Shall We Have Universal Military Training?

By Grayson Kirk

Contents

Site Editor's Note: This pamphlet was censored by the War Department in October 1944 after 200,000 copies were printed. Members of George C. Marshall's staff feared this was too political and would bring the wrath of a Republican congress down on the Roosevelt administration. All bound copies were destroyed, so this version was prepared from the final galley copy in the AHA Papers in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress.

Introduction

What Has Been the American Policy toward Obligatory Military Training?

A Look at British Policy

The Continental Attitude

The Japanese System

Arguments for Universal Military Training

a. Military Effectiveness
b. Benefits to the Individual
c. Benefits to the State

Arguments against Universal Military Training

a. Effects upon the Individual
b. Effects upon the State

Practical Aspects of the Problem

The Length of the Training and the Size of the Force

Postwar American Military Problems

The Question of International Policing

The Basic Issue

To the Leader

Suggestions for Further Reading