June 28, 2022

Well, it goes right along with the loss of the right to abortion.

I'm reading "Every branch of the military is struggling to make its 2022 recruiting goals, officials say/With a record low number of Americans eligible to serve, and few of those willing to do it, this 'is the year we question the sustainability of the all-volunteer force,' said an expert" (WaPo).

And you thought your body was yours.

But wait!
The pool of those eligible to join the military continues to shrink, with more young men and women than ever disqualified for obesity, drug use or criminal records. Last month, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville testified before Congress that only 23% of Americans ages 17-24 are qualified to serve without a waiver to join, down from 29% in recent years.

If they bring back the draft, it will be easy to dodge. Might as well get started now. What's your favorite fast food? What's your favorite bagged crunchy snack? Dessert? 

81 comments:

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The left turned the military into a woke joke. Green haired over-weight whiners fighting for ... the glory of the.... what is it again? Whining?

We don't need a strong fighting army to fight the forces of evil like Russia... We need to fight the popular book authors who commit wrong-think.

Leland said...

Will you be ineligible to be drafted if you refuse the vaccination? Because if so, then they could remedy the volunteer problem without a draft. Bonus, you can also end the pilot and crew shortage in the airlines.

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

"And you thought your body was yours."

Haha. I guess people can't complain about their loved ones being murdered, either, if they don't believe the smoke and mirrors hand waving in roe that virtually no one believes.

gspencer said...

"If they bring back the draft, it will be easy to dodge."

Thinking like a patriotic American willing to adhere to the Constitution as written (to which you will take an oath to support) will also do it.

On the other hand if you think the Navy is Village-People friendly, you've got it made,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3p4e-htTHw

wendybar said...

Not to mention all the soldiers who got CANNED for not getting vaccinated. Their body, NOT their choice.

J Melcher said...

A great many military occupational specialties can be accomplished by old fat people in office chairs at desks distant from the battle.

Turns out, as well, a surprising number of risky and strenuous specialities that require fit young male people willing to cross back and forth across the line of battle are now being done by "contractors".

I wonder if the constitutional question about "letters of marque" may come up in this century?

Scott Patton said...

Eat more poutine!
That way, if they try to draft your fat ass, the move to Canada will be less of a gastronomical stress.

Arizona Pirate said...

Legalized marijuana might have a lot to do with this as well. A lot of people start doing pot young because it is the 'cool' thing to do, like stealing the old man's cigarettes and beer where back in the day and now you don't even have to smoke it. Edibles are the big thing.

rehajm said...

Being forced to hot rack with transgenders in a Title XI world is a bit of a deterrent for the best and brightest, too…

Dude1394 said...

Why would anyone join the military of the country they have been told for years is racist, evil, disgusting and needs to be destroyed. I just cannot imagine why.

Howard said...

wendybar: What vaccines did you refuse when you were in bootcamp? The US should adopt the Israeli model. Every swinging dick and split tail shall serve unless they are a member in good standing in a religious nutbar cult. We would have less military adventurism if everyone's kids and grandkids served.

Humperdink said...

Every time I think our military being "fit and ready", I visualize that overweight, out of shape, pompous blowhard Alexander Vindman (Don't call me mister, call me Lt. Colonel).

Gospace said...

wendybar said...
Not to mention all the soldiers who got CANNED for not getting vaccinated. Their body, NOT their choice.


This is one of the big reasons they're never going to mention that is largely responsible for the downturn in recruiting. Especially in the technical fields where a lot of the enlistees are "on the spectrum". The people who understand numbers better then people.

Temujin said...

Yes, we are a fatter, flubbier nation, and yes, we have ceased to look at patriotism as an honorable thing. Hell, our current administration and DoJ consider emails using the word 'patriot' as a red flag akin to being a Nazi. I wish this were an exaggeration.

And yes, we've spent the last 20 years or so telling young white boys and men that they are the problem. They are toxic. They are the issue. And to top it off, we drug them into submission. So, we're seeing them dropping by the wayside, leaving school, and entering college at lower levels than ever, being left behind by women. But then, that was the goal, right?

But through all that we still have a large contingent of 'good men' who might be willing to fight for our nation and are fit enough to do so, but...there's the woke thing. Our military branches, under Joe Biden's team and Lloyd Austin have determined that the military is not about defense of the nation, it's about defense of the pronouns.

Woke training undermines readiness.
Approved racism taught here.

While the Chinese are building up a massive military trained to take over half the world, we're focused on neutering our few good men so that they don't act like men in times of war- or any time for that matter.

