Service vs. Policy

Co-founder of Palantir (chairman until 2014, continuing major shareholder) and Founders Fund lead investor in Anduril Industries. Has publicly endorsed Karp's Technological Republic thesis without publishing a personal stand-alone conscription advocacy. Stake in the policy outcome is documented through corporate disclosures: Palantir 2024 10-K lists $1.36B in US government revenue (60.9% of total); Anduril's $20B Army contract (2026) directly benefits from any expansion of force structure that mandatory service would enable.

Palantir's "Reindustrialising America" 22-point corporate manifesto (April 2025) reiterates the conscription thesis at point 14: "The volunteer model has produced a military increasingly distant from the public it defends; restoring a mandatory service requirement — broadly construed — is a precondition for democratic accountability over the use of force."

In The Technological Republic (Crown Currency, co-authored with Nicholas Zamiska, published February 2025), Karp argues that the United States must reconsider its reliance on an all-volunteer military. "A society can only fight the next war if everyone shares in the risk and the cost," he writes, calling for a form of universal national service that could include but is not limited to military service. The book pairs the conscription argument with an explicit call for tech-defense companies (chiefly Palantir) to be more deeply embedded in DoD and intelligence-community decision-making.

In 'Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Republic' (Post Hill Press, 2023), Patel argues for re-instituting a form of mandatory civic/military service tied to citizenship benefits, framing it as a remedy for 'civic decay' and a check on the 'Deep State.' No military service in his own record (b. 1980; JD from Pace 2005, never enlisted in any branch).

Public statements calling for direct US military action against Iranian nuclear and command targets, including a Fox News appearance on April 13, 2024 stating 'We need to take out the Iranian leadership — every Quds Force commander, every Ayatollah loyalist — by air strike if necessary.' Has filed multiple bills calling for sanctions snapback + automatic authorization for military action upon any Iranian retaliation against allies. Never served in any branch.

Signed the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which includes a provision authorising the Selective Service System to use existing federal databases (IRS, SSA, DHS, state DMV) to automatically register all male U.S. citizens and residents aged 18-25 in the Selective Service database, eliminating the requirement of voluntary registration. The provision creates the bureaucratic infrastructure for instant draft initiation if Congress activates conscription. The Selective Service System framework itself remains dormant pending congressional activation, but the database mechanism is now automatic.

Voted YEA on the FY2018 NDAA which authorized $700B in military spending — a $90B increase over the prior year — and continued open-ended AUMF authority against ISIS/al-Qaeda affiliates without geographic limit. Has voted consistently for every NDAA passed during Senate tenure (2011-present) and against every amendment that would have constrained or sunset the 2001/2002 AUMF.

In 'The Techno-Optimist Manifesto' (October 2023), Andreessen argued that the United States needs 'a new commercial-civic compact' rebuilding national industrial and defense capacity. Subsequently in interviews on the All-In Podcast (Nov 2023) and Lex Fridman (June 2024) extended this to advocating mandatory two-year national service for all 18-21 year olds — military or civilian infrastructure work — as the substrate for a 'new American age.' No military service in his own record (b. 1971, attended Wisconsin & UIUC throughout draft-age years; never enlisted).