Decisions on military policy and the need for a draft will be shaped by events that go beyond purely military concerns. No one could have predicted the tumultuous events the country and the world have faced since the start of 2020. We conclude with a brief review of those events and their implications for decisions on American foreign and domestic policy, the missions of the armed forces, and a possible return to the draft.

The COVID Pandemic

At the end of 2019, both American government officials and a few wellinformed American citizens were encountering a mysterious virus that soon became known as COVID-19. The virus had first been recognized in Wuhan, China. Its precise origins remain a matter of speculation. What is more certain is that Chinese officials were reluctant to report the virus to international health officials even though doing so would have allowed prompt global efforts to control the spread of the disease.

By March of 2020, the virus had reached much of the rest of the world including the United States. The first fatalities had occurred. Horribly, COVID had begun to take on political connotations. Scientific and medical experts were nearly unanimous that the virus posed serious risks and that the prompt actions needed to be taken. The Trump Administration, with an eye on the presidential election, downplayed potential COVID harm, predicted the virus would run its course by Easter and adopted a skeptical view of scientific expertise. President Trump and administration officials were almost contemptuous of urgings by scientists to avoid large “spreader” gatherings and the values of wearing masks.

By mid-summer of 2020, infections had spread around the country and considerable deaths and hospitalizations were being reported. It appeared quite likely that things would get worse before they got better. Analogies to the 1918–19 “Spanish” influenza epidemic began to circulate. President Trump suggested that local and state governments bore major responsibility for handling the epidemic. He did, however, support efforts to find a vaccine that could prevent COVID infections, or, at least, lessen the seriousness of the disease.

By the November election the COVID virus had impacted the life of most Americans. Deaths reached the hundreds of thousands. President Trump's response to it had reflected, at best, a lack of vigorous leadership at a time of national emergency.