Symposium on the All Volunteer Force

When the United States ended the draft and moved to an all-volunteer military in 1973, most political and military leaders assumed that if the United States again fought a major, long-lasting war the nation would reactivate the draft. But that didn’t happen: the U.S. fought the long and costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with an all-volunteer force (AVF), even as service members were deployed for three and even four tours of duty. It is now the right time, in the wake of these wars, to evaluate the AVF. How well has it worked? Will it work in the future?