One day, when my brother was on his way to class at university in Bogota, a group of soldiers stopped him and asked for his libreta militar,
a military ID that certifies that he has paid his dues to the Colombian
Armed Forces. This scene, which should be familiar to most Colombian
men, is a consequence of the fact that military conscription for males
is mandated by law in Colombia. It happened that my brother did not have his libreta militar on
him, for he had turned 18 recently, and my parents were still in the
process of obtaining it. However, it also happened that the soldiers
before my brother did not want to believe his story, and they thought
it would be a good idea to detain him immediately and send him to serve
in uniform. The law gives them the right to do just that. Fortunately,
my brother got out of it by showing them his university ID, which
allows him to avoid military service, and could move on with his life. But another friend of his was not as lucky, and he ended up in a military base trying to reach his mother to tell her that the Army was taking him away.
I
understand that military conscription is, perhaps, a necessity for the
Armed Forces given the significant security threats there exist in
Colombia. Of course, many also see the draft as a patriotic duty that all citizens ought to fulfill. After all, article 216 of the Colombian Constitution
says that “all Colombians are obligated to take up arms when public
necessity demands it in order to defend the national independence and
the public institutions”. Paraphrasing JFK, it should be all about what you can do for your country.
Yet, the libertarian within me thinks that the draft is an unacceptable form of state interference in the life of the individual, and completely incompatible with the values of a free society. I dare anyone who favors conscription to prove that it is not essentially akin to forced labor. And although I also believe that there is such thing as patriotic duty, and that those soldiers
who die protecting our liberties and our democracy are heroes, I do not
think that conscription goes in the interests of the Colombian state
and its citizenry. In other words, the draft à la colombienne makes for bad policy.
To all students of the subject, it is well known that all systems of military conscription work as a hidden tax. Those who are drafted by force are paying a tax that equals the amount of money they would earn in the civilian sector if they had not been drafted in the first place. Moreover, those who are drafted, but wanted to follow a career in the military in any case, pay a tax equivalent to the money they would be getting if recruitment in the armed forces responded to the real supply and demand of recruits. The overall economy is also hindered by having so many arms taken away unwillingly from the labor force. This was one of the main arguments put forth by Milton Friedman and the other members of the Gates Commission, which, at Richard Nixon’s request, proposed the end of military conscription in the United States.
But not only is the draft yet another tax on all Colombian young males –it is also an incredibly unjust one that favors the wealthy, and leaves the poor and the uneducated
at its mercy. As most systems of compulsory military service, the
Colombian kind has a long list of deferments that allow many to avoid
joining the ranks. As
my brother knew quite well, being a student at university is one of
those various deferments, the rationale behind it being that the
military should not take away the relatively few who are getting a higher education. The only caveat is that those who are not recruited need to pay a tax equivalent to roughly 1% of the wealth of their families. The
result, however, is that those who serve in the military come
disproportionately from poorer families who cannot afford college for
their sons. Furthermore, it is in rural Colombia, where there are fewer
universities, that the military taps more heavily for involuntary
soldiers. Also, it is a known fact that knowing the right people (a
Congressman, other important public officials, an Army General would be
ideal) can get you out of military recruitment. As Seguridad y Democracia, a think tank, put it on a report, “in Colombia the rich put the money and the poor put the dead and the wounded”.
Even
worse, these inequalities replicate themselves within the military
itself. Those recruited soldiers who graduated from high school serve for 12 months and are not sent to combat, rather being assigned to administrative tasks or the Presidential Guard.
In contrast, those who did not finish school serve for longer terms of
18 to 24 months and are sent to the battlefront. It is easy to see the
injustice implicit in this system, although Colombia’s Constitutional
Court recently directed that no drafted soldier could be sent to
combat.
