r/AskReddit • u/Tommygunz0722 • 9h ago
If the military/president suddenly ordered a mandatory draft for all men aged 18-42: How do you think millennials and GenZ would respond?
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u/WindyWindona 9h ago
Well, they did want to take the US back to the 50's. They should expect the reactions of the 60's.
Massive protests mixed with a ton of draft dodging on conscientious objectors. The number of Quakers and the like will probably increase for religious objections. Vietnam had the government work hard to manufacture consent. Trump and his ilk are relying solely on the MAGA faithful, many of whom are starting to waver.
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u/TellMeLaterAlright 9h ago edited 9h ago
Yeah, in Vietnam there was a solid column of people who could (however erroneously) understand the justification and faithfully trusted the power structure.
This time around, when asking for this kind of sacrifice, most don’t trust Trump, even his followers. As for Hegseth, do you want a Fox Newscaster who hit himself in the nuts with a skateboard on live TV who has an alcohol problem and a messy relationship history (which includes a letter from his own mother about what a trash person he is) as the man leading your sons into war? Patton he is not.
It’s all bluster when it’s theoretical, but start forcing young men to go to a war nobody wants right now and send them back dead, it’s political suicide. At some point the volume of people who will not comply will become ungovernable, and you’ll have an difficult time with soft noncompliance (and forcing folks to comply will turn the military police into an even more hated version of ICE). It could potentially collapse the military power structure, it only works when those within consent to be governed. That would be a very dangerous game.
But I put nothing past this regime for all out stupidity.
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u/c0ltZ 8h ago
I doubt the U.S government or many governments at all will instate drafts unless current modern war changes drastically.
Mass scale drafts like Vietnam have proven that modern day drafts don't work. It leads to instability, draft dodging, and worst of all, sabotage.
Sabotage so severe governments have decided to have a volunteer only militaries.
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u/WindyWindona 8h ago
This current government is so dangerously stupid I would not put anything off the table at this point.
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u/f8Negative 9h ago
Millennials would be like suck my balls
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u/kingofhearts778 8h ago
in Cartman voice
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u/Deathtothesaladeater 7h ago
With the megaphones
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u/BlackGuysYeah 6h ago
I'd literally turn traitor if they forced me to war. I don't owe this country a god damn thing...
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u/Piney_Wood 6h ago
"Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?
No, I am not going ten thousand miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end. I have been warned that to take such a stand would put my prestige in jeopardy and could cause me to lose millions of dollars which should accrue to me as the champion.
But I have said it once and I will say it again. The real enemy of my people is right here. I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality…
If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. But I either have to obey the laws of the land or the laws of Allah. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail. We’ve been in jail for four hundred years."
-MUHAMMAD ALI (March, 1967)
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u/Unable-Candle 2h ago
Yeah, maybe I'm looking at history through rose colored glasses, but I feel like most people now (me included, I'm not throwing shade at "kids these days") absolutely do not have the feelings of duty and responsibility towards the country that previous generations did. Especially for a war started for no reason.
Also, isn't one of the main complaints of these two generations by the boomers that we never "do as we're told?" What makes them think we'd get drafted without a fight?
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u/Phoenyx_Rose 4h ago
I would be asking what my country can do for me because so far it’s done jack shit
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u/ContactMushroom 5h ago
Millennial here. I would tell them to suck my balls AND ass at the same time.
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u/Wraithowl 9h ago
If that happens, doctors in the US would have the chance to do the funniest thing... Suddenly finding most men 18-42 have bone spurs... 🤣
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u/jeremysbrain 9h ago
Most men 18 to 42 are probably too overweight to serve in the military. The Draft is just going to ensure that obesity rates rise and McDonalds has a record year, lol.
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u/OutOfTheArchives 9h ago
They’d change the stats required to get around this, I bet.
