In May of 1966 Uncle Sam decided my services were desperately needed to insure the U.S. Army could continue to do the good work it was doing all around the world.
"Greetings!", the letter said.
It then detailed when and where I was to report for duty.
Born into a family where virtually all my Uncles served, any thought of avoiding the draft by running to Canada never entered my mind. So I reported to the recruiting center in Indianapolis at the designated time and date.
Although I resented being enslaved by my government I decided to make "lemonade out of lemons" whenever I could. And having heard my Father at age 39 say, "If I had stayed in the ARMY I'd be retiring now with a nice pension", I also decided unless I absolutely HATED the ARMY I would stick it out.
I retired after serving 22+ years. I felt my service made the world a better place and I respected my superiors and my fellow warriors.
The news these days is reporting that all branches of the military are falling short of their recruitment numbers. The recruits that DO volunteer frequently cannot meet military standards due to obesity or other physical deficiencies.
Briefed by the folks in charge of the Officer's Candidate School at Ft. Benning, (now Ft. Moore), we were told that the main reason prospective Officers fail to graduate is because of bone structure injuries.
(Too much time playing video games?)
This ain't my Father's military.
How do we fill the shortfall we're now experiencing?
I know one way to do it.
But there WILL be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
26 May 2023
Do You Feel A Draft?
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3 comments:
My entry into the Army was accelerated by breaking up with a daughter of the woman who headed our local draft board. Plus, as Steve Earl"s Copperhead Road lyrics, "Around here they draft the white trash first".
Even though I made SP5 in 28 months, I knew I wasn't career material. My saving grace was two parts. First, Combat Engineers was a world of it's own. Behaviors that weren't tolerated in the rest of the Army were the norm for us. Second, being reliable. Any job I was given got done with no need to have a supervisor.
Bring back the draft, yes! Include females.
Bring back the draft AND draft women. They want equality, they get it.
The draft ensured that the population had a stake in the effort.
But I have an idea how to meet recruiting objectives.
Have sexual perverts be ambassadors for the services.
What could go wrong?
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