Introduction

In a breakthrough that marries national service and national defense, President Bush recently signed into law a new, short-term enlistment option for America's Armed Forces. It would enable volunteers to sign up for 18 months of service on active duty -- the average enlistment now is four years -- followed by service in the Reserves and then either a period of availability in the Individual Ready Reserves or civilian service in AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps.

The provision, contained in this year's defense authorization bill, represents a triumph for Sens. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), who proposed such a "citizen soldier" option in legislation last year aimed at enlarging national service. The short-term enlistment is intended to attract volunteers who would like to serve their country in uniform without pursuing a military career. Supporters say short-term enlistments would appeal especially to college-educated youths, who are now dramatically underrepresented in America's all-volunteer force.

The creation of a citizen soldier enlistment track marks the most important change in America's military recruitment policy since the draft was ended. The introduction of the all-volunteer force in 1974 ushered in an era of military recruitment that targeted people primarily interested in cash, job security, or technical training. The citizen soldier track adds a civic dimension to this economic model. It offers the nation's most fortunate sons and daughters a voluntary equivalent of the old draft -- a way to contribute to America's defense without choosing a military career.

With America embroiled in a global war on terrorism, and perhaps soon to be engaged in a conflict with Iraq, public attention inevitably turns to a crucial question: Who is doing the fighting and dying for all of us? Drawing on recent survey data and analysis of the latest Department of Defense and General Accounting Office reports, in this paper we conclude that the current recruitment policy -- based exclusively on economic incentives and career-track enlistments -- does not attract well-off and well-educated citizens. Moreover, it has created a force structure ill suited for long-duration conflicts and driven steady increases in personnel costs. We further conclude that the use of citizen soldiers, together with a national call to service, could help spread the risks of defending America more widely and equitably, ease the strains created by long-duration conflicts, and help contain rising manpower costs.

First proposed in the mid-1980s by Northwestern University's Charles Moskos, the nation's preeminent military sociologist, and featured in the Democratic Leadership Council's 1988 book Citizenship and National Service, the short-term enlistment option is not designed to replace the professional soldiers recruited through the traditional career track. Instead, it aims to supplement a core professional military with a rotating system of citizen soldiers.

In 1989, Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) and Rep. Dave McCurdy (D-Okla.) introduced the "Citizenship and National Service Act," which incorporated both the short-term enlistment option and the civilian service initiatives developed by Moskos and the DLC. While the bill failed to pass in either chamber of Congress, the civilian service initiatives were later taken up by then Gov. Bill Clinton in his 1992 campaign and were signed into law by President Clinton in 1993, creating the civilian national service program AmeriCorps.

In 2001, the military pillar of this national service initiative was revived in the bipartisan "Call to Service" bill introduced in the Senate by Sens. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) and in the House of Representatives by Reps. Harold Ford (D-Tenn.) and Tom Osborne (R-Neb.). The final plan approved by Congress creates a new enlistment track involving an active duty commitment of 15 months (following at least three months of initial entry training), followed by 24 months in the Selected Reserves (which includes the National Guard and Active Reserves) and either a six-year period of availability for national emergencies in the non-drilling Individual Ready Reserves or a one- to two-year commitment of full-time civilian service in AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps. In return for their service, these citizen soldiers are offered the choice of an $18,000 education grant, a $5,000 cash bonus, or monthly educational assistance provided under the Montgomery GI Bill (either the full amount for one year or half of the full amount for three years). The defense authorization bill requires the Secretary of Defense to develop a full plan for implementation of this new short-term citizen soldier option no later than March 31, 2003, to commence with this new program no later than October 31, 2003, and to issue reports on its effectiveness no later than March 31, 2005 and March 31, 2007.

The way our nation meets current and future challenges to our collective security will have far-reaching consequences not only for the success of these military efforts, but also for the health of the civic compact upon which our democratic form of government rests. While there have been numerous policy reports in the last year addressing competing combat strategies or differing plans for the acquisition and deployment of new technologies, the critical issue of who will be asked to serve in our Armed Forces has proceeded with little analysis to date. In order to encourage a more informed debate on these critical issues, this policy report assesses the potential impact of these citizen soldiers in three areas:

• Distributing the burdens of providing for the common defense;
• Easing the strains of long-duration conflicts on the Selected Reserve force; and
• Containing the rising manpower costs in our Armed Forces.

Blueprint Keywords: Extra National Service

Marc Magee is the director of the Center for Civic Enterprise at the Progressive Policy Institute. Steven J. Nider is director of foreign and security studies at the Progressive Policy Institute.