The American Military Is Better Off Without the Draft

The difference between Vietnam draftees and volunteer soldiers in the Panama invasion and Gulf War was obvious

Letter to The WSJ. 

"Regarding Maj. Gen. Walter Stewart Jr.’s letter condemning the creation of the volunteer military (April 22): I served on active duty for more than 30 years, from the end of the Vietnam War to the beginning of the war on terrorism. Although I wasn’t sent to Vietnam, I led draftees and observed the myriad dysfunction that many of them brought into the ranks. Drug use and race problems were pervasive. Discipline was a constant challenge.

Later, I deployed to the Panama invasion and the Gulf War, and the contrast between the quality and performance of the troops I witnessed in the early 1970s and that of those in the late ’80s and early ’90s couldn’t have been more stark. Milton Friedman and the Gates Commission were correct, and anyone who reads the official U.S. Army account of the Gulf War will likely come to the same conclusion. We should never return to the draft unless there is a need for mass mobilization.

Col. David L. Patton, USA (Ret.)

Lexington, Ky."