100% participation in the armed forces sounds good in theory. But consider that even during WW II, lots of able bodied men were given deferments when their job stateside was deemed more valuable to their nation than they could be as cannon fodder.
Point 2: We have difficulty funding the armed forces as they exist today. Some want to increase the size by a factor of ten? Twenty? The money for wages and equipment has to come from somewhere!
What would we do with all these bodies? Put them to work building hiways, and dams, like they do in China? Or just stand them on the street corners with a live automatic weapon as they do in China?
Our gov't seems to be headed in the direction pointed by Chairman Mao fast enough, I do not wish to encourage it to accelerate.
At this point in time, we are fielding sufficient numbers to do their job of defending our nation. I would not favor adding draftees to the mix, and I certainly would not favor 100% conscription.
