Looking for a way to opt out of military service? Well, you are about forty-something years too late.
You are safe.
For people unfamiliar with civic duties, U.S. law states all male citizens of the country, including male immigrants, even illegal immigrants, must register for the Selective Service System (the SSS, otherwise known as “the Draft”) within 30 days of their 18th birthday. This registration does not mean that you will be immediately shipped to war, but you are only registering with the government so that you are available at a time when a draft would be needed.
The U.S. first started drafting civilians during the Civil War. The rich, it should come as no surprise, would have many ways to avoid being drafted. They would pay someone less wealthy, for example, to take their place or bribe a doctor into giving them a bad health exam.
The modern selective service was designed to raise an army to battle Europe in WWI. Then again, its powers were called upon for troop-raising from 1940-47. The last time “the Draft” was ever used was in WWII and the Vietnam War.
But the draft was brought back, then abolished, and brought back as per the needs of the then governments.
There were two kinds of methods to avoid being drafted – illegal and legal. A few laws were incorporated into the Selective Service to keep important, necessary men back home with their families. There were draft avoiders and there were draft evaders. People with less favor had to resort to illegal means to avoid the draft.
Here is how people dodged the draft in the 1970s.
01. Made-Up Health Condition
The military – even today – is very strict about medical conditions. Back then, if you had conditions like gastritis, hepatitis, ulcers, anemia, or even diabetes, you were out. During the Vietnam draft, people would try to become sick, staying up late the night before their medical screening to consume illegal drugs or work on appearing unhealthy.
02. Children Who Need You
Men with much, much young children and babies were rarely drafted. Men with families who depended on them for their livelihood were of a lower priority for the draft than single men or childless husbands. Sometimes, young men would get married and have children to avoid the draft. You will see something similar in the Netflix movie Purple Hearts.
03. Homosexuality
Men who were not homosexuals would pretend to be. It was considered perfectly normal in the 60s and the 70s to ask and tell. Homosexuals were not allowed on the battlefield. Some men, if afraid they wouldn’t be asked about their sexuality, would even go so far as to put on women’s underwear to medical exams.
04. Escaping to Canada
More than 40,000 draft dodgers fled to Canada between ‘65 and ’75. Some people stayed there in Canada long after the war and became citizens. President Carter pardoned them all for desertion on his very first day in office.
In the novel, The Many Adventures of Donnie Malone, Donnie helps several men unjustly drafted to escape by flying them to Canada.
05. Holding an “Essential” Civilian Job
Otherwise known as “reserved occupations,” these civilian jobs are important to war efforts. They cannot be done by others, and hence, the people responsible for carrying them out are required to continue working on them. If you hold such an essential job, your chances of being drafted may be significantly reduced.
The U.S. is unlikely to have a war anytime soon. In case it does, there will be a need for national conscription. It is important you abide by any drafts or conscription laws of where you currently live. However, there hasn’t been a real draft since the last days of the Vietnam War.
War stories have great lessons in them. A recommended book is The Many Adventures of Donnie Malone by Paul E. Doutrich. Doutrich’s prose, blending many aspects of reality and fiction, is not just entertaining but motivating and profoundly enlightening.
You can grab your copy of the novel from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other leading publishing platforms.