That never crossed his mind. When he was drafted, he set out to make the most of it. He never even thought about avoiding or wiggling out of it.
Clearly he believed that the Vietnam War was unconstitutional - he has said as much on various occasions.
That was years after his service. He didn't have an opinion on Vietnam then because Vietnam was in its infancy. He was drafted during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
So it's pretty clear that he chose to serve in the ANG for the money.
Uh he served two years in the Air Force prior to going into the ANG and rose to the rank of Captain. The same ANG that FReepers defended Bush on in 2004, but have no problem disparaging Paul's service in it.
He famously bragged to the Dartmouth Review that he was getting paid more and had better hours working for the USAF as a flight surgeon than he did as a medical resident.
That's true because there was a shortage of flight surgeons then, hence the reason why he was drafted. Nothing wrong with tooting your horn about it.
Far from complaining about his lucrative service far from front lines, he was overjoyed to be sitting in the rear with the gear, as the saying goes. He had just about the cushiest and safest position in the whole armed forces.
Paul spent time attending to pilots on flights in Iran, Korea, and dozens of other flight missions. He could have been killed in a plane crash just as much as if he would have had boots on the ground in combat. So his position in the military wasn't "safe." His military service is just as honorable as Duncan Hunter's or President Bush's.
I know you feel extremely close to your hero, but you will excuse me if I do not take your word for it that you were privy to his inmost thoughts 45 years ago.
That was years after his service. He didn't have an opinion on Vietnam then because Vietnam was in its infancy. He was drafted during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
He was in the ANG during the Vietnam era and he has spoken publicly about how he was deeply morally conflicted at the time about giving physicals to young pilots who were slated to enter combat.
So, according to his own statements, he was morally opposed to the Vietnam War even while he was being paid to facilitate it.
Uh he served two years in the Air Force prior to going into the ANG and rose to the rank of Captain.
He entered the USAF as a first lieutenant and left two years later as a captain - in other words, he was promoted one rank. Pretty standard.
The same ANG that FReepers defended Bush on in 2004, but have no problem disparaging Paul's service in it.
Setting aside the fact that training as a pilot involves a real risk of death on every training run, while sitting around in a base hospital examination room does not - the point is (a) his attitude toward the armed forces and their mission and (b) his career alternatives.
George W. Bush has never expressed the opinion that his country was wrong to be involved in Vietnam - his service in no way conflicts with his conscience. Also, George W. Bush was paid substantially less as an ANG pilot than he would have been had he entered his father's business instead.
So George W. Bush was not doing something he believed was wrong, nor was his only apparent motive for doing so hard cash.
It is the opposite for Ron Paul - he is saying now that he was doing something that he thought was wrong but that he was making more money doing it than would have otherwise been the case.
That's true because there was a shortage of flight surgeons then, hence the reason why he was drafted. Nothing wrong with tooting your horn about it.
He was not drafted because of his medical training. The Selective Service And Training Act Of 1940 operated under a lottery system. Paul was chosen at random. If he is tooting his horn, he is tooting his horn over winning a blind drawing.
Paul spent time attending to pilots on flights in Iran, Korea, and dozens of other flight missions.
He didn't attend to pilots - he was a flight surgeon (an antiquated term that does not actually involve surgery) and not an attending physician. He did not become an attending physician until a year after he left the ANG.
He examined pilots to see if they were fit for duty. He was never on a "flight mission."
The USAF flew him to the secure bases they wanted him to go to in order to examine pilots because it was more economical to fly one doctor out to examine a few dozen pilots than to fly a few dozen pilots to see a doctor.
He could have been killed in a plane crash just as much as if he would have had boots on the ground in combat. So his position in the military wasn't "safe."
"Just as much? LOL!
Neither is anyone's position safe who ever takes a commercial airline flight. Paul spent his military career as safely as any civilian.
In fact, more safely, since I believe the non-combat, non-training safety record of military aircraft is safer than that of civilian aircraft.
Ask someone who has served in combat whether they felt safer in combat or on the flight they took home to enjoy leave.
His military service is just as honorable as Duncan Hunter's or President Bush's.
It certainly would have been, had he not subsequently publicly admitted that he didn't believe he should have done it, but that the cash he got for it was much fatter than his civilian pay.
Doing something you believe to be wrong just because it pays well is not honorable, by definition.