Opinion: Draft may be job Americans won't do

I received greetings from my local draft board in 1962. At the time I was serving with the U.S. Marines in Japan.

The letter had my correct mailing address, including my current rank, service number and unit as well as FPO, San Francisco, Cal. The FPO stands for Fleet Post Office.

The address should have been a clue that I was on active duty.

Back in the day, when you graduated from high school, if you were an 18-year-old male, you could almost count on being drafted shortly. You could get a deferment if you had been accepted at a university or college. By that I mean you had to have a letter of acceptance in your hand when you went to see the draft board.

When a young man applied for a job at that time, it was common to ask if he had completed his military obligation. If he answered yes, he was asked to provide his DD-214, certificate of service, to prove he had been honorably discharged.

The draft was not all bad. It got young men out of Mom and Dad’s basement and forced them to leave home. The apron strings were well and truly cut.

It also taught one to live on a budget, not a large budget, as base pay for a private was $76 a month, divided evenly into two payments in cash on the 1st and 15th.

Out of that we paid income tax and Social Security.

Uncle Sam’s last draftee was a California man (If you’ve been drafted, you’re a man.) who was called up on June 30, 1973. Since that time, the draft has not gone away, it has lain dormant, waiting to be reactivated if necessary.

In general, all men who are 18-25 years old and live in the United States must still register for Selective Service. Not only U.S. citizens, but also immigrants, both legal and undocumented, including asylum seekers.

According to 2021 data, the national registration rate is 89%. Failure to register is a felony punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or five years imprisonment.

I wonder how many would actually show up if the draft were reactivated. Less than 1% of the U.S. population is currently serving in the military.

I occasionally ponder whether getting drafted is another one of those jobs that Americans just won’t do.

Rube Render is a former Clovis city commissioner and former chair of the Curry County Republican Party. Contact him:

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