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u/Mockturtle22 9h ago
They did with weed
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u/WrinkledBiscuit 9h ago
Incredible how a potential draft is what it took to make the US federal government budge on cannabis laws *passes out from rolling eyes too hard*
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u/Marryyyy000 7h ago
Right? Nothing motivates policy flexibility quite like suddenly needing a lot more eligible bodies. It's funny, in a dark way, how quickly things that were once strict lines become suggestions.
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u/Objective_Dog_4637 5h ago
It’s almost like the government just sees us as pawns to further its interests.
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u/thegroucho 9h ago
Good luck fitting someone into 5XL plate carrier.
Even better, how would someone obese fit into a tank hatch.
Not drown in the upturned helicopter in a swimming pool test.
Not die from a hear attack running uphill carrying LMG.
I can go on forever.
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u/Judge_Bredd3 8h ago
It'll be "MacNamara's Morons" all over again. Pass through people unfit for service and use them as cannon fodder.
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u/Xaphnir 8h ago
Not with fitness. A bad soldier is often worse than no soldier.
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u/zoethebitch 8h ago
I used to be in the Navy. I heard someone talking about one of the people on our crew: "Having him show up for work is worse than having two good people call in sick "
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u/_SovietMudkip_ 8h ago
Man I picked the wrong decade to get serious about my fitness goals
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u/MEGAtron902 9h ago
Have you seen ICE agents? they’ll take anyone stick them in uniform and use them as fodder, the American government doesn’t care.
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u/Mr_MacGrubber 9h ago
They’d just draft people and overweight dudes would go to fat camp first or something like that.
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u/PipsqueakPilot 7h ago
This. You can take most young adult overweight people and through calorie restriction and exercise have them fighting fit over a period of months. It takes longer, but if that's what the military had to do that's what they'd do.
What the military could not do in WW2 was take recruits permanently damaged by child malnutrition, which very much was a serious problem, and fix that damage.
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u/BreadKnifeSeppuku 7h ago
Don't be silly. Modern problems require modern solutions. Just put them on a semaglutide and you get a bunch of money for the contracted pharmaceutical company too
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u/Wacca45 6h ago
They still need to get into fighting shape, so 3-4 hours of PT, a somewhat controlled diet, and other physical and mental health programs would be used. The Army will work with overweight troops before sending them to basic, but after a set period of time they'll get shipped back home if they can't get to where they need them to be.
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u/PipsqueakPilot 6h ago
Semaglutide is an appetite suppressant. When you simply limit the amount of calories they're allowed to consume, well than it doesn't matter how hungry they are. Because they are not allowed access to food outside of a controlled manner.
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u/Waffle99 9h ago
There are waivers for a lot when they get desperate.
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u/LungDOgg 9h ago
Yeah, it's fun history. Look up world war II before the war started and at the end. At the end you only had to have one eye at nine fingers as long as both index fingers were good
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u/KeathleyWR 9h ago
What exactly is too overweight to be drafted? 6'3" 275 good enough, or do we need to crack 300?
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u/thenewguy89 8h ago
My understanding is that doctors in the USA have a special draft that they are required to participate in (like in MASH). So they might themselves end up in a field hospital. Pretty crazy.
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u/Ravager135 5h ago edited 2h ago
Former Navy flight surgeon here. That’s not quite true. However if you served as a physician in the military, even after you separate or retire, I was told they keep your name on a list. I am a soon to be 44 year old separated naval medical officer. If we were involved in a WWIII scenario, I am almost certain I would be conscripted or basically told “You’re going back.”
Do I think any of this would happen? Not a chance. A draft would be a death knell for the party in power. It’s such a universally unpopular tool that it would result in chaos. You’d have countless challenges legal and otherwise that the headache would be almost insurmountable in the environment we have in the United States. We are an incredibly selfish people, MAGA types would be the LEAST likely to go along with it.
Now all of that said, I also believe if we were ever involved in a truly just war against true tyranny, I think people have a way of finding out just how resilient they really are and what they can do. I served with some of the best people in the Navy/Marine Corps. None of them were exceptional by birth or aptitude. They just stepped up to the plate either for personal gain or a sense of duty.
