Before 1973, the US had what we called, "the Draft," where men of fighting age were selected to become soldiers. The Draft was enacted in the past because we often didn't have enough actual soldiers to fight in past wars, and needed more people. Rank was based on education of the draftee. The Draft was mandatory, and if you didn't report to the nearest military office, you would be arrested and put in prison. For a long time, the Draft was not an issue for most Americans because of the higher feeling of patriotism people felt, particularly during WWII, which led to many, many volunteers. It was considered an honor to fight for your country in the past.
It wasn't until the Vietnam War that the younger generations started to rebel and protest in larger numbers that the war was unjustified, and many anti-war demonstrations were held. Many young men (particularly those who were not really fit to be soldiers) were very uninterested in being dragged off to 'Nam to fight and die for a country they'd never even heard of, let alone cared about. People also thought Nixon's and the govt's fear of communism overtaking the world was an overreaction to what was happening in east Asia. It wasn't unusual for draftee soldiers (many of which, didn't want to be there anyway) to rebel in their own way and refuse to follow their Commanding Officer's orders, or even to use the battles they fought into murder their CO's out of spite. The Cause of Death for such people was called "Friendly Fire."
It was due to all the massive anti-war demonstrations, that the Draft was no longer used, considering we had (and still have) a very large pool of soldiers to this day. To be fair, the Draft isn't really necessary anymore.
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SoZi (102)
4 years ago
That was a very helpful answer, thank you! It was never clear to me in these movies. Coming from Europe, it is very mixed how it dealt with in different countries.
So, during the times of the Draft, it was a certain age limit, and they drafted everyone beyond that, no matter what? Or they had like a certain criteria and tests (mental and physical) that had to be passed? How hard was it to qualify?
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moviechatterer (13270)
4 years ago
They do this in europe too you know - they might even do it in your country one day .
Generally , if theres a war on - a big one , they get short of bodies and start yanking them off the street.
Which is a bit of a bummer if , like Vietnam, its not a direct invasion of your home turf - its a war your country shouldnt even be involved in
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