OPINION:
Our elected officials in Washington and those at the Pentagon must start paying attention to our military woes. The U.S. military is failing and if something isn’t done immediately, we won’t be able to defend our country.
China’s navy is larger than ours and getting larger every day. China has a massive industrial base and millions of laborers to build more ships. We do not. At our current rate of ship production, it’s statistically impossible for us to catch up to China.
The U.S. depends on recruits for our all-volunteer military, and we aren’t getting them. Among out military branches, only the Marine Corps has been able to meet its recruiting goal. If this continues (and it appears that it will), we will have ships in port with not enough sailors to take them to sea. Air Force aircraft will be parked due to a lack of pilots. Army divisions will be downsized for a lack of soldiers.
Maybe it’s time to do what President Franklin Roosevelt did in 1940 and authorize a military draft for one-year enlistments. The move wasn’t popular, but it was brilliant. We need a draft to bolster our military so it is ready for any future problems, because left on its own, the recruitment issue will only get worse. And our military is not prepared.
JOSEPH F. REBAR
Shamokin, Pennsylvania