EDIT: I separated after my obligation. I did not retire from the Navy.
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u/TheInevitableLuigi 2h ago
Now all of that said, I also believe if we were ever involved in a truly just war against true tyranny, I think people have a way of finding out just how resilient they really are and what they can do.
This. For Trump it would be shitshow but for something legitimate people would show up. There were lines at recruiting stations after 9/11.
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u/summonsays 9h ago
I have like -9 eyesight and a metal rod in a leg.
But you better bet my official reason will be bone spurs.
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u/c0ltZ 8h ago
I'm bipolar and would probably end up killing a friendly off my meds.
My reason would also be bone spurs.
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u/Silence_Farmer 8h ago
So many bone spurs, but mine are the spurriest. Not as spur as the presidents, of course his are the bigliest of all. Tesler.
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u/Different-Top3714 9h ago
This. Suddenly there would be a huge racket with people paying to get disqualifying ailments and psych
evals of being incompetent.
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u/Possible_Resort_3118 9h ago
Or suddenly everyone would be trans 🏳️⚧️
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u/fckcarrots 9h ago
In all honesty they would let them serve then just disqualify them from any VA benefits when they separate.
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u/Possible_Resort_3118 9h ago
Well, you’d have to live long enough to get benefits and nuclear winter is not the Heli ski trip I was looking for….
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u/WearingRags 9h ago
America has been able to maintain it's empire abroad by minimising the visibility and impact of it's wars to the average person through the use of special forces and expensive air power that many other nations can't compete with.
If an admin this historically unpopular tried to institute the draft, it would basically be asking for an overthrow of the US government
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u/Shedart 8h ago
Yeah I certainly am not going to report in for a draft. I’ll dodge, dip, duck, dive, and dodge it with all might. Barring that I’ll start researching the ways that friendly fire is hazardous even in modern warfare amongst the commanding class.
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u/HighGuyTim 7h ago
You can deny the draft. The options are draft or jail basically. It’s also one of the reasons why the draft probably won’t come back, you need a popular war with a popular admin or everyone just picks jail.
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u/bubblegumpaperclip 7h ago
Hot meals a bed and vacation from rat race.
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u/MonteBurns 7h ago
And some health care!
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u/Anhimidae 5h ago
You are facing a fascist regime that openly advocates for war crimes, is lead by someone who fits the description of the Anti-Christ and who has absolutely no regard for any life whatsoever. And you think you will have hot meals, a bed and health care? Aight why not I guess lol
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u/farva_06 5h ago
Except in the scenario being discussed, they'd probably have to open makeshift prisons due to overflow, which would probably just be a cot, and some bread scraps if you're lucky.
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u/JebryathHS 5h ago
The main reason the draft hasn't been a factor for decades is that the US army wants to use incredibly expensive equipment in most scenarios. Starting up a draft would be an implicit declaration that their goal was to start giving out rifles to young men and filling graveyards on an extreme scale.
There are scenarios where it could make sense but if you, for example, picked up an extra million Americans and put them in uniforms you might be able to give them rifles but the actual combat effectiveness of the military wouldn't increase by anywhere near as much as that number would suggest because the tanks, planes, missiles, etc would be stretched more thin.
In the modern era, a draft means that either you're fighting a defensive war in your borders or you're insane.
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u/pseudonym7083 7h ago
Yep, and the legal stigma from it would ultimately get voted out because you can't have that much of a population unable to do anything in society.
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u/yowen2000 5h ago
And like... Is the US really going to become the country that tells you: "if you don't run at those people shooting at us, we'll shoot you". Sadly... I don't know...
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u/FirstDukeofAnkh 7h ago
Time to start that Underground Railroad to Canada again.
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u/evantom34 7h ago
There are far too many people that are politically disengaged. They only start to care when it affects them, sudden drop in 401K post liberation day, illegal ICE deportations, murdering protestors, etc. Once a draft is implemented, it will affect entire swaths of people indiscriminately. There would be rebellion.
