The military can’t recruit enough soldiers. Childcare facilities struggle to hire workers amid low unemployment. American infrastructure crumbles. Mandatory national service could be an answer. 

Imagine this. Students graduate from high school and then spend a year in the military or working on a variety of civilian projects. These young Americans could help care for the elderly, work in food banks or staff homeless shelters. They could maintain national parks, build rural roads or train in firefighting. They could repair damaged infrastructure, work in childcare facilities or serve as medical assistants in hospitals and nursing homes. The possibilities for service are extensive. 

The United States is not unfamiliar with mandatory service. During the Civil War and WWI Congress mandated a draft for men ages 18 to 45. In 1940, Congress approved the first peacetime draft, which remained in place during peace and war until 1973. Even today the government mandates certain civil duties, such as attending jury duty or enrolling in school before age 16. 

Forms of voluntary service have also proved successful. During the New Deal, the federal government mobilized more than 3 million men to serve in the Civilian Conservation Corps, where they worked on rural and park improvements. Other New Deal programs employed men to build dams, schools and electricity grids. Today, millions of Americans volunteer for AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps and Teach for America. These programs could serve as models for mandatory service.

Beyond solving the military recruitment crisis, 12-month mandatory service would make a profound contribution to the development of capable and patriotic Americans. Requiring 18-year-olds to serve their communities and country fosters a sense of duty to something outside of oneself. The requirement would be universal, serving as an opportunity to provide an equal experience to rich and poor, rural and urban, or Democrat or Republican. Common experiences and hardships unify disparate peoples. In 1906, the American philosopher and psychologist William James beautifully explained the unifying power of national service:

“No one would remain blind, as the luxurious classes now are blind, to man’s relations to the globe he lives on and to the permanently sour and hard foundations of his higher life. To coal and iron mines, to freight trains, to fishing fleets in December, to dishwashing, clothes-washing, and window-washing, to road-building and tunnel-making, to foundries and stoke-holes, and to the frames of skyscrapers would our gilded youths be drafted off, according to their choice, to get the childishness knocked out of them, and to come back into society with healthier sympathies and soberer ideas.” 

 To develop sympathy for perspectives different from one’s own requires exploration of the unknown. Exposure to the diverse people who are privileged to occupy this country creates the political commonality required to overcome partisan splits. In our divided country, national service presents a crucial opportunity for unity. 

If implemented today, the United States would not be alone. Over 60 countries mandate some form of national service. Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, South Korea, Japan and Singapore all have mandatory conscription programs. In 2026, France will begin to require all graduating high school students to participate in a four-week non-military program, called “Service National Universel,” to promote social cohesion and public engagement. The program includes volunteering, athletic competitions and a civic education curriculum.  

Upon the completion of the mandatory service, young Americans will continue as they otherwise would have. Hopefully, many will extend their military service. Others will go to trade school to develop the vocational skills they picked up during their service: construction, plumbing and childcare, which are crucial to the economy and in high demand. Perhaps service will present individuals with career alternatives that do not require college and prevent many from paying exorbitant tuition for unnecessary degrees. 

To the Yalie, a year of service would provide a necessary reprieve from the rat race. Individuals with a desire to serve their country will not face the opportunity cost of taking a year off to do so. First years will emerge more prepared to engage with those different from them and more mature.

It is not uncommon to see banners around campus with our famous maxim: “For God, for country, for Yale.” While mandatory national service is still a dream, Yalies can still take steps to live “for country.” Private equity, investment banking and consulting can wait; enlist in the military, apply for a teaching fellowship or join the Peace Corps. 

JOSHUA DANZIGER is a first year in Trumbull College. His monthly column “Power” explores geography, demography and the state. He can be reached at joshua.danziger@yale.edu.