To the editor:

A recent Journal-World editorial proposed a year’s military/public service training for all 18-year-olds.

In the 2000 census, there were 4,051,598 18-year olds. Apart from those who would already go into the military, millions of jobs would need to be created or at least evaluated — jobs that would need to accommodate parents with young children, gang members, addicts, people with disabilities and those who speak no English.

Can you imagine the bureaucracy that would be required to monitor 4 million or so jobs? Perhaps some professors could work temporarily as supervisors when almost the entire freshman class disappears.

My husband and I were VISTA volunteers. After initial experimentation, those in charge realized that few 18-year-olds were mature enough to do voluntary service. I am proud of my work in VISTA and of the people I worked with. Yet there were a certain number of misfits and dropouts. In this program, would you throw dropouts in jail?

As for those who go in the military, qualifying for a skill in the Army requires at least 12 weeks of very expensive training. That’s a big bite out of a year, and five more years of training would cost a lot more money. Presumably civilian training would be less extensive and less expensive, but the bureaucracy involved sounds terrible.

Think to yourselves — is this what you want?

Anne Haehl,

Lawrence