I am not a vet, but I have read that the conscript army we had back in the day was not so bad as they make it out to be today. What they lacked in long training assignments they made up for in a desire to get the job done and go home. You probably know all about that.
That’s true. For us 18-year-old enlistees, the 21-22-year-old draftee added some real life experiences, generally. I have nothing but respect and fond memories of the draftees I served with in Germany in the early 60s. It’s also worthwhile to mention that many draftees reenlisted.
Elvis and Gen Shalikashvili were both drafted in 58. They went different directions but both did their jobs.
“t I have read that the conscript army we had back in the day was not so bad as they make it out to be today.”
There are people here who will object to me saying it or even try to deny it, but I am going to say this again.....
I was on active duty when the last guy got drafted, and still on active duty 2 yrs later when the Army became all volunteer. I had re-enlisted after being drafted the first time in 1966, intending to stay for 20 or more. The draft was still on when I re-upped, and I LIKED the tail-end of the brown-shoe Army that I found in 1966......meaning there were still Korea and even some WWII folks still in, as well as from every time in-between.
The lifers groaned when the draft was discontinued....the usual statement was that we got more good people even if only for 2 yrs with the draft than we could ever possibly get as willing enlistees.
In that time and context (remember post-Vietnam and all the demonstrations etc and post-woodstock as well) their predictions played out to the nth degree......so bad that it caused me to pass on E-7 and the PA school. I quite happily left it all behind on friday, 13Jun75 and became a civilian.
I served with draftees - or rather, folks how joined the USAF to avoid the draft. By and large they were worthless. Didn’t want to be ‘there’ where ever there was.
Even more worthless were the Reserves that joined to avoid the draft.
Maybe I was just unlucky, and was stuck with a bunch of (fill in the blank) - but this was at a stateside base, so not even combat was an issue.
In 1975 IIRC, they gave everyone who wanted out a free pass, just to get rid of those with a bad case of ‘conscript syndrome’. Almost 60% of the unit left overnight.