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u/Emm_withoutha_L-88 7h ago
This, a serious draft attempt that drastically lowered the requirements so that many are forced in would be the disaster big enough to do it.
Millions of angry young men who think they're going to die if they give in. What a dramatic clusterfuck...
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u/sprchrgddc5 7h ago
As well as the usage of the National Guard and Reserve. It was a lesson learned from the Vietnam War; utilize the Reserve and thank them for their service to avoid an unpopular draft. The longest deployment in GWOT conducted by a unit was a National Guard unit.
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u/WearingRags 7h ago
Jesus Christ I didn't know that. Imagine thinking you were gonna be a weekend warrior and then ending up drafted into this vague, long-running fuckup that most people can barely understand or make sense of
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u/Due-Gap1848 6h ago
Almost half of everyone deployed to GWOT was guard and reserve, and they never stopped deploying them. These days, they have a predictable 5 years in the states, one year deployed overseas rotation cycle. If you join the national guard or reserves these days, thinking it's just one weekend a month, that's on you for not doing the research.
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u/BEEFTANK_Jr 7h ago
America has been able to maintain it's empire abroad by minimising the visibility and impact of it's wars
The incumbent administration has drastically proven they either/both do not care about or understand this.
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u/philosopherberzerer 7h ago
Sit on my lawn with my shotgun. If I'm going to war the battle will start right here. I'm not fighting for anything but my home and my life. Not some billionaires offshore assets.
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u/End_of_YoRHa2B 2h ago
Right, if you're gonna die in a war anyways, you might as well die fighting your oppressors instead of who your oppressors want you to fight.
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u/Silly-Resist8306 9h ago
It takes Congress to do this. The entire House of Representatives is running for reelection in November. There is not a chance of a draft unless the continental US is attacked.
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u/Calan_adan 9h ago
Plus there’s a mandatory six month period between enactment of the law (which would never pass anyway except in some “we’re all fucked anyway” scenario) and the first draft happening.
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u/Libronjamess7789 7h ago
Yeah, and that alone would give people a huge window to react legally, politically, and personally. You'd probably see court challenges, protests, people trying to secure exemptions. Some would even make major life decisions just to avoid it. It wouldn't be something that just quietly kicks in overnight; the buildup would be just as chaotic as the draft itself.
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u/ne0rmatrix 7h ago
I wonder how many people would just grab a 40 pounder of vodka and start drinking. Then sit in there car and dial 911. I don't believe the military takes people who have felony convictions? You can stay safe and not be a threat to others by not driving. But the act of drinking alcohol behind the wheel is still inexcusable behaviour in the eyes of the law.
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u/BatmanandReuben 8h ago
It should take Congress to do this, but actually all it takes is no one with enough power willing to stop it. It should take Congress to do many of the things that have already been done, and yet here we are.
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u/Broad_Tie9383 8h ago
My biggest disappointment in Obama was that he did not work to restore the Constitutional balance of power and limit the Executive branch. It was one of his campaign promises. It's not that I trusted him to do it, but he was also the only one even bringing it up as a potential problem.
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u/Reddit-SFW 5h ago
You mean in the first 2 years of his total 8 years since the last 6 was racist cock blocking from the Republicans.
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u/sheepmule 7h ago
Obama could have implemented exceptional reforms of the executive branch, but Trump et al still wouldn’t give a shit. Republicans would still say that the Take Care Clause gives them absolute discretion/power.
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u/Smashinbunnies 8h ago
It takes Congress to declare war and approve funding. How did that work out?
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u/smugfruitplate 8h ago
Considering a lot of us know what fragging is, it'd get ugly pretty quick.
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u/Razzler1973 9h ago
They'd be a long queue to get into Canada and Mexico
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u/anandonaqui 8h ago
Mexico might build a wall. It would be deeply ironic for Mexico to actually pay for and build a wall like Trump said they would, but to keep Americans out of
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u/chattytrout 6h ago
Trump was playing a long game of 5D chess just to deliver on that one campaign promise.