I was always under the impression that our Government's first and top priority was national defense. That is, if you cannot defend the nation, you will have no nation. So in the past we taught our marines, army, navy, and air force how to break things and kill people. That is, after all, what war is about.

Not now. Now we train our best to be careful about their whiteness, know that their privilege is a stain on everyone, and for God's sake, respect someone else's pronouns. And don't say 'for God's sake' anymore. Try....Gaia's sake or something. Zir's sake.

The young men in shape know this. And they want no part of it. So yeah- you get what you groom.

Unknown said...

Have you seen the picture of the new Russian general Putin has put in charge of the war in Ukraine?

Tom T. said...

We just spent twenty years sending servicemen and women to get maimed and killed for useless political goals. It doesn't surprise me at all that volunteer recruitment is down.

hombre said...

Barack Obama: "All is proceeding as planned."

tim maguire said...

As with so many things, I blame the schools. We've understood "sound body, sound mind" since the time of the Greeks--right up until about the time the Department of Education was created. Now physical fitness is an after thought at best.

Of course, it doesn't help when CPS pays a visit to parents who let their children play unsupervised. Of course they're going to get less exercise under those conditions.

typingtalker said...

" ... said an expert." ... who is not named. But he/she is, "An expert on military personnel policy ... "

Well. I'm convinced.

An expert on military personnel policy [this one named Kate Kuzminski] says that middle class parents, including those who are newly middle class, often encourage their kids to go to college before selecting a career, which hurts recruiting for enlisted personnel. “Changing the mind of parents is the really tough part, particularly if these are parents who worked really hard for their children to go to college,” ... possibly so they wouldn't be killed in another stupid war ... errrr ... police action.

Jersey Fled said...

Just to get this off the table, the military never paid for abortions due to the Hyde Act.

Some lefty will claim this is the reason for low recruitment in 3-2-1 ,,,

rcocean said...

Except for a brief time durin WW I, we had an extemely small military from 1866-1940. In 1939 we had navy/army/af of about 300,000 men, probably the equivilent of 600,000 today. Why do we need a large army anyway? So we can fight ideological/political wars in Afghanistan or Syria?

If the American Empire can't sustain a large army, then maybe we should adjust our global ambitions.

Mark said...

This is why we can't have nice things.

The Left ruins everything.

Ann Althouse said...

In the Vietnam era, I knew guys who thought they could evade the draft by getting their weight too low. I remember the number 120 was said to be the cut off. I knew guys who didn't have very far to go to get below 120!

I think we were all so much thinner then. I'm 5'5" and I would love to be 120 now, but back then, I considered 120 (and even 110!) to be overweight.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

Yeah, trying to reinstitute the draft will really be popular with the voters, especially when we aren't actually at war. Meanwhile, we have a body-positivity movement that is attempting to frame fatness as perfectly normal. And physical fitness as right-wing. You can be fit at any size we are told. What isn't addressed is "fit for what?"

Readering said...

I seem to recall in UK in WW1 underweight/undernourished recruits was a big problem.

Readering said...

I seem to recall in UK in WW1 underweight/undernourished recruits was a big problem.

Howard said...

66% of the military was draftees in WWII and 25% were draftees in Vietnam. So much for the Greatest Generation.

Richard said...

An awful lot of guys would be more than willing to fight for their block or their city, or whatever is close--speaking more than geographically--to them.

But that would mean fighting here, which is really messy. Fighting elsewhere is better, if we have to. But that take different forces than calling up your friend and asking if he has any spare ammo.

Heartless Aztec said...

Generation Z is a tiny cohort. Bring on the drones and autonomous combat vehicles, ships and aircraft.

Tina Trent said...

Between drones and women recruits who can take on non-combat positions, do.we.really have a problem? I'm not against universal service like they have in Israel, but it would unravel into some marxist, Americorps-VISTA bullshit overnight.

rcocean said...

BMI chart says 150 at 5/5 is where overweight starts. Of course, the BMI chart throws men and women in together.

rcocean said...

You'd think it would be easier to get out of the draft by being too fat. No starvation, just overeating.

wendybar said...

Howard said...
wendybar: What vaccines did you refuse when you were in bootcamp? The US should adopt the Israeli model. Every swinging dick and split tail shall serve unless they are a member in good standing in a religious nutbar cult. We would have less military adventurism if everyone's kids and grandkids served.

6/28/22, 9:06 AM

The other vaccines were tested and approved because of that testing by the