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There were three common ways to avoid going to Viet Nam when you got your draft notice. Go to Canada, run down and quickly join the Air Force, Navy or National Guard.

They weren't fool-proof though as Kerry found out.

There were three common ways to avoid going to Viet Nam when you got your draft notice. Go to Canada, run down and quickly join the Air Force, Navy or National Guard. They weren't fool-proof though as Kerry found out.

This is just stupid. My shipmates and I served proudly and honorably in Vietnam.

You could get out of the Draft - gruntsville - but not out of Viet Nam by enlisting.

By the way (the argument against re-instituting the draft) -Today's Army is nothing like 60's/70's version.

The Air Force and other services also had some "enlistees" who were told by judges/courts to enlist or go to jail for some fairly minor law breaking or enlisted to avoid the draft. My with military experience before/after & during the 60's - 80's transition attests to that - all volunteer force is much easier to manage/control than disgruntled, including Ivy League/elitist draftees.

Not to mention Robert McNamara's Project 100,000 - where some youngsters who scored too low to be drafted/enlisted were allowed to enlist for the lower mental/pschho-social skilled positions in all services. Most often more trouble than benefit for mission accomplishment.

LBJ was too timid/weak to call up Guard/Reserve forces. In that same era, though, they were used/needed for civil unrest situations within U.S. borders (e.g., Kent State), so it could have been a strategic decision.