This essay argues that mandatory military service should be required of all eighteen-year-olds in the United States. The author examines the social challenges facing today's youth — including high school dropout rates, limited financial opportunity, and lack of direction — and contends that military service addresses these issues by providing discipline, education, and a sense of self-worth. Drawing on personal experience with family members who served, the author maintains that compulsory military service at eighteen would benefit young people regardless of their socioeconomic background and give every young adult the opportunity to thrive.
For every high school student — or dropout, for that matter — reaching the age of eighteen is a climactic and profound moment in any young person's life. At eighteen, freedom begins in many different ways. Many rebellious teens see eighteen as the point at which their parents no longer hold authority over them. Many things that were once out of reach, such as renting an apartment, buying cigarettes, gambling, and drinking alcohol (in some areas), become legal at this age. Undoubtedly, reaching the age of eighteen is an accomplishment in itself, but in the context of the average teenager, it is hardly an opportunity to begin fully developing one's self-image, confidence, or individual identity in terms of true worth.
In fact, for the average eighteen-year-old, turning eighteen can be a point of lost awakenings, harmful rebellion, and a very troubling time when the harsh realities of our society can feel overwhelming. It is because of these facts — and more — that the opportunity to take part in military service is so significant. The military offers a discipline that so many teenagers reaching eighteen are literally starving for. It offers direction and focus at a critical age. These reasons are compelling, supporting factors in the argument that all eighteen-year-olds should be required to perform military service.
It is without question that the years of youth are very trying. High school dropout rates are ever-climbing, drugs are spreading into every corner of American society, and opportunities for advancement in any area of life are growing thinner and thinner. Undoubtedly, the age of eighteen carries an entirely different weight today than it did for older generations. It opens doors of opportunity, but even more so, it opens doors to danger.
Upon reaching eighteen, most teens are extremely consumed by the small worlds that revolve around themselves alone. It is a raw and vulnerable time for any young person in any culture. The rich diversity within our society makes this no simpler. Teenagers are swept along by forces they do not fully understand. The idea that the decisions they make during this period are absolutely crucial to their futures is a notion largely lost on most of them.
The road to success through one's own striving effort is long and narrow, while the road to failure and destruction is short and wide. Most teens coming out of high school do not have the same opportunities available to them as others. Many do not have the financial means to attend a college or university. Some are so burdened by past mistakes that they have no choice but to begin working a dead-end job simply to keep themselves fed. For young people like these — who exist in great numbers throughout our society — there is little hope of reaching beyond the same limited potential that their families before them were also confined to.
Considering all of this and the limitations that fall upon so many of our young people, it is no wonder that these kids are often so lost. It is with full recognition of these realities that we can begin to see, with great clarity, how service in the military provides the very characteristics that define what so many of these lost and limited teenagers need. The military offers not only the schooling and education that is so important for young people to continue after high school, but also a means of discipline that will ultimately shape their futures. Regardless of financial status, each teenager is given the opportunity to advance in any area of their own interest or ability. Moreover, teenagers actually have the opportunity to earn money as they develop into young adults.
The no-nonsense structure that the military demands of its service members is exactly what many troubled young people are crying out for. The obligations that the military places on teens provide them with a sense of purpose and acceptance that helps them more clearly determine their sense of direction. The broad exposure that military service offers expands young people's horizons and counters their pessimistic views about limited opportunity. Most importantly, the military provides young people with a sense of self-worth and achievement that might otherwise remain absent throughout the remainder of their lives.
"Family experiences illustrating military's transformative power"
In sum, the environment that teens are exposed to through service in the military is imperative to their development. The military offers young people a way to eliminate the aspects of their lives that can be detrimental to their futures. It is because of the success that soldiers have achieved through military service that requiring all eighteen-year-olds to serve is a concept without negative consequence.
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