[RANGERAIRBORNE]

"Vietnam draftees had added "no value" to the military, a comment that infuriated veterans groups."

This is what I really like about Rumsfeld- he is not afraid to speak the truth. I served in the "draftee Army" , and I cannot imagine what the hell we would do with a million or so disgruntled, inept, and unwilling "soldiers" in today's high-tech, fast-paced Army.

Potato-peeling has been automated, thank you very much- and most other military jobs take too long to become proficient at for a short-termer draftee.

I volunteered for Special Forces, at a time when casualties were extremely high, specifically to escape from the company of poorly-trained and poorly-led draftees. Someone should write a book about what a draftee Army was REALLY like- not the romantic notions of "young men of all sorts of backgrounds learning to get along", and all that crap.

That stuff is all Government propaganda. The sons of the rich or politically well-connected did not serve, and the few who did (like Al Gore) got cushy billets with less risk than they would have have experienced at a fraternity kegger! (Or they got a nice slot in the National Guard...)

[Cathryn Mataga]

Hmm, I never quite understood how that worked. I thought anyone could join the National Guard if it looked like they were going to be drafted, back in the Vietnam days.

Interesting comments on the draftees. Honestly, I have no real knowledge of this, other than what I read. It's interesting to hear the viewpoint that draftees were just trouble. Sounds almost like the Democrats want draftees so there will be more casualties and therefore more hatred of the Republicans.

[Archangelsk]

That stuff is all Government propaganda. The sons of the rich or politically well-connected did not serve, and the few who did (like Al Gore) got cushy billets with less risk than they would have have experienced at a fraternity kegger! (Or they got a nice slot in the National Guard...)

This sounds like an indictment of not only Al Gore and Lloyd Bentsen but also the President and Dan Quayle. Sorry, Ranger, but you can't have it both ways.