https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/14/milita…
The numbers are staggering: Seventy-one percent of young people are ineligible to join the military, according to 2017 Pentagon data. The reasons: obesity, no high school diploma or a criminal record.
The problem isn't just a military one, though: It's an issue for businesses as well because the vast majority of that age group isn't eligible for many jobs either, said retired Rear Admiral Thomas Wilson.
The numbers are staggering: Seventy-one percent of young people are ineligible…
This story is three years old. One wonders what the current percentage is? It probably has not gotten any better, though, if I were to guess.
Pete
I am sure during Vietnam over 71% tried to be found ineligible. And many succeeded in doing so.
How many men were eligible for the draft during the Vietnam War?
Image result for during vietnam draft how many tried to be found ineligible
27 million
The Draft in Context
The military draft brought the war to the American home front. During the Vietnam War era, between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. military drafted 2.2 million American men out of an eligible pool of 27 million.
How many 18 23 year olds are there in the US?
26,222.04 thousand persons
United States of America population aged 18-23 years was at level of 26,222.04 thousand persons in 2020, down from 26,379.62 thousand persons previous year, this is a change of 0.60%.
Basically drafting 3 million men between ages 18 and 23 would be <12% of the group of 26 million men.
It does not matter much that 71% are ineligible.
The other side of this, the war in Europe is worth fighting. The war in Vietnam was not. That matters greatly in any calculus.I didn’t notice the date line on the story, but I doubt that the numbers have changed significantly in that time.
Basically drafting 3 million men between ages 18 and 23 would be <12% of the group of 26 million men.
That isn’t quite right. Registration was required at 18, but they didn’t draft people until they were 19.
The men drafted were the lumps that did not act pro-actively, but waited for it to happen to them.
First means of evasion was to go to college, as college students were given a deferment. The deferment ended in the fall of 71. People who had entered college prior to the fall of 71 retained their deferment, but the freshman class entering college in late 71 did not have a deferment. The deferment was good until graduation, or attainment of age 24. They only took a few hundred in 73, and none after that, so anyone who entered college at 18 between 66 and 70 could effectively evade the draft for the duration of the war.
Second means of evasion was to enlist in a branch that offered something other than humping the boonies in Nam.
Men who were married prior to August 26th, 1965, were exempt, until October 6, 65, when married men without children were added to the pool.
The Wiki article on the 1969 lottery says that, of the 366 dates drawn, the top number called was 195. So, after deducting those in college, deducting those married with spawn, and deducting those who enlisted, about 53% of the remaining men were drafted.
The total number of draftable in the late 60s was well below 27M. If 71% of the 53% called were not qualified, and 71% of the remaining 47% of those in the pool were not qualified, there would be a problem.
Steve
The total number of draftable in the late 60s was well below 27M. If 71% of the 53% called were not qualified, and 71% of the remaining 47% of those in the pool were not qualified, there would be a problem.
Steve
Our legacy of Vietnam was some tens of thousands of Americans who moved to Canada (mostly BC) to avoid the draft. Many stayed after the war. Since Canada didn’t have a draft, dodging the draft was not a crime so they couldn’t be charged with anything other than crossing the border. Then of course there were a significant number of young Canadian men who showed up at US recruiting centers to join up. It is impossible to know how many because their address was listed as the town where the recruiting center was.
http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vol15/no3/page48-eng.asp#:~:….
One estimate by former US Senator Bob Smith holds that as many as 400 Canadians were killed and 4,000 wounded in Vietnam. Many of these Canadian-born men who served also won US military accolades, including the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, and the Bronze Star, and one Canadian in particular, Peter C.
Tim
Steve,
Fair enough on your numbers etc…ideas…
But we only need 200k to 500k max. The EU would put up as many.
We would not be taking Russia. We would not be holding territory without their consent. There would be zero insurgency in most of the Ukraine. Those in the east that were not happy would be nothing much to keep in line.
We are far better equipped than the Russians. The battles would be ultra lopsided.
But we only need 200k to 500k max. The EU would put up as many.
We had half a million in Nam, plus garrisons around the world, encircling the “Godless Commies”.
What is the quality of the lower ranking US Army officers today?
West Point cadets remain on ventilators after consuming fentanyl-laced cocaine in Broward
https://www.local10.com/news/local/2022/03/13/man-21-accused…
Only glimmer of hope is that the 71% of current volunteers being unqualified is the cultural strata most of them come from.
South Carolina had the highest representation ratio, at 1.5, meaning it contributed 50 percent more than its share of the country’s eighteen- to twenty-four-year-old population. Florida, Hawaii, Georgia, and Alabama round out the top five.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/demographics-us-military
Obesity Rates for Youth Ages 10 to 17
5 Alabama
9 South Carolina
14 Georgia
22 Florida
25 Hawaii
https://stateofchildhoodobesity.org/children1017/
Public School Rankings by State 2022
Florida 22
Hawaii 31
Georgia 34
South Carolina 43
Alabama 44
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/public-scho…
So the states that provide a larger than average share of recruits tend to have higher than average youth obesity and worse than average schools.
Steve
It does not matter much that 71% are ineligible.
Yes it does. If the draft is “random”, by shrinking the eligible pool, you just increased an eligible person’s chances of being drafted. So instead of 10 from 100, you are now choosing 10 from 30.
JLC - who can still pass any military fitness test at 57