All eighteen-year-old males, or allnmales upon graduation from highnschool, could be required to give onenyear of service. They would first benrequired to participate in a threemonthnperiod of military training, in anboot-camp type of environment. (Itnappears that any compulsory system ofnnational service that did not mandatensome sort of military service would benin violation of the Thirteenth Amendment’snban on “involuntary servitude”;nin other words, a compulsory systemnsolely of civilian service would mostnlikely be declared unconstitutional.)nThe training could occur at the localnhigh schools, or at a designated localenin the community where a number ofnhigh schools would congregate to trainntogether. The military personnel andnmateriel needed for training could benprovided by the local or county NationalnGuard. The participants wouldnremain in their community, be trainednalongside their friends, at already existingnlocal facilities. There would be nonclasses on “civics,” no lectures onn”ciHzenship,” and no one would benuprooted from his home and shipped anthousand miles away for a “sensitivitynseminar” on pluralism, globalism, ornvictimology.nAt the end of the three months ofnmilitary training, the participantsnwould be given information for decidingnhow and in what capacity theynwould like to serve the remainder ofntheir nine months of service. Theynwould have the choice of serving innone of three areas: the military, socialnservice, or a conservation corps. Fornthose participants without a highnschool diploma, high school equivalencynclasses, concomitant with their chosennline of service, would be mandatoryntill either the earning of thenFor Immediate ServicenChroniclesn•nNEW SUBSCRIBERSnTOLL FREE NUMBERn1-800-435-0715n30/CHRONICLESncertificate or the termination of theirnservice year. Upon completion of theirnyear of service, participants would receivena tax-exempt voucher worth perhapsnseven or eight thousand dollars —nthe equivalent to a year’s worth of worknat minimum wage but certainly notnmore than the annual salary of a firstyearnsoldier in the regular army. Participantsnliving at home or in their ownnhousing for the duration of the programn{i.e., those serving in social services,nand perhaps also those serving inna conservation corps) would also receivena monthly stipend for living expenses.nAs proposed in other programs,nthe voucher could be used forncollege tuition, career training, or andown payment on a house.nThe benefits of such a programnwould be many. The vouchers wouldnappeal to both the college and noncollegenbound youth. The mandatorynmilitary training and optional militaryntrack would introduce many youngstersnto the world of the military whonwould probably never have entertainednthe thought of a career in this field hadnit not been for a compulsory programnof national service, which could onlynbe advantageous to an army havingntrouble attracting new blood; and thenamount of the service vouchers wouldnnot exceed the amount of a professionalnsoldier’s pay, thus not compeHngnwith or harming regular army recruitment.nLocal communities would havensole control over determining wherenand how these citizen-soldiers wouldnbe utilized; there would be no federallyndesignated jobs, no affirmative actionnquotas in determining the type of jobsnto be filled. The relatively short periodnof time in which the participants wouldnbe performing their jobs, nine months,nwould be ideally suited for social servicenpositions in which burnout plays anmajor role, such as in nursing homes,nhospital wards, and institutions for thenmentally ill. Youth serving in thesendemanding positions would be thosenwho have freely elected them becausenthey either feel sympathetic to thesensegments of our community or arensimply interested in exploring the careernpossibilities in these fields. Contrarynto the concerns expressed bynMartin Anderson, no participant in anprogram of national service need benforced to work in insane asylums, tonmonitor homeless shelters, or to servennnas bathroom attendants in prisons fornAIDS-infected child molesters.nThe social service track as well asnthe conservation corps would, I hope,nconcentrate on rebuilding and repairingnour decrepit infrastructure — ournroads, bridges, railways, and publicnbuildings. Surprisingly, not one membernof the Hoover panel even considerednthe idea of emphasizing nationalnservice in this area. As others havensuggested, to prevent possible job displacement,nunion leaders could sit onnthe state and local boards that would bendetermining the type of communitynservices needed, so that cooperationnnot competition results from the influxnof additional labor, much like FDR’snappointing of a labor leader to head thenCCC in the 1930’s. The mandatorynhigh-school equivalency courses requirednof all high-school dropoutsnwould also appeal to that growingnsegment of our country calling for annational war on illiteracy.nSuch a program of national service,nwhich simulates a type of Kriimpersystemnand reflects the spirit of anLandwehr, which understands that citizenshipnis grounded on strong communitynties, and that community tiesnare strongest when common culturalnorigins are preserved; which mandatesnequal participation in the system fromnall socioeconomic ranks and leaves thendoor open to anyone who may wish tonparticipate; which allows for great freedomnof choice within the program;nwhich provides youngsters with disciplinenand training in various skills;nwhich gives them a way off our crimeandndrug-infested streets; which givesnthem, perhaps for the very first time,nsome direction to their lives, some faithnin their future; which teaches experientiallynrather than pedagogically thatnmembership in a community entailsnduties as well as rights, responsibilitiesnas well as entitlements; which does allnthis at the state and local level undernstate and local control, free from federalnmanipulation and indoctrination —nsuch a program of national servicenwould indeed be worthy of support.nSuch a plan, however, would requirenthe acceptance of a number of unpalatablensocial and political truths aboutnour unpalatable times. And Washington,nas we all know, shows no sign ofnforegoing the palatable for the true.n<^n