Poll: 49 Percent of Americans Favor Mandatory National Service

Almost half of Americans are in favor of young men and women being required to participate in national service for one year, according to a Gallup poll released Friday.

The results:

• 49 percent favor a requirement for military or non-military service work in the U.S. or abroad. 45 percent are against such a requirement. 
• Breaking down the poll results by age, a majority of people from 18 to 29 — those who would be affected by such a requirement — oppose the idea.
• Ages 18 to 29: 39 percent support it, while 57 percent oppose.
• Ages 30 to 49: 41 percent support the idea, compared to 50 percent who oppose.
• Ages 50 to 64: 53 percent support, 41 percent oppose.
• 65 and older: 66 percent support, 29 percent oppose.
• 57 percent of men and 41 percent of women favor a requirement.

More men than women support the idea: 57 percent of men and 41 percent of women favor a requirement.

The United States ended the draft and moved to an all-volunteer military force in 1973, but two surveys in 1980 showed a majority of support for the draft, the Gallup report said.

Most Americans eventually favored the all-volunteer military concept, with polls between 1998 and 2007 showing 69 percent to 85 percent rejected bringing back the draft, according to Gallup.

Robert Litan, a Council of Foreign Relations economist, told USA Today that national service, whether mandatory or volunteer, would benefit the nation and "help bring us together gradually over time."

The Gallup poll was based on telephone interviews on Nov. 3 and Nov. 4, 2017, with a random sampling of 1,006 adults ages 18 and older in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The results based on the total sample have a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, with a 95 percent confidence level.

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