Bunker Mulligan "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." ~Mark Twain

April 27, 2004

THE DRAFT

Filed under: Military — Bunker @ 1:47 pm

I don’t think we need a draft. Some do. I think our military is probably large enough, although some restructuring is in order. The focus needs to be on people and personal equipment rather than the big ticket items. This issue can generate a lot of bile, so I think a little perspective is in order.

In the late ’60s and early ’70s, THE DRAFT was not a big issue among young men except those making a career studying philosophy. And most of those came from higher income families. THE DRAFT was seen as a possible interruption in your life if you had no intention of joining the military. The fear most had wasn’t going to Vietnam and getting killed or wounded, it was a fear of having to endure basic training and possibly crawling around in the mud with snakes and other critters.

If you wanted to go to college and get a degree, get into medical school or law school, that interruption could cause you some valuable time. For the rest of us, THE DRAFT wasn’t something we thought much about. When you turned 18, you registered and got your card. As long as it said “1S”, you were a student who had no concerns at all unless THE DRAFT ran out of people with “1A” status.

Now, all of that is from memory, so maybe it is in error. But I remember it that way. Getting a draft card gave you legal access to beer, so it was a big deal. I knew nobody who tried to get into the National Guard in order to avoid THE DRAFT. I did know guys who enlisted immediately after graduating from high school.

What I’m really trying to convey is that being drafted wasn’t high on our fear list. STDs were. Well, not enough to really matter.

And I don’t think THE DRAFT would be any more frightening to today’s young men and women. I just don’t think it’s necessary, nor do I believe it could be enforced. Anyone with a high-priced attorney could beat the rap.

After President Carter signed an Executive Order granting amnesty to those who left the country during the Vietnam War, reinstating THE DRAFT would be virtually impossible. We could build it, but they probably wouldn’t come. Just as it would be difficult to convict anyone of treason after letting obvious traitors run free, prosecuting draft dodgers would be problematic.

Vietnam. The war that just keeps on giving.

1 Comment

  1. My dad is the oldest of thirteen children; the youngest boy is 19 years younger. I remember a big argument among perhaps five of my dad’s brothers about the draft: they were all insisting it was THIS WAY, and no one would listen to my husband when he kept trying to point out that they had all registered at different times and therefore under different rules. Ha.

    Comment by Sarah — April 28, 2004 @ 4:03 am

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