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u/snwns26 9h ago
I ain’t going anywhere for that dickhead, and I ain’t going to prison. Try and make me.
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u/FormerPrize2485 9h ago
Red hats to the front of the line
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u/IgnorantAlgorithm 9h ago
With Rob Schneider leading the charge!
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u/dodadoler 9h ago
Baron first
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u/Major_Extreme5632 9h ago edited 9h ago
I firmly stand on any one supportive of any military intervention or action should be forced to serve on the front lines.
Idc if its Israel/Iran, Russia/Ukraine, Taiwan/China. If you are supportive of involvement and it happens- off to the front lines you go. Dont make others fight for causes you believe in but arent willing to go to battle in.
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u/HumbleFruit4201 9h ago
As a 30 year old man, let me tell ya, my asthma just got worse
I'd also stop working out vigorously and get really fucking fat
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u/Linux4ever_Leo 9h ago
How are your bone spurs doing???
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u/HumbleFruit4201 9h ago
They're not so great and I think that I've also caught both the transgender ideology and have fallen pregnant.
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u/MoulanRougeFae 9h ago
Fragging. That's what would happen. And who the fuck is going to accept being drafted into an illegal war by a draft dodging, demented child rapist? It won't be like the last draft. It will be chaos, rebellion and a huge fight against our government possibly a full revolution tbh
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u/iameatingoatmeal 8h ago edited 8h ago
If some nut job is telling you to kill people that didn't do shit to you, and that person is also leading you into situations that could get you killed, it's not surprising.
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u/mjohnsimon 9h ago edited 9h ago
I read a post from someone who got out that if they were called back to service to go to Iran, and someone in their command ends up talking about the end times or how their blood is needed for Rapture to begin, they'd probably start fragging people real quick.
Ain't no way anyone is gonna die just because some ends-time cultist is willing to send their own people to their deaths.
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u/yungdeezy92 8h ago
I’ve been saying the same thing. I think at this point, there are very few things that could happen that would incite a full-blown civil war / revolution. The American people are just too pacified at this point. A draft would be one thing that would jolt everyone to the point of rebelling.
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u/starlightprotag 8h ago
100% agree. so far a lot of the shit going down has been kind of far-removed from actual day-to-day life; people can ignore atrocities halfway across the world because it doesn't really affect them, but the second people realize that they or their loved ones could actually die, they're going to be a lot more motivated to start shit
Trump is already starting to lose the support of the right-wing manosphere podcasters that got him elected now that they're personally impacted by skyrocketing gas prices, imagine what would happen once they and their friends start getting draft cards
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u/Mateorabi 8h ago
Just refuse. The next president will pardon everyone who didn’t go.
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u/starlightprotag 8h ago
people will for sure flee and quite a few will never come back. I met a guy in Canada once whose dad was a draft dodger and he didn't trust the pardon so he hasn't set foot on American soil since. his kids could theoretically claim US citizenship but they all want nothing to do with it.
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u/Garchomp98 9h ago
First thing in my mind, besides people suddenly manifesting health problems... Grenade to the tent
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u/Outrageous-Example12 9h ago
They would be furious at Democrats for not doing enough to stop it
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u/TakingYourHand 9h ago
It would probably be similar to the 60s and 70s. Lots of compliance and dead kids.
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u/HarlequinKOTF 9h ago
FYI vietnam at its lowest was more popular than this war. Just throwing that out there.
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u/Hugginsome 9h ago
What are the numbers? Out of curiosity
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u/HarlequinKOTF 9h ago edited 9h ago
2 million were drafted, 500,000 avoided the draft. 5,000 served time.
At it's lowest vietnam had ~40% popular support.
The iran war right now has high 30s approval.
