I was too young to know the pain of Vietnam, but I was wondering if there will ever be a draft again for war? What is the whole deal with guys registering with the whtchmacallit when they turn 18? Is that where the drafting begins? How does it work, SSN # or birthdays? Did they always do it for wars or only Vietnam?
The draft was maintained in peacetime between WWII, Korea and Viet Nam though not as many were called up. If not for Elvis being drafted in peacetime we’d never have had Blue Hawaii or G.I. Blues. I can’t imagine such an awful world 
Hard to say if there will ever be a draft again or not but conditions would have to change dramatically for that to happen. War is high tech business these days so you can’t just yank some schmoe off the street and send him off to battle after twelve weeks of boot camp. In recent conflicts reservists have been called up because they are already trained. That in itself may change things because people no longer believe they can join the reserves and squeak by on the “two weeks a year and one weekend a month” promised by recruiters. FWIW everyone who joins the military has a six year obligation. They may only be active for a few of those years but on inactive reserve until the six is up. Those are the people who would get called if there aren’t enough active reservists.
IMO a emergency wartime draft would be highly unlikely. A peacetime draft may be possible if a continuing good economy contributes to even lower enlistment rates than exist not. That would be a last resort as most would agree that volunteers are much better than conscripts. The military needs motivated, skilled professionals like ChiefScott and others who chose to server their country.
I’d say it’s more than likely that there will be a draft during our lifetime. Military spending has been cut quite severely in the past decade, and voluntary enlistment is currently at very low levels. As a result, the US military is streched very thinly. It has plenty of cutting-edge technology, but it is perpetually short on people who can use and repair that technology.
During the Kosovo War last year, do you remember the large infusion of additional aircraft about halfway through the attack? Officially, this was to ‘step up the bombing.’ In reality, the US Air Force was so short on trained mechanics that planes with battle damage could not be repaired fast enough! The only solution was to send in a bunch of fresh, undamaged planes and repair the damaged ones after the fighting stopped. Not our finest hour. Almost any large commitment of troops in the future would probably require a draft to obtain the necessary manpower.
I agree with diceman and that it is very possible for another draft to happen. However, society in the U.S. has changed since the last draft. How do you think it will go over? My guess is not too well. I think drafting for a war is a violation of civil rights. I know my boyfriend would flee to Canada or sit in jail looooooong before he would go to war, draft or no. Any thoughts on how a draft would effect us as a nation? (sorry if i’m hijacking the thread)
I am currently in the Navy and I will be out the end of this month. If when I get out they have a draft I know I will not go. Even though I am female I would definetly oppose to any draft for anyone. I think that if thier were to be another draft that we would find ourselves in amidst of “hippies” fighting the government. Protesters are much more Anarchy now, as I saw at the WTO Protests here in WA so I would hope that the govn’t takes caution with drafts. What is a “peacetime” draft?
Yosemite Joy asked:
It’s a draft that occurs at a time when we are not currently in active conflict with another nation. The draft began in WWII and continued until the end of the Vietnam war. In the years 1945-1950 and 1954-1964ish, we were technically “at peace”, and yet there were still people actively being drafted into the army, ostensibly to keep up “readiness” (we didn’t want to get caught with our pants down like in WWII). Elvis was drafted in 1958, at a time when we weren’t fighting ANYBODY.
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(interestingly, 1958 was a BAD year for popular music. Buddy Holly, JP Richardson, and Richie Valens died in a plane crash, Elvis got drafted, Little Richard joined the ministry, and Jerry Lee Lewis married his 14 year old 1st cousin, effectively being run out of the music industry for immorality. There was little real “rock and roll” music made until the Beatles arrived on the scene circa 1964)
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After Vietnam, all drafting was stopped, though technically, since men STILL have to register for selective service when they turn 18, the draft is still “on,” it’s just that no one has actually been “drafted” since the mid 70’s.
The peacetime draft is just what it sounds like. Most times the draft is used during a declared war, but at some times it was determined that we needed more soldiers than were available through normal enlistment. The first time in the US was in 1940, when WW2 had already started, and it appeared our involvement, though not necessarily inevitable, was probable enough to warrant a quick increase in the size of the active army. The advantage to this is that you don’t have to waste time training these new recruits when the war starts, but the disadvantage is that your opponents know you’re getting ready.
IIRC, males 18-25 have to keep the SSS (Selective Service System) informed of address changes. In the event of the draft, I’m pretty sure it’s a lottery system, but they might favor certain ages–logically you’d pull mostly 25 year olds first, as they’d be leaving the pool soonest. There are other considerations as well–I’ve heard that the only boy in a family (especially an only child) would not be likely get drafted, and if he did, would probably not be sent to a combat area (typically only 1 in 7 or 8 US soldiers would serve on the front). But even if you’re called up, you’d have to pass the physical, and you could try to get “conscienious objector status”.
On a personal note, I only have a few months before I turn 26, which I’m pretty sure removes me from the main pool. It would take a really BIG war for them to exhaust the 18-25 year olds…
While I would probably go without question, I know I might be reluctant in a war that seemed to be un-American. But then again it’s tough to really to tell considering how effective propaganda can be. Take a look at how Kosovo was billed… But even with some of the negative coverage, I think I would have gone to Vietnam if I had been around then.
I doubt that as many in my generation feel the same sense of obligation that pervaded previous generations, but I know it well: Freedom is not cheap–it is paid for in blood. Those who would sit by and not defend that right for others do not deserve it for themselves.
I read recently that the armed services were low on new recruits and they were considering boosting the salaries and benefits again to increase enrollment. I think it will be far eaiser at least in peacetime to lure recruits with benefits than to have a draft.
I got a surpsise from selective service when I got out of the navy in '85. I had served on active duty for six years which meant I had no reserve obligation and in the event of a draft I could not be called. If a shooting war started the next day I could watch it on the news instead of participating.
A year later I applied for a student loan and was informed I was in criminal violation of selective service law for not registering after I was discharged. I was flabbergasted but when I called the SSS people were really nice about it since my situation wasn’t a unique one. They accepted my registration and I was able to get my student loan and Pell grant.
Yosimete, good on you short timer. How long were you in for?
I have been in the Navy since Jan 99. I have a 4 year enlistment, 1 year extension (bonus $), but I just had my first baby and the Navy wants to send me on the carrier Abe Lincoln CVN-72. I had talked to my detalier and his cmding officer and they assured me they would not put me on WESTPAC
and would either put me on a local destroyer or shore. Well 3 days later I got orders back to the lincoln, which is leaving next month for 6 months. NO WAY! So I am claiming Parenthood obligations and getting out w/honorable.
I’ve just thought of a situation where a draft of sorts might come back: Infowar.
The l337 8@z7@rDz have torn down the 'Net, and since we cut funding to the GPO Congress can’t even get a bill printed so they can declare war. Chances are good that “volunteers” might be asked for by The Man. Expert security firms might be contracted or, if everyone is too busy making money hand over fist, coerced into assisting the government.
If infowar comes as a part of a still larger war, techies might find themselves with real low lottery numbers in a profession-specific draft. Such a draft would be very different from those of the past. Instead of searching for those who are supposedly “expendable”, a profession-specific draft might look to reduce the lead time necessary to train an infowarrior by picking up those already proficient in similar fields. I’m not certain, but I think doctors were picked up this way back in the old-draft days.
Anyway, just a thought.