By 2020, the Viet Nam "hangover" will be mostly gone.

[SoCalDem]

The draft ended as 1973 faded away, but for any male who was "of age" during that time, his service record is always lurking the the background.

End of conscription
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_the_United_States#End_of_conscription
During the 1968 presidential election, Richard Nixon campaigned on a promise to end the draft. He had first become interested in the idea of an all-volunteer army during his time out of office, based upon a paper by Professor Martin Anderson of Columbia University. Nixon also saw ending the draft as an effective way to undermine the anti-Vietnam war movement, since he believed affluent youths would stop protesting the war once their own possibility of having to fight in it was gone. There was opposition to the all-volunteer notion from both the Department of Defense and Congress, so Nixon took no immediate action towards ending the draft early in his presidency.

Instead, the Gates Commission was formed, headed by Thomas S. Gates, Jr., a former Secretary of Defense in the Eisenhower administration. Gates initially opposed the all-volunteer army idea, but changed his mind during the course of the 15-member commission's work. The Gates Commission issued its report in February 1970, describing how adequate military strength could be maintained without having conscription. The existing draft law was expiring at the end of June 1971, but the Department of Defense and Nixon administration decided the draft needed to continue for at least some time. In February 1971, the administration requested of Congress a two-year extension of the draft, to June 1973.

Senatorial opponents of the war wanted to reduce this to a one-year extension, or eliminate the draft altogether, or tie the draft renewal to a timetable for troop withdrawal from Vietnam; Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska took the most forceful approach, trying to filibuster the draft renewal legislation, shut down conscription, and directly force an end to the war. Senators supporting Nixon's war efforts supported the bill, even though some had qualms about ending the draft. After a prolonged battle in the Senate, in September 1971 cloture was achieved over the filibuster and the draft renewal bill was approved. Meanwhile, military pay was increased as an incentive to attract volunteers, and television advertising for the U.S. Army began. With the end of active U.S. ground participation in Vietnam, December 1972 saw the last men conscripted, who were born in 1953, and reported for duty in June 1973.In 1973, the Selective Service randomly selected 25 numbers or birthdays in case the draft was extended.

By 2020, any man running for office will have most likely have been too young to have worried about the draft, and it will finally go away.

By then, that war will have dogged us for FIFTY TWO years... what a long run for such a horrible mistake .

[Jennicut]

1. As a Gen Xer I always roll my eyes when it comes up.

Vietnam was a mistake and some people went to war, some tried to get out of it and succeeded with pulling strings. But I have no emotional attachment to it. It was wrong and of course it was hard on young people back then...who wanted to die? My Dad joined the military and ended up working on radars. He then went into teaching classes at Fort Bliss. Did he hope to not go? He sure did.

[pinboy3niner]

5. Your reaction is understandable

Among the Vietnam Generation, though, we remain conflicted about a lot of issues related to the war. It's much more than just a matter of, "What did you do in the war, Daddy?" When the last of us passes, those issues will remain unresolved. And Vietnam will continue to be resurrected whenever issues of war and peace are considered.

Congratulations. This will be part of your inheritance. May you do better than we did . . .

[Jennicut]

8. Well, it was thrust on you guys by another generation.

So you had no choice. And it was not really a war in my opinion that could be won. It was obvious, at least to most people my age. I remember when we talked about Vietnam in history class in 11th grade in 1992 (when Bill Clinton was running for President, big issues with Vietnam in the beginning of the race). No one thought it was a winnable war. Our teacher asked us to raise our hands if we thought it was and none of us did.

[Lost4words]

2. ant it will be replaced by Iraq Afganistan! also phony wars.

also a horrible mistake!

[SoCalDem]

3. Mistakes to be sure, BUT without conscription

it makes the actual service a non-issue. No need to dodge a non-existent draft, or to lie about service...or to embellish.

[Odin2005]

4. I roll my eyes anytime a Boomer obsesses over Vietnam.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. So 58,000 young men were taken from their homes and died and you get to 'roll your eyes'.

[Javaman]

11. Some people lack empathy and perspective.

I feel sorry for them.

All wars are the same, the only thing that changes is the means by which we kill one another.

It's odd really.

Me, being born at the very tail end of the boomer generation (the last year of it, technically), I had relatives that fought in WWII and Viet Nam. And because of my late date of birth in the boomer line of births, I also have friends who fought in in the Gulf war and now in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

it's so odd when I think of it, but being born when I was, I was born during a "bridging time" from one major war to another. Sad, really. It's almost impossible for me to conceive of a time when we weren't at war for one reason or another.

