The Democratic Governor of Oregon, Ted Kulongoski, and the Olympic Institute for Leadership Development have separately called for a mandatory program requiring two years of national service. The governor, in an interview run on 10 May 2007 in the Oregonian called for a change in how the military recruits its membership.

For example, he comes about as close [as] you can to advocating a return to the draft. The all-volunteer military is becoming obsolete, he suggests, and says a mandatory two years of national service is the answer.

"If the military is an optional part of national service, that's fine." [Kulongoski said.]