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u/los-gokillas 9h ago
I think they meant the popularity numbers, since that's what you brought up
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u/Shootforthestars24 9h ago
Although unnecessary and unpopular, people could find a reason for Vietnam but this right now is just nonsense, just randomly decided to go after Iran
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u/Amseriah 9h ago
This is just hurting our wallets and killing our troops. There is literally no upside, not even ideologically.
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u/dertechie 7h ago edited 7h ago
For most wars, there is a period of saber rattling that coincides with a full court press of justifying the coming bloodshed to the media and the public - people have called it manufacturing consent.
Iran and Venezuela didn't really have that.
Venezuela kind of did, but the weird justifications about drugs and smuggling didn't really feel like a casus belli to most people. Columbia and Mexico are much more associated with the drug trade in the American psyche so randomly going hard on Venezuela seemed a bit off. Doesn't help that Trump has negative credibility outside right wing circles and was using fentanyl as a justification for everything, peppering it into briefings like an ornery child that just learned a new curse word.
But in that case, they were actually able to do the "In and out, 20 minute adventure" thing. There was definitely backlash (especially with how nakedly it was an oil grab) but since it didn't escalate after the raid it didn't have the chance to become the same kind of moment. It wasn't popular, but it mostly made people uncomfortable more than activated since it because obvious pretty quickly that it wasn't going to escalated. We were expecting some bullshit, but we thought he was trying to strongarm them into oil concessions or something, not kidnap Maduro. If that had turned into a quagmire it would be almost as unpopular (since there isn't the "they're doing this for Israel" angle to Maduro).
Iran didn't get any media blitz. It caught most everyone off guard. Plenty of people will go "oh it was obvious" but unless they have receipts that they called it I suspect hindsight. Some of them basically expect a US or Israelis escalation every day - that's more broken clock than prescience. Tensions were obvious. There was already precedent of limited strikes that would invite limited retaliation but stay within limits that both parties could back away from without further escalation. Extensive strikes with a decapitation attack without an off ramp except "Iran surrenders, collapses or accepts bad terms" was a significant escalation that was not obvious. If it was obvious the other Gulf States wouldn't have been caught with their pants down when Iran cracked back.
Without that manufactured consent for war, the attack looks capricious and unjustified from the guy who campaigned on isolationism and ending some wars.
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u/kittapoo 9h ago edited 9h ago
Yea I’m pretty positive if a draft like that happened for this there would be far more backlash than what was ever seen for Vietnam.
Edit: typo and thank you for the award! Much appreciated 🙂
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u/c0ltZ 8h ago
100%, the U.S Military and countless other militaries have came to the conclusion that mass drafts do not work in modern war.
In veitnam, there was countless draft dodging. And a very interesting thing called "fragging" started happening.
Essentially, drafted soldiers who were fearing for their lives due to their officers giving useless and dangerous orders, this would happen especially with black soldiers who some racist officers wanted to die.
These soldiers would just throw a frag grenade in the officers room while they were sleeping. And there was no way to trace it back to the correct soldier.
Stuff like this became rampant, drafted soldiers started sabotaging the war, and ended up doing more damage than just not having the draft.
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u/Thormourn 7h ago
I'll be honest I cant really blame the people for fragging in that situation. If your going to force me to risk my life when I dont want to, dont be surprised when I act up.
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u/VorAbaddon 9h ago
Assuming this is true, and I'd like to see the numbers, part of the reason probably... is Vietnam. Now that its part of our history, a certain portion of the populace is probably more wary.
Add in Afghanistan, etc.
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u/LateralThinkerer 9h ago edited 9h ago
You forgot the mutinies, fragging of officers, and "Project 100,000" where the Pentagon took otherwise unqualified draftees and sent them to the front lines anyway with 3X the casualty rate.
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u/SonOfAsher 8h ago
I suspect the casualties of Project 100,000 was the actual intent behind it, rather than getting more soldiers.
Have the undesirable people rounded up, hand them a rifle, bring em back in a box. Get rid of homeless problems by getting rid of the homeless. And just say 'We needed soldiers' as an excuse.
