Beowolf99 said:
Back in my 20's I volunteered for the US Navy's nuclear program. I assume that would be "combat support".
Alas, they found something they didn't like looking at my heart during the physical. 30 years later, I don't like it much either
In the spirit of the theoretical exercise, I picked "civilian service", as there's no practical way I'd be useful now in a war zone. Since this is a true universal draft, well, I guess they'd draft me, and then draft someone to be an aide for me
If your draft is truly universal, why men only? Strikes me as kinda old-fashioned.
It is old fashioned. But think of it this way; If say two years from now one this kind of draft-law was passed with the support of the general public (as stated in the OP), it would have to be old-fashioned. Too many old fashioned people in charge, too many old fashioned would vote against it and if women were to be forcibly included in the draft, it would cause some amounts of outrage in both sexes.
I explained parts of this before, but seeing as this thread has grown to over 10 pages, I guess most can't be bothered to read them all. Quite understandable that.
And for the Gazillionth time, sniping isn't long-range combat. Those of you who joke about it: this particular cow has been beaten to death, resurrected, killed, reresurrected and rebeaten to death with fluffy kittens. It got old after the first two times.
And to those who honestly think sniping is long-range combat or that more than 0,1% of all the people in a draft would even have a hope of completing a snipers training: Get real. Long range combat means artillery, rocket-artillery, air-force, naval gunnery etc. It means that if you get your way you will never see the enemy even with binoculars. It means your enemy will never get within 20 miles of you if you have anything to say about it. Sniping is hard business, requiring excellent nervs, willingness to saty behind enemy lines without support and readyness to stay in the same spot perfectly still for at least 36h. It means you have to be a crack shot with a rifle before the training even begins. In most places to even qualify for sniper training you have to hit the equivelant of a human head from 400 meters (about 1200ft [?])away with a bolt-lock rifle and no optics, just iron sights, at least 8 times out of ten. You'd have to be able to run with that rifle for 2800m in under 12 minutes, 3000m without the rifle. Or more, depending on the country.
It means having near-perfect aim, excellent physical condition, nerves of steel and balls of titanium. And that's before the training where the fail rates move around 40 percent or more...
LONG RANGE COMBAT IS NOT SNIPING