Finally,
those who say that a draft is absolutely necessary for a country
involved in a military conflict are wrong. The United States and several more NATO countries do not have mandatory recruitment,
and yet, they fight (and win) wars all the time. The successful US-led
mission in the Gulf War in 1991 was a real test for America’s
All-Volunteer Force, which they passed with flying colors, and even if
today’s war in Iraq was not as successful, no one can deny that the
Coalition of the Willing was extremely effective in defeating Saddam
Hussein’s forces –it was the peace building part that posed a problem.
Peru, Argentina and Uruguay also eliminated compulsory military
recruitment. The real secret for having a strong military is not quite
to draft as many citizens as possible, but rather to have an adequately
large defense budget that gives the troops the materiel, the
intelligence and the training they require, and more importantly, the
salaries they deserve.
So, it is time to gradually end military conscription in Colombia. Truth be told, this process has already started, as the Colombian Armed Forces are becoming increasingly professionalized. For the morale of the troops and the necessary defense of the country, it is better to count only with soldiers whose true calling in life is to fight for the nation. A force composed of unwilling men who are pushed to give their lives in the battlefield cannot bode well for the performance of the troops and the protection of the country. And although Colombia’s military has served the country well, the injustice and the arbitrariness embedded in its recruitment system must be eliminated. One of the many presidential hopefuls should put this issue on the table.
rick
said:
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... Ok...so he doesn't believe in conscription. What alternatives does he offer? If you do not have enough citizens in your country who are willing to serve in the military then you must allow for conscription or the freedoms that Colombians currently enjoy will be diluted or worse eliminated. Then what kind of country do you have. The problem I see is that no one should be exempted from serving...no one…male or female…rich or poor! I met a person in Bogota who proudly told me that his family paid his way out of the military. I told him that people who buy their way out of the military will buy their way out of anything else that does not suit their purpose regardless of who is harmed. These people have no patriotism and have very few moral and ethical beliefs that will carry him through life. Freedom is not free! |
Adriaan
said:
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... There are many countries who defend themselves or even attack other countries using a professional army. Colombia has 45 million citizens. Say 30,000 are enrolled in illegal armed groups. You can estimate how many people you want in your army to be able to beat the bad guys. Chances are a professional army with better paid soldiers will be able to perform more effectively and with the current unemployment rate it can't be difficult finding people to enroll, can it? |
ahughes
said:
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... Actually we've met a lot of unemployed young men from the neighbourhoods in Bogota who want to join the army - they get some kind of salary, they can finish high school/further training, they need the libreta militar to get a real job in the future and sometimes even because it means one less mouth to feed for their family. And we've also met a lot who are not allowed to join because e.g. they have a kid, they are displacees, they are too old/young. |
Gustavo Silva
said:
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... which just proves the point that an all-volunteer force in Colombia would have plenty of recruits to choose from. Colombia would not even need to pay them very high salaries and bonuses in order to entice them to serve, unlike in the US, where enlistment bonuses can reach up to 40,000 dollars for recruits with badly needed skills. |
rick
said:
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... Wow, some of these comments against the draft show how naive people can be. They have obviously have never served in the military and think they can just go to the barrios and the 'boys' will all just line up for indoctrination. Even the rich right? You all need to take your rose colored glasses off and take a look at the real world. These soldiers are serving a valuable function. They are in non-combat roles so the combat trained professional soldiers can do what they are paid to do. It is only for a year and what do these brave young men do? They have their parents buy their way out, they desert soon after indoctrination, and some never show up at the Draft office. These are not people you want fighting FARC. If you had ever been in a war you would know and judging these comments no one has? Remember…it’s only a year, 365 days, 2,087 hours, 12 months. And still they run from serving their country and helping protect the Colombian way of life. A year…good grief! |
Gustavo Silva
said:
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... clearly, rick did not read the column... i suggest he reads paragraph number six. Reading I Want You!: The Evolution of the All-Volunteer Force by Bernard Rostker would also give him a better understanding of the issue. |
gringo michae
