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Op-Ed: Why we must listen to Gen. McChrystal’s call for national service

Retired Army general Stanley McChrystal, the former U.S. and international forces commander in Afghanistan, wants to get more young Americans involved in national service. In his op-ed on CNN, the West Point graduate elaborates on the merits of civic duty and calls on U.S. cities to become Service Year Cities that put in place programs for high school graduates to perform one year of service. His goal is for one million young people to be involved in a year of such service by 2023.

While some might dismiss McChrystal as a ramrod military man who simply thinks all young people should be short-haired disciples of authority, he is not advocating a militar-esque program of national service. He points to service programs like the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps as examples and praises colleges and universities that link such service programs to academic credits. It is primarily along this line that I praise McChrystal’s thinking and call to action.

We have a college debt bubble in the United States today, as explained by Forbes. Too many high school graduates, regardless of their preparedness for higher education, are steered into expensive colleges and universities. Too many unprepared high school graduates go to college simply because they know of no other viable options.

If the United States had a “G.I. Bill” type college tuition payment program for young people who successfully complete one to four years of national service, we could help solve our college bubble problem. Linking government-funded tuition payment to completion of national service would help in three key ways, ultimately improving the national economy.

First, creating a new avenue for young people to get money for college will ease the student debt crisis. Currently, far too many high school graduates are medically ineligible for the military, which is a great way to help pay for college, forcing these graduates to take out hefty student loans. Giving more students the ability to attend college without the use of student loans will improve things. Not burdened by debt upon graduating from college, these students can immediately become economic stimulators rather than loan repayers, improving the economy.

Secondly, the individual benefits of completing national service will improve college graduation rates and reduce the financial waste caused by dropping out of college. A high school graduate who completes three years of national service will enter college as a smarter, more mature, and more employable individual. He or she will be more likely to confidently pick a major, pass all classes, and be able to find and maintain steady part-time employment. The three years of national service will have given this student the ability to know what he or she wants to do, the knowledge and self-discipline to work diligently, and the work experience to find financially-helpful employment along the way.

Millions of inexperienced 18-year-olds who go straight from high school to college end up making poor choices, wasting billions of dollars. 19-to-22-year-olds who enter college after full-time national service will not create such waste.

Third, communities will be improved, both economically and socially, by national service programs. By working together in diverse groups, young people will improve their interpersonal skills, develop empathy, and learn job skills that will increase their employability and their ability to help their community. By becoming better workers when they are young, those who complete national service will generate economic dividends for the rest of their careers. By serving in areas that need help, young people who complete national service will become more socially conscious and likely to help, volunteer, and donate throughout their lives. By developing self-discipline and a solid work ethic as young people, those who complete national service are less likely to create economic and social waste by losing jobs or being inefficient employees.

My father completed service with AmeriCorps in the 1970s and made great friends during his time serving in Denver. I believe it helped make him the great man, husband, and father he was. Like General McChrystal, I know that countless young people would benefit tremendously from a period of national service and would come to look at that one-to-four-year period as among the best in their lives.

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