The "gap" between '74 to '91 was filled with small "police actions" which are nothing more that "little" wars.

But I guess there were some breaks in between.

I fear for todays generation, where there appears to never be any breaks, no down time to catch ones perspective breath. We have entered into generational wars that will never end.

on edit: I just realized just how mentally exhausting, writing what I just wrote, was upon me.

[sinkingfeeling]

12. I fear too since there is no openness about 'war'. No pictures of the dead and wounded on the nightl...

news. No daily talk about it. Hundreds return and end up with major life difficulties... suicides, murders, and drugs and drinking. It's such an accepted part of life in the USA that one can 'roll my eyes' at any mention of it.

[Javaman]

15. It's because no one accepts accountability anymore.

All we is get lip service in return when we question their motives and apparently, as a nation, that is perfectly acceptable now.

Love the internet or not, it has allowed even the most insane person a voice to scream and yell their unfounded bullshit.

Which, in my opinion, completely dilutes any sense of reality in media.

People can now sell their brand of reality as the truth, which they support with half witted opinion pieces that aren't fact checked. Which they use in turn as ammunition against facts. It's unfounded hysteria that feeds into the "everything is a conspiracy", that gets one website hits.

There are good news sources out there, but given the fact that canard of, "the truth is subjective", is pushed by the right wing media as the accepted reality, no one believe anything anymore, so accountability falls by the waste side. "What's the point in trying when it's all bullshit", is the lament of the average person who now has been thoroughly brainwashed.

As a result, we have become a nation of reactionaries without any clear sense of journalistic boundaries or the need of credible sources. Our ability for critical thinking as basically vanished.

We are purposely put off balance by "experts" who have not a single ounce of credibility nor a background of actual reporting or journalism. No one calls them on their half witted theories or concepts. Because if people did that, they would see that they are without clothes.

Today, any tool with a loud mouth and a computer can now create a website, which can become popular as long as their daily version of "truth" is updated. So as to feed the insane masses a daily dose of self righteousness.

We live in a time were Randolf Heart would love to jealously exploit.

As there is no reason or law that allows for counter arguments. The polarization of our media and it's corporate lords will continue to spew bullshit in a never ending quest for the highest ratings. Which happens at the cost of country and it's basic rights.

[pinboy3niner]

13. Don't feel sorry for Odin. He's actually a good guy, not lacking in empathy

Some don't yet appreciate our perspective because they haven't lived it.

I understand you exhaustion--and your sadness. Yet, for all the pain and trauma, there were positive effects on our generation, too. We learned some things, in terms of understanding, insight, empathy, and intolerance for injustice. Unintended side effects included advances in understanding of PTSD and medical advances that resulted from dealing with traumatic combat injuries.

In the mid-80's, it was only our reaction to Vietnam that kept U.S. troops from going to war in Central America. I thought, then, that we'd actually learned something. Perhaps we had, but how quickly we forget . . .

Societal advances come marginally, and are not immune from periodic regression. Yet, I remain hopeful.

Love & Peace, pinboy3niner

[Javaman]

16. That was really good response.

Thanks.

My only fear is, as time goes on, people will, see the failures as victories and the victories as failures.

It's that "re-crafting" of history, that worries me, but alas, civilizations and it's various leaders have been doing that forever.

A philosopher once said (I forget whom and I'm paraphrasing), "big wars are fought because the last one was forgotten".

At some point in the future, there will be another crazy leader who will believe he or she is the one all be all and will get things "in order" according to their slanted view of the world. And thus, the crazy parade begins again.

It's always such that 20/20 hindsight teaches the us the waste of war and the lost opportunities for good.

Cheers to you! And thank you for your service. :)

[Odin2005]

17. Ack, I was refering more to the Boomers on the Right and Middle.

[joe black]

14. WTF

The point is war sucks no matter what generation "obsesses" over it. Being a boomer is getting to be held in the same reguard as a teabagger to some of you so called liberals around here. Sorry I was born when I was.

[leveymg]

6. I doubt the Pentagon wants a draft. Career military is more efficient, effective, and easier

to manage than a bunch of citizen soldiers who don't have the weight of career concerns behind every order they carry out (or don't carry out).

If the U.S. tried to mobilize, equip and train the population for a General War, it would overburden, paralyze, and draw resources away from the existing military. Not an attractive prospect for the Top Brass, I would think.

[Echo In Light]

7. George Carlin - We Like War

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDkhzHQO7jY

[CanonRay]

10. Finally. It's like a festering open sore

that only seems to get worse with time.