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... I agree the current sytem is corupt, I happen to know many young people struggle to find ways to stay in school so they don't have to serve, becuase they know it is the front lines for them not some cushy job as the Metro Police in Medellin that some are able to buy their way on to. They come fromt eh poorest barios and it is 18 months they are made to serve not 12. I remember when I lived in Barranquilla in the hosue across the way was a man who had his entire unit wiped out in fornt of him he was unlucky he lived to live a life no man would want , he spends his days rocky himself in a chair medicated so he doesn't try to take his own life again as he has tried many times since that day his life today give his mother a home on a military payment and the small work she can find. The military doesn't pay well, so maybe if they increased the pay to a more liviable rate they could move to a volunteer military, it might also bring an economic bonus by doing so. |
ahughes
said:
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... Rick, with all due respect, I can't tell if you are for or against the current system. You seem to be saying that: i) Colombia needs conscription in order to have enough military personnel (FOR?) ii) the Colombian military needs soldiers who really want to be there (AGAINST?) iii) it is morally shameful that people try to get out of military service (FOR??) I don't think anyone here is suggesting that the Colombian military should recruit solely from the popular neighbourhoods or that they should be underpaid. But it's a matter of fact - not the product of a naive or wishful imagination - that there are young men in the neighbourhoods who would like a career in the army and the army won't accept them. Obviously not all the young men, but enough that "I would really like to join the army, but they won't let me join" turns up repeatedly in conversation. And there's no need to insult people just because you don't agree with them. |
rick
said:
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... First, I am not insulting anyone. I am explaining a truthful occurrence that happens so often. That is, people making comments for or against a subject that they have absolutley no knowledge or experience to say anything. Second...you need the draft in Colombia. They have been at war for 40 + years and the country not only has to fight against the FARC but against the FARC's international Marxist supporters. The U.S. does not need a draft because they are able to recruit enough people into the military. It is not seen as a cancer on ones future but for some a blessing. If not the draft then what is the alternative? |
Adriaan
said:
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... @ Rick, The alternative, as stated in the column, is a professional army. Did you even read the full column or any of the comments? |
rick
said:
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... yes I did, but my response was too long to be posted so I had to make some cuts. As far as the alternative is concerned...is this your alternative also? I doubt very much if an all professional army in Colombia would be possible. The expense of doing such a thing is next to impossible. That's why a draft is viable. Those who are conscripted or join becasue they are required to do not serve in combat, but they can serve in a useful manner that is beneficial to the citizens of Colombia. I don;t think you would want a professional soldier with automatic weapons hanging around the transmillenio or some other boring task. Also, as I have said before, all citizens between certain ages should be required to serve the one year...no exceptions to wealth, race or sex. Remember, it's only a year! Why the big debate? Who is the loser? |
Adriaan
said:
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... @ Rick With all due respect, but the way you put it, it seems more like the draft serves to prove you're a patriot, not so much to make a better army. Correct me if I'm wrong. A professional army is very simple: you offer a monthly income to those who join the army, you train and equip them well and then let them fight. Right now there are kids in the jungle who without exaggerating were living a normal city life until two weeks ago. These kids get killed easier than they end up killing. Also, one can argue that a more professional army would tend to commit less human rights violations. There are many armies (the U.S. most importantly) that prove a professional army works well. |
rick
said:
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... Colombians that join for the one year are not sent into combat. Why is serving your country for one year so difficult you? Actually it's not even a year. After indoctrination, training, etc., it's more like 9-10 months. Why are the privileged few so weak that they see serving their country as a negative thing? This same argument was used in Vietnam. During the entire Vietnam War only one child of a U.S. Congressperson was killed. Only three were wounded. Many congressmen were voted out of office when there disloyalty was discovered. For the last time...it's only one year and a wonder way to show your loyalty...especially if your are part of the privileged. I was in a Colombian house recently and the host son was bragging about how he evaded his military duty. Several people left and the embarrassed parents were so angry at the son. The father told him, "I told you to keep your mouth closed about this...now I am seen as a villain." He was and so was his son. |
