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What Happens If Uncle Sam Brings Back the Draft?
Since 1973 the United States has maintained an all-volunteer military; this volunteer force has been more than adequate to carry out the nation’s foreign policy. Even so, the U.S. still retains its Selective Service System, prepared for a large-scale conflict that could require a return to conscription.
To ensure the draft could be reinstated on short notice all males must register upon attaining the age of 18. If you’re in the 18–25 age group should you be concerned about reinstatement? Nothing on the geo-political horizon leads to that conclusion, but who can know the future? So for those who are curious about what it was like to be drafted for the Vietnam War, the following is a glimpse into the draft of 1968.
The Army Induction Center
Early on a dark November morning, we boarded a bus in the small town of Warsaw, and dieseled down across the flat lands of northern Indiana to the Indianapolis Induction Center. When the bus door squeaked open, we piled out, hopping over mud puddles caked with ice. A mist swirled about our feet as though we’d stepped into a world out of time.
A sergeant appeared and jolted us back to reality. “Wake up! Get your head out of your ass! Form a line!” We filed into a large room with dozens of tables manned as stations. We all felt despondent, awkward…
