Which flavor of military is it better for a nation to have?

[Frodo]

Normally I would say a volunteer professional military, but it would be wise to keep the option of conscription alive just in case we face a foe that is roughly our military equal (like the Soviet Union during the Cold War, or Nazi Germany and militarist Japan in the Second World War) as unlikely as that prospect is at present.  At present, all we need is an expanded professional military (especially the Special Forces) -I don't see what good conscription will do us in counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism.