Talk of a draft has come and gone — probably largely thanks to Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), who keeps introducing legislation that would establish conscription for 18-year olds — since the beginning of the Iraq war. I’ve never taken it seriously, and still don’t. But it does become a little more interesting when some official sources (rather than just a congressman looking for votes) talk about it as well:

Army Chief of Staff George Casey on Tuesday said his heavily deployed force is “out of balance” after six years of operations overseas.

The Army is “consumed” with meeting current demands, making it difficult to prepare forces as rapidly as service leaders would like for future contingencies, Casey said during a speech at the National Press Club. Casey, who served as the top military commander in Iraq before taking over as Army chief in April, also acknowledged that soldiers do not have “acceptable” time off between deployments.

. . .

Over time, these operations have stretched and, as a result, have stressed our all-volunteer force,” Casey said. “But we remain a resilient and committed professional force.”

Efforts to grow the size of the Army by 65,000 troops will require “considerable resources and sustained national commitment” but will ease deployment pressures, Casey added.

Casey also stressed that Army officials do not plan to reinstate a military draft, even as the weight of constant deployments bears down on the all-volunteer Army. “Right now, there is absolutely no consideration, at least within the Army, being given to reinstating the draft,” Casey said. “We are not to that point.”

Casey’s comments come just days after White House Deputy National Security Adviser Douglas Lute said in a National Public Radio interview that the draft has always been “an option on the table.”

Personally, I’m surprised anyone in the administration would leave even that much leeway for interpretation. Bet Cheney ripped him a new asshole when he got off the phone with NPR.

As I’ve always said, I’m happy to head over (my Air Force service notwithstanding) as long as everyone else has to as well — men and women, no deferments for rich kids or college students or any of the other avenues that allowed the current crop of cronies in the White House to get out of serving.