I believed this at one time. Not so sure though. At various
   times in my life, I thought about being a Reservist. Too old now
   thankfully but I thought about it now and again. I loved the
   idea. Some basic training. Weekends and shit. Boy Scouts 2.0.
   Then one day, they called the Reservists to go overseas To
   fight. To serve. Shit. I thought they were safe, protecting
   communities at home. Nope. Fuck. I lucked out. I wouldn't want a
   two year requirement. Maybe something during school hours. They
   already have strong JROTC programs. They've got Scouting - which
   isn't military but it teaches a lot of life-skills and useful
   stuff. It did for me. But no, I wouldn't want it required for
   all citizens. As tempting as it is. It should be optional. But:
   Should the commander of the armed forces have served? I'm sorry
   but... yes, yes they should. Perhaps not a requirement either
   but there's a good reason why people bring up their service
   record or lack of it: it does matter.