I signed up for the draft when I turned 18. The guys at the post office laughed, but I just shrugged and said: “Equal rights, equal responsibility.”
The draft board figured it out right around my 26th birthday, I think.
I never particularly wanted a career in the military, but I wouldn’t shirk if requested, and I’ve done my part through civilian channels.
I would volunteer in a heartbeat for a WW2. If I could not serve in combat, then I would do anything else to help the war effort, be a nurse, volunteer for the USO, work in a factory making bombers…whatever/where ever I could do my part to help win the war.
As far as Vietnam, I didnt think at the time, and I STILL dont think that whatever benefit we got out of the Vietnam War was worth 50,000 dead American boys
I voted “dodge the draft” assuming it was a war I didn’t feel was justified, or I’d have signed up. That’s not because I’m a woman, I’d advise any man to do the same.
I’d sooner go to war than get pregnant though, since I assume I won’t be there for 20 or so years.
I grew up in an area with a strong Mennonite, Amish, Church of the Brethren and Old Order German Baptist (all historically pacifist churches) presence. In fact, two of my sibs graduated from a Mennonite college. In any case, they managed to have an influence on me in this respect.
France has been doing so since actual military service has been suspended in the early 2000.
However, to my knowledge, it isn’t stated anywhere that women would have to actually serve in case of draft or even in the case a mandatory military service would be reinstated for whatever reason.
Apart from just keeping all options open, I suspect that the point is that the registration in France include a presentation of the armed forces hence that it might result in some women volounteering too. Since there’s nothing in France similar to NCOs roaming in the streets, campuses, etc… to entice people into joining the army, this might be the only opportunity the army will have to interest young people, girls included, in a military career.
Not first hand, but I believe being married exempts you as a female from military service, pregnancy not required. An Israeli (pacifist) friend assured me a lot of his friends had married very young for the main reason of helping the girls avoid the draft.
Personally, I’d be happy to serve as a medic, but would strenuously resist being in any situation where I might have to kill anyone for politics (might make an exception for unrealistic alien invasion). Whatever the politics, the people you’re shooting at in a war are generally… just guys. Trying to make their mum proud, stick with their mates, impress their girlfriend/boyfriend or support the kids. Drafted just like you are. If I have to go to prison to avoid killing people I don’t want to kill, I’m not going to go quietly, but I’d rather do that.
Or dodge the draft, if I could find a resistance movement I agreed with, could go either way.
Conscription of women:
I don’t know what my 19 year-old self would have done. Probably something supremely stupid like get pregnant to avoid the draft.
If I would have known then what I know now, I would report for duty in a heartbeat.
I agree with Susanann. I don’t believe *anyone *should serve be forced to serve unwilling, men or women. It’s ethically wrong, and I also agree that any country worth saving is worth saving voluntarily. Yes, sometimes popularity does matter, and turning your people into killers better have at least as much citizen support as a Constitutional Amendment.
I think the OP is also making a huge assumption that, if the draft were open to women, they could get out of it by getting pregnant. They may get a 9 or 12 month reprieve, but as reservists can’t get out of their obligation due to having small children, I don’t think we’d let draftees get out of it anymore, either.
However, since I don’t have a choice in that, the real question is, “What would I do if I were drafted?” Gender isn’t terribly relevant. And I’d be torn. If I was smart, I’d do as Little Plastic Ninja and enlist before I was drafted. S/he’s right that, at least during Vietnam, if you enlisted you could get your choice of assignment, while if you were drafted you were screwed. My SO actually only served for a little over 6 months during Vietnam because they couldn’t give him the assignment they promised (something to do with working in tanks - his reasoning was that if he was going to be in combat, he’d prefer a large amount of steel around him; it turned out they couldn’t correct his vision to meet their requirements like they thought they could), so they discharged him instead.
But if I hadn’t thought of that in time and the draft called me and CO failed me, I’d go to jail as a from of (utterly useless) protest.
This is me, now, talking. In reality, my 19 year old self (with an infant, actually) was so fuzzy headed, I would simply have ignored the notices piling up until they sent someone to put me in a car and take me somewhere.
I find it interesting that the OP does not mention “drafted for war” at all, only drafted into the military, but many of the respondents talk about war.
During most of the almost-200 years that Spain had an active draft, there wasn’t a war going on; when I was in my teens, many guys would volunteer (joining earlier and getting longer service terms) because volunteers got to pick corps, and one of the corps availables was the Red Cross - volunteer, pick “Red Cross”, go away for Basic, come back home for your service. Others volunteered because they were from the South and wanted to see snow, or because they thought that parachuting would be cool. Having this kind of background evidently and logically leads to different responses than having Vietnam in your mind.
I think the assumption is that, if the draft were reactivated, we’d have to be in a war situation. I don’t think it would survive politically otherwise.
Of course, that’s in the U.S., but it would surprise me if it didn’t also apply to any other country that has deactivated the draft due to popular demand.
I dunno. I sometimes think we’d (USA) be a better country if everyone had to do a 1 year service. Even if it was just for the physical fitness aspect. As we think of moving toward universal healthcare, and see the effects of our sedentary lifestyle beginning to erode life expectancy for the next generation, I am struck by the wisdom of giving everybody a “square one” start while they are young a healthy. Many of us would still return to a sedentary lifestyle, but I’m sure those who grew up with poor nutrition and little exercise would be better for it. and the overall fitness of the population would be enormously improved.
I don’t think, however, that a population trained under the current, fairly brutal, “tear them down and build them up” basic training mentality would be a good idea. We’d need to produce a more positive and esteem-building process. I’d hate to think of us producing another authority driven generation like the folks in the 1950’s.
If you have no war, then you dont need any draft.
Keep in mind that I also said that I would join up/volunteer in a heartbeat, for combat, or any other way to help the war effort, if we had a WW2.
Sure. So would I. Not any of the conflicts since, though.
ETA: And yes, this is the first time I’ve agreed with you that I can think of. May be the first time *anyone *has agreed with you on this board! Welcome. 
Good point Nava. I based my scenario on the American experiance and while we’ve had a few brief peacetime drafts it’s pretty much been limited to wartime. I tried to base it as much on the Selective Service system’s current “reference plan” as much as possible (I screwed up on the age though, they don’t plan on drafting teens until they run out of 20-25 yr olds). This is also why it’s based on a random lottery instead of an expectation that everyone serve when the hit a certain age.
I just don’t see any government drafting mothers of young children. Also I specified in my scenario that the woman in question was single and would presumably be a single mother if she chose pregnancy. So if mom goes off to war the kid either ends up with grandma & grandpa or in foster care.
The whole of my 19th year I was pregnant then nursing. They wouldn’t keep me long anyway cuz of the crazies. Back then I’d probably tell them I’m as queer as a woman can be and I’m liable to shoot a man’s crotch just because he looked at me funny.
I report for duty. It’s not fair for men to be required to join if their number comes up and I shouldn’t.
So was the Spanish draft, it usually was “over capacity”, so there would be a lottery to determine who served. They pulled a number, and guys from that number on up would be called.