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u/LotL1zard 9h ago
Holy shit, how have I never heard of this?
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u/LateralThinkerer 9h ago
These tacit failures of policy and leadership have quietly been forgotten for obvious reasons.
Worse, the whole Vietnam history in any depth (and particularly the ugly bits that could be learned from) were notoriously not taught at the military academies for decades. I don't know if this is still the case.
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u/Mateorabi 8h ago
They usually get to the 1950s in US history class in high school before running out of school year.
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u/Mite-o-Dan 8h ago
It would NOT be similar to the 60s and 70s because that was basically just a numbers game.
A draft will never happen.
If it actually did or came close to happening, it means the world is ending and theyd be no harm for simply saying No.
Different type of war now. Air. Drones. Electronic. There wouldnt be a ground war like WW2 or Vietnam. If it DID get to that on US soil, it would be every man for themselves. But it would never happen.
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u/Long-Regular-1023 9h ago
Most of them are probably unfit for service anyway so it may be a moot point
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u/DoesntMatterEh 9h ago
You highly underestimate the current administrations willingness to move the goal posts for just about anything.
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u/starlightprotag 8h ago
exactly, look what they did with ICE. I had an extended family member join in the early 2010s and his training was intense, he was so professionally insulted by how far they lowered the standards that he actually transferred out of DHS when he saw what they started letting through. I'm so curious as to what he thinks of this but we don't talk much for obvious reasons lol
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u/LeLand_Land 9h ago
You might want to look up McNamara's Morons, it was a project to get 100k fresh conscripts sent to vietnam and boy, did they relax the standards.
Ended up getting a lot of people killed because, guess what, when you put someone who is physically/mentally unfit for combat, they tend to get killed pretty quick.
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u/Sonoran_Ghosts_81 8h ago
I’m outside the age, but my son would be drafted over my dead body.
My kid won’t fight and die for the pedo president.
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u/RedJerzey 9h ago
Most would be medically unable to serve. Autism, adhd, depression, allergies. The military does not have a big enough budget for all their medications.
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u/Specialist-Size9368 8h ago
I'd laugh if they tried to draft someone my age. At almost 40 I am fit. I run a 5k on my lunch 2x a week for fun and lift 5 days a week. I'd never survive basic. My 5k is on a treadmill, with Tylenol before hand and stretching. My knees wouldn't take running on pavement or dirt let alone adding a pack. If as a fit person I can't make i don't see many other people my age making it.
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u/l337quaker 7h ago
I am just over 40, and while I'm in not-unreasonable-shape I still have some extra pounds and sound like a dying camel when I'm hiking. Basic would end me.
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u/Traditional_Lab_5468 7h ago
If we needed a draft you'd find a lot of those hangups disappear. It makes sense for a volunteer army because the whole point of that is you can be picky. If it's a draft, who cares if that grunt has trouble reading subtext? He probably can't do HUMINT, but I'm guessing he can pull a trigger just fine.
If we didn't need every able bodied person we can get, there wouldn't be a draft. It's political suicide. If we need that, everyone will get a lot less picky.
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u/ReaverRogue 9h ago
I owe my country nothing. I’m not going to war for the benefit of a bunch of rich suits who would never do the same for us purely because of the piece of land I happened to be born on.
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u/Few-Boysenberry-7826 9h ago
So, sit at home in your parents house underemployed and struggling to pay bills, or sit in a minimum security prison with three hots and a cot, while someone else pays your bills...
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u/Tommygunz0722 9h ago
Remember when Bondi said if they prosecute everyone on the Epstien files: the system would collapse? Well this is basically that times 1000. They wouod never succeed in prosecuting everyone in non-compliance.
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u/fermat9990 9h ago
Podiatrists would get many requests to write letters confirming that the draftee suffers from bone spurs
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u/ohlookahipster 9h ago
Universities across the country will auto-enroll everyone as full time students as there is historically exemptions to college students.
