ONE PAGE MINI ESSAY- MLA FORMAT/CITATION

Mandatory Two Year Service

The American population that serves in the military has fallen by more than half since 1980. Active duty numbers are down from more than 3 million in 1966, when there was a draft for the Vietnam War, to 1.3 million today (Dastagir). President Trump, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton never served.

An interesting aside: Per Pentagon data, 71% of current Americans ages 17-24 are ineligible to serve in the military based on obesity, lack of education, and criminal records. 

Service advocates, military veterans, and political commentators have argued that a large-scale national service program to either encourage or mandate that young Americans spend time in military or civilian service could help unite the country. Young people, with diverse backgrounds, could work together with a common goal. 

Journal Prompt: Should a two-year national public service military or civilian be expected of all young Americans?

(Journal response is based on your views, assertions, and critical thoughts and should be a minimum of a full-page,  Please post directly into the dialogue box. If an outside source is used, please cite using an in-text citation and a Works Cited entry.)MLA FORMAT

Keep in mind, the two-year service would not just be military-driven; young Americans could spend their two years working in a humanitarian role for our country–perhaps Habitat for Humanity or working to repair and assist towns where natural disasters occurred. (Think Peace Corps or National Guard.)