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Don't apologize for not serving
Never apologize
People often apologize to him for never serving, and his answer is not to apologize and to go do what they do well. He signed up to protect America so that Americans could keep going to their kids' soccer games and the Super Bowl.
A public looking elsewhere
During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he came home now and then to find people more concerned about the Super Bowl than about the fighting overseas. Many people didn't like that. He understood why, since young men and women were dying and the public should care, and he was okay with it anyway.
A national service corps
He does want one thing added: national service. A national service corps could run an academy where young men and women learn to be doctors in West Texas or civil engineers who solve the Flint, Michigan water problem. People in that corps and people in the military would share a mission of helping America, and that would bring Americans together in a way that matters.
Why did America move to an all-volunteer force?
The United States ended the draft in 1973 as the Vietnam War wound down. The Gates Commission, led by former Defense Secretary Thomas Gates, recommended an all-volunteer force in 1970. Draft calls had become politically explosive during the war. The draft authority expired in June 1973.
How did the Civilian Conservation Corps work?
President Franklin Roosevelt created the corps in 1933 to give young unemployed men work during the Depression. Enrollees planted trees, built trails and park facilities, and fought erosion, living in camps run with Army help. They were paid thirty dollars a month, and twenty-five of it was sent to their families. By the time the corps ended in 1942, about three million men had served.
How did Flint's water become contaminated?
In April 2014, Flint switched its water source from Detroit's system to the Flint River. The river water was more corrosive, and the city did not add corrosion-control treatment. Without it, the water pulled lead from old service pipes into homes. Pediatric research from Hurley Medical Center later showed that the share of children with elevated blood lead levels rose after the switch.
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