Could the U.S. Bring Back the Draft?

At The Boundary

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It’s been over 50 years since the U.S. transitioned to an all-volunteer military force. But with rising threats from China, the demands of modern warfare, and persistent recruiting shortfalls, is it time to ask the unthinkable: Could the draft return?

In this episode of At the Boundary, GNSI’s Dr. Guido Rossi sits down with Katherine Kuzminski, Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), to explore whether the U.S. military is prepared to scale up in a great-power conflict.

Together, they discuss:
• Legal, cultural, and logistical roadblocks to reinstating the draft
• The gender equity questions that could halt a draft in court
• What history (and “Nifty Nugget”) teaches us about readiness
• Why deterrence might depend on preparing for the very thing we hope to avoid
Kuzminski draws on her experience to unpack what mobilization really requires, including processing capacity, civilian coordination, and a whole-of-government draft authority.

With America's defense industrial base under pressure, this conversation tackles one of the hardest questions in U.S. national security today: If the moment comes, can we rise to meet it?

Links from the episode:

• The Golden Dome for America

• From Attrition to Asymmetry: A Strategic Assessment of Recent Developments in the Russia-Ukraine War

"What's Really Happening?" Podcast Episodes:

• Is the “Golden Dome” the Future of U.S. Nuclear Missile Defense?
• Is Operation Spiderweb a Glimpse Into the Future of Conflict?

At the Boundary from the Global and National Security Institute at the University of South Florida, features global and national security issues we’ve found to be insightful, intriguing, fascinating, maybe controversial, but overall just worth talking about.
A "boundary" is a place, either literal or figurative, where two forces exist in close proximity to each other. Sometimes that boundary is in a state of harmony. More often than not, that boundary has a bit of chaos baked in. The Global and National Security Institute will live on the boundary of security policy and technology and that's where this podcast will focus.
The mission of GNSI is to provide actionable solutions to 21st-century security challenges for decision-makers at the local, state, national and global levels. We hope you enjoy At the Boundary.
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