m. in
Room 203 Academic. The meet
ing is for election of officers and
Possible?
the preponderant factor in the
psychology of the military; and
with or without the draft, profes
sional officers are recruited vol
untarily from a variety of region
al and socio-economic back
grounds.”
3. An all-volunteer force “will
undermine patriotism by weak
ening the traditional belief that
each citizen has a moral respon
sibility to serve his country.”
Answer: “Compelling service
through a draft undermines re
spect for government by forcing
an individual to serve when and
in the manner the government
decides, regardless of his own
values and talents.”
4. An all-volunteer f o r e c
“would stimulate foreign mili
tary adventures, foster an irre
sponsible foreign policy, and les
sen civilian concern about the
use of military forces.”
Answer: “ . . To the extent
that there is pressure to seek
military solutions to foreign pol
icy problems, such pressure al
ready exists and will not be af
fected by ending conscription. The
volunteer force will have the same
professional leadership as the pre
sent mixed force . . .”
5. An all-volunteer force “will
lack the flexibility to expand
rapidly in times of sudden crisis.”
Answer: “Military prepared
ness depends on forces in being,
not on the ability to draft un
trained men . . . The commission
has recommended to standby draft
which can be put into effect
promptly if circumstances require
mobilization of large numbers of
men.”
U. S. military authorities and
the presidential commission staff
both studied closely the exper
ience of Great Britain in shifting
to an all-volunteer force.
“British officials have said that
the fully volunteer force is more
productive than a mixed force
because of lower turnover and
the superior performance of more
experienced servicemen,” the
commission report said.
Board
making of plans for the Easter
Party.
San Angelo-West Texas Home
town Club will meet at 7:30 p.m.
in Room 2D Memorial Student
Center.
American Legion Post No. 159
and its auxiliary will have a din
ner meeting at 7 p.m. in the
Legion Hall. Members are asked
to bring a covered dish; meat
will be furnished by the Legion.
TUESDAY
Dr. E. J. Dyksterhuis will
speak on “Some Opinions on
Man’s Role in the Planetary Eco
system” at 7:30' p.m. in the
Architecture Auditorium. The
program is sponsored by the For
um for Environmental Studies.
Cbt Battalion
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of
the student writers only. The Battalion is a non-tax-
supported, non-profit, self-supporting educational enter-
frrise edited and operated by students as a university and
community newspaper.
LETTERS POLICY
Letters to the editor should be typed, double-spaced,
and no more than 300 words in length. They must be
signed, although the xeriter’s name will be xvithheld by
arrangement with the editor. Address correspondence to
Listen Up, The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building,
College Station, Texas 77843.
1969 TPA Award Winner
Members of the Student Publications Board are: Jim
Lindsey, chairman; H. F. Filers, College of Liberal Arts;
F. S. White, College of Engineering; Dr. Asa B. Childers, Jr„
College of Veterinary Medicine; and Dr. Z. L. Carpenter,
College of Agriculture.
The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M, is
published in College Station, Texas, daily except Saturday,
Sunday, Monday, and holiday periods, September through
May, and once a week during summer school.
Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising
Services, Inc.. New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and San
Franciaco.
MEMBER
The Associated Press, Texas Press Association
The Associated Collegiate Press
Mail subscriptions are 53.50 per semester; $6 per school
year; $6.50 per full year. All subscriptions subject to 4>4%
sales tax. Advertising rate furnished on request. Address:
The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station.
Texas 77843.
The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for
reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it or not
otherwise credited in the paper and local news of spontaneous
origin published herein. Rights of republication of all other
matter herein are also reserved.
Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas.
EDITOR DAVE MAYES
Managing Editor David Middlebrooke
Women’s Editor Cindy Burleson
News Editor Pam Troboy
Sports Editor Richard Campbell
Assistant Sports Editor Mike Wright
Staff Writers Hayden Whitsett, Bob Robinson,
Chancy Lewis, Janie Wallace,
Fran Haugen, Randy Murdock,
Billy Buchanan, Gibril Fadika,
Tommy Thompson
Sports Writer Clifford Broyles
Columnists Roger Miller, Mike McClain
Photographers Jim Berry, David Gawthorpe,
Mel Miller, Robert Boyd
Sports Photographer Mike Wright
CADET SLOUCH by Jim Earle
“If this works, it’ll revolutionize C.Q.!’
