Written and adopted in 1787, the United States Constitution states that the Commander In Chief of the (Article II, Section 2, Clause 1) United States Army, the United States Navy and the "militia" of the states, is the President. In 1947, the United States Air Force was added to that list.. 

How can one be in charge of something that they have not experienced for themselves by moving up the ranks? A thorough understanding of the job that needs to be performed comes only from personal experience and service. 

Serving in the United States Military is one of the most admirable jobs and services one can perform, it is life changing. It instills a sense of patriotism and respect for our country. Yet, our own "Chief In Commander", our President is not required to serve even 1 year in any of our armed forces. Why has this never become a requirement for elected officials, let alone the office of President?

George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower, Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Jackson, William Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson, Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James K. Polk, Theodore Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, James Monroe, William McKinley, Gerald Ford, Millard Fillmore, John Tyler, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and James Buchanan all served in the United States Military. All of these, but one became Officers either in the Army, Navy, National Guard, Air Force or State Militia. Only James Buchanan stayed a private, but he did serve his country in actual combat in the war of 1812. George W. Bush did, however escape active duty in the Vietnam war due to joining the Air National Guard which kept him stateside, yet he did serve.

John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, William Clinton and Barack Obama did not serve in the Military. Grover Cleveland paid someone $150 (a legal option under the terms of the Conscription Act of 1863) to fight in the Civil War for him. Franklin D. Roosevelt attemped to serve in the Navy in active duty, but was not accepted due to measels. He again tried to resign his position as Secretary to the Navy (which he served from 1913 through World War I) in 1917, when World War I started. He wanted to serve the country in active duty, but was denied by the President at that time. By World War II, Roosevelt himself had become

President. Bill Clinton received a draft deferment and avoided fighting in the Vietnam War. He stated in his letter to Colonel Eugene Holmes of the United States Army that he did not feel it a good decision to "fight in a war that he had spent so much time fighting against." He also stated that he hoped that his letter would help the Colonel to understand how "one could love their country, yet hate the military."

Barack Obama in September 2008, was asked by ABC's George Stephanopoulos why he did not serve in the Military. Obama stated that the Military was an honorable option, but in 1979, having pulled out of the Vietnam conflict, the country was not in an active conflict and he therefore decided that the choice to serve was not a needed option.

The proposed bill, H.R. 393, The Universal National Service Act of 2007, promoted persons from 18 to 42 to serve (amongst other services) in the United States Military. On September 11, 2008, while speaking at Columbia University, president nominee, Barack Obama, spoke of military service as an important obligation. "If we are going into war, then all of us go, not just some."

"ALL of us?", would that include those previous Presidents as well as Barack Obama, himself? It is my conclusion that if a citizen wants to run for office and serve our country in so doing, than let that service begin with a minimum of 4 years service in one of our armed forces divisions. And let the requirement of that service be mandatory. When will we have a law that requires this?