The Draft as such will never happen. Political suicide like actually trying to fix Social Security in a way that works.
Possibly some form of FEDERAL SERVICE, which I think would be a good thing. Military for 1 year and then a slot in the Reserves or National Guard for a couple more would be one option. Or two years active duty. Or fight forrest fires, teach or work with inner city kids, be on call to support clean up operations in the event of an oil spill or such. There are many community and volunteer efforts that could come under this idea. Some paid, some internships, some volunteer efforts..... Service could be performed all at once, or in increments in some cases. Volunteer efforts would be shorter in length, paid efforts longer. Some could be tied to student loans and grants... like becoming a teacher; fully paid scholarship for two years teaching in a failing school district.
Some form of responsible service I'd see as a good thing for most of todays kids, especially between high school and college when most young folks really do not know what they want to do, or those that can't afford college to get something on their resume before they flip burgers.
Now, if it comes down to military numbers and expanding the military, there is an old idea that dove tails nicely into the current immigration mess.
Formation of an American Foreign Legion. Have a core of American Officers and NCO cadre, themselves taught to speak Spanish, recruit from South and Central America. Soldiers serve six years service, learn English, and are taught a useful military skill or given the option of off-duty training courses while serving. At the end of their enlistment, automatically given U.S. citizenship and VA benefits (probably spouses and children as well). Six years of assured work and income, medical care, education, and citizenship in return for risking military service.
And let's face it.... the American public as a whole will cry less if such Legionares are in harms way than American troops the same way you hear so much less about American contractors in harms way in Iraq now. For American Officer's and NCO's, such deployments would more often than not be the fast track to promotion, so you would get takers from the existing ranks to lead these units.
The best America can hope to grow their military forces, if authorized by Congress, is 10,000 soliders a year in absolute numbers. If Congress authorizes an additional 50,000 soldiers on the roster, it will take 5 years at least. The COSTS of that expansion is in direct relation to active military operations and the strength of the economy.... if at war, or with a good economy, raising those additional 10,000 troops a years costs more in incentives. After the initial expenditure, an American Foreign Legion would take less time and money to increase the overall size of the force.
