How come we had a draft during Vietnam and now we don't have a draft?

Question

During Vietnam if there wasn't a draft no one would have enlisted into the Army and Marines so they (USA Government) made one go into the military. Now, fast forward to 2007. There is a war going on and young men/women are enlisting to go to war and not forced to go into the military. That is amazing! In the year 1972 all of us Military men said this could never happen ( Enlist without being forced to go in) but it seems to be working for now. Us old veterans from Vietnam find this amazing to the max.

Answer 1

I can tell you that if we had a draft, we would have quite a few more bodies, but a lot more problems, too.

The UCMJ (Uniformed Code of Military Justice) that we follow now has lower thresholds and heavier punishments for offenses that were minor during Vietnam. Drug use is not tolerated. Even tatooing and piercing is much more limited. Anyone with a domestic abuse record would not be allowed in because they cannot be issued weapons.

Training for many military professionals are much more complex than they were in the 60's. To get into the Air Force, a potential trainee must pass ASVAB tests to a certain degree, pass a stringent physical, have a full background check including even a credit check to make sure there are no outstanding debts. Provided that the draftees were willing to go through this gauntlet, only some of them would qualify.

An all volunteer force means that at least at some basic level, every member had to sign his or her name agreeing to serve. If we forced individuals into the military as some countries do, we would have a weaker, less committed military. Although recruiting may be more difficult since we are in times of heavy deployments, we still are NOT looking to pull just anyone off the street. We are looking for our best individuals, and looking for them to come to the military not to make money but to fulfil a sense of duty to our country. NOTE, I'm not saying this includes a duty to our current administration, just to our country. This also would include a sense of trying to "give back" a bit for some of the things our country has provided us and others.

Answer 2

Relying on the draft has traditionally only been done during the major wars. Historically the majority of the USA's wars have not involved the draft. The revolution, 1812, Mexico and during the initial stages, the Civil war up to the Spanish-American war all relied on volunteers and the mustering in of the state militias.
The draft is a good short-term solution for fighting wars. But as a war drags on morale on the home front and consequently the fighting front becomes weary of war then it becomes a burden. The country is far better off relying on people that desire to serve than dragging in those that do not.

Answer 3

Why the **** would you "draft them and send them to vietnam?" What ******* purpose did the Vietnam conflict have? ****** nothing. a lot of guys died for no goddamn reason other than lookin for Commies in the damn Jungle. And Communism works very well so we shouldn't have cared. An unreligious democracy across a unified earth is the best but we can only hope. So you're saying you would send even more men over there to fight and die for something that didn t matter and didn t make any sense? You sound VERY ignorant. It s people like you that need to shutup, sit down, and get your facts straight. Who even cares, war is disgusting and what is it good for? Absolutely Nothing! Also, LOTS of the counterculture generation, or protesters, or hippies, WERE in fact drafted just like everybody else.

Answer 4

This war would have been over long ago if we had a draft!

It is not working very well! They have kept people beyond their contract dates, they have people on their 3rd and 4th tours in Iraq.

That is too high of price for to few!

If a 1,000 a month was coming home KIA this would be quite different, especially if college kids were drafted and sent for a date with an IED.

I was in Vietnam and I don't find it amazing. All the crap jobs were contracted out, like KP! Promotions are much different, the pay is a hell of a lot different. They took a chance probably to get out of poverty or to learn job skills. I don't think they foresaw what is currently happening!

The military can't keep this up with no changes in the draft law! Mark my word!

Answer 5

There has been a lot of active military recruitment efforts since Vietnam. They make you take their exams in high school, call you up all the time, come into classes, and try to entice you with free college, training, and money. Just for supposedly working one day a month (I think). And magazines geared toward teens and young adults are full of flashy army ads. None of these kids actually expected to see combat because this was long after Vietnam and most of them weren't even born yet. So most who are in this war right now are not recent recruits, but have joined before Iraq. They were expecting these wars for a long time.

And don't forget, they're also sending the National Guard there now and illegal immigrants and prison inmates are now being deployed to Iraq with incentives such as citizenship and freedom. And those who have already finished their military commitments are being forced to go to Iraq or stay in there for longer periods.

http://mindprod.com/politics/iraqdontenlist.html#DONTENLIST

Answer 6

There was a draft during the Vietnam war because they never stopped it from earlier wars. They stopped around 1980 because the military was getting stuck with a lot of sub-par riff-raff which made training them difficult and caused discipline problems, especially drug and alcohol related.

As to no one volunteering, you only need to look as far as the USMC of the time to see that yes, people volunteered...

Answer 7

My guess....better incentives. The Army practically gives you everything but the kitchen sink to enlist (plus a little smoke and mirrors goes a long way to entice impressionable young men and women). I am sure most who enlisted never thought they would see any action nor think that a war could go on long enough to think about the likes of Vietnam all over again.

Answer 8

As an Iraq War vet I can tell you its becuase we believe in the mission. If only Bushes commitment matched his rhetoric. The only way to supplant Islamic extremism is to bring succesfull democratic and econimc ideals to the middle east.

It has nothing to do with not having any options. Since if you look at todays military it has on average more HS, college, and Masters degrees then the civilian population. The incentives though are a good way to pay for the ever increasing college tuition. The training and medical care are a big draw as well.

Answer 9

The U.S. had a draft from 1941 until I believe 1975. The draft was abolished because it was not needed anymore and the military wanted to try a concept of an all volunteer, professional force, with new equipment and doctrine. That's why.

Answer 10

We opted out for a volunteer military and they are doing a helluva job despite political interferences and a new form of warfare.