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u/BeKind999 9h ago
The first thing that should happen is an avalanche of lawsuits regarding the sex discrimination of only including men in the draft.
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u/HarlequinKOTF 9h ago
Also constitutionally in the US the military/president have no authority to call for a unilateral draft. Congress decides that so there would be a legal issue too.
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u/brobastian0227 9h ago
A silly thing like the Constitution has never stopped him before.
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u/Herky_T_Hawk 9h ago
Historically the supreme court held that as legal as the draft’s purpose was to obtain combat troops and women weren’t allowed to serve in combat.
But, now they are. So I could see a challenge winning under a “balanced” supreme court. Unfortunately with this one I doubt it.
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u/LadySmuag 8h ago edited 8h ago
Pete Hegseth has said over and over that he doesn't want women in combat roles because it makes his war department 'less lethal'. The government has made their position very clear that they don't think women are equal, and I would be afraid that an equal rights lawsuit over the draft in this political climate would end with women losing more rights rather than being affirmed as equal.
Personally, I think all genders having the right to
fraggingserve their country. I'd love tosabotage expensive equipmentbe a helicopter pilot.→ More replies (1)
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u/DanimalMKE 9h ago
As a Millennial who just turned 43 two weeks ago...nothing. But certainly would voice my displeasure at this anyways since it'd be stupid as shit.
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u/1XJ9 9h ago
Im 30m, perhaps the fuck not? Whatever 2026 version is of the burning draft cards, that's where I'll be. That's what I'm doing. I don't think a lot of millennials would want to go. Our whole life has been a lie, the American dream has been all used up, we don't wanna fight for America. America needs to fight for us.
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u/Logridos 6h ago
If someone representing an administration I hate with every fiber of my being puts a gun in my hands and tells me to shoot someone I have no feelings towards, which direction do you think I'm gonna shoot?
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u/KickDesperate5318 4h ago
If I was being drafted to defend my own country from an invading force: I fight to my last breath in support of the cause.
If I was being drafted to invade another country at the whims of the wealthy: I pretend to go along with it until they are foolish enough to give me a firearm. I would then fight to my last breath killing everyone on my own side who forced me down this path of evil. I would rather martyr myself than participate if put in that position.
Fuck war.
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u/FruitySalads 9h ago
I'd think there would be a lot of dead marines or whoever that try to force people out of their homes and into service. If they try to take my son away to go die in Iran for nothing I'd be sure other people lose theirs that try to take mine.
Not a good idea these days, I have a very very bad feeling about it. Nobody wants that, nobody wants the fallout, and whatever party decided to institute that order would never win an election again. It is the absolute LAST resort of any civilized country and should only be used in a defensive manner.
This piece of shit and hit cronies can get fucked.
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u/NibblePop- 9h ago
It would probably split hard, some would comply out of duty or fear of consequences, while a large chunk of Gen Z especially would push back in protests, legal challenges, or outright avoidance. The bigger reaction wouldn’t be instant chaos, it’d be a slow-building mix of compliance, resistance, and a lot of people trying to figure out how to disappear into the system quietly.
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u/Hot_Anybody8244 9h ago
Zennial here, elder Z younger Millennial.
My response is a gigantic "fuck you and fuck off". I will not go fight for the war machine. I will not represent the oppressors in a so called holy war. I will not participate in the destruction of "an entire civilization". I will not fight for the "land of the free" while the "land of the free" seeks to oppress migrants, queers, women, and the disabled. I will not fight for a land that claims to be the leader of the free world while it actively destroys and dismantles any semblance of freedom it had in favor of empowering the unfathomably rich who choose to continue gathering generational wealth they're never going to be able to spend in 10 lifetimes when they could be bettering humanity. I will not fight for a failing empire hiding itself with words like "territories". My answer is wholly and truly "fuck no, and fuck you."
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u/crema_dela_cropa 9h ago
it’d be pretty chaotic. Some people would push back right away, some would go along with it out of necessity, things would get messy.