Page 2
THE BATTALION
College Station, Texas Wednesday, March 4,197(1
Pausing for a moment to look over their new offices
in the MSC, the recently expanded staff of Beverley Bra-
ley Tours and Travel are: Director of Student travel
Mr. Ed Rogers; Domestic travel consultants, Mrs. Mo-
zelle Amis and Mrs. Rita Cooksey; International travel
and tours consultant Mrs. Sigrid Carter; Assistant Di
rector of Student travel; and Manager, Jack Owens.
You may call Mrs. Amis and Mrs. Cooksey for your
domestic travel plans or Mrs. Carter for your interna
tional travel plans. Beverly Braley Travel bffers you
immediate IBM computerized reservations for your air,
car, and hotel reservations. We offer you the conven
ience of the 30-day personal charge account as well as
all other credit cards accepted by the airlines, in addition
to free ticket delivery.
Visit our expanded facilities in the MSC upstairs
from the main reservation desk. We have added a con
ference room for group meetings and personal travel
consultation. These offices will also serve as the head
quarters for student travel. Ed Rogers will be available
to help with your student travel plans and arrange for
your Air Travel Youth Cards to allow you to travel at
reduced rates.
MEMBER
mik
lours
travel.
§§
Bonded ASTA Agent
fashi
Mock
At C
TOTAL
W/nv '
M1UP
specutts pop:
THVKS-tfZ) ** S4T
MARCH + M7o
A AC. OuahtitV
Rights ntstft.vcD
Fashion
first for
directed by
cialty store,
,t other ui
years.
' Models s<
at Souther
sity, will a:
the skills c
makeup,
an d wardrol
lion.
The Fair
Id, from 9
Memorial £
cost is $8 f
is $2 extra.
The regis
in the MSC
and will be
this week,
attend. Bo
students ar
Twenty v
at the end
in a Nei
show sched
The registi
compliment;
fashion sho
The modi
Fair as “Mi
of the year
in local fas
Carole Be
•y educat
was selecte
els from I
versity last
“You fee
at first, bui
learn
“You
struction ai
elegant cloi
regis
name and
envelope t<
Committee,
er. R
be accepted
office of th
and after 1
SRcoxsHfPe 8xe>s. ex a oe'» "c it use
3 99
bRINkS
;z c*-
r CAHS
FLOUR-30
U. 5. txA s . „
GKAVE
WHOLE
lb-
T0m3T-
k
LETTUCE
H£AJ>
Lire, flupf FLAK'!
BISCUITS
4 fis-
CAti
REDEEM AT BROOKSHIRE BROS.
50 FREE
TOP VALUE STAMPS
With Purchase of 46-Oz. Can
Johnson’s Glory
Coupon Expires March 7, 1970.
I B I — I I I 1 > I 1 B I I WfP
REDEEM AT BROOKSHIRE BROS.
100 EXTRA
TOP VALUE STAMPS
With Purchase of $10.00 or More
(Excluding Cigarettes) • One Per Family
Coupon Expires March L 1970. ^
PEANUTS
By Charles M. Schnk
THE WORLP
IS FILLEP WITH
TROUBLE I
I DEMAND TO Se£
THE HEAD BEAGLE i
WAN 1
One day . .
3d per wo]
Minir
Cla
m i
P
Anne
Subject to
ocratic Pri
For U.
the Sixth
of Texas.
OLII
(
CH
Child cate, Ca
Gregory’s
IIW005,
HUMPTY D1
ffi, 3400 Sou
8-8626. Virgi
SPEC
WANT TO !
NESS’ You :
N be willi
full time
Kplanation. of
rtf:30 P- m.,
'fthe MSC.
KINDERGAI
for septem
Mfied teach
Me. CALV
GARTEN. 822-
ItfJTC
FO
Call
Farmer
3400 S. (
BREST
Havo
En
—E>
We stock ;
Where lo\
Quanti
Wheel B
Syster
Water
Almost
25-
Brake
2 Wh
c
Other
Starte
All
Most
You
Joe I
220 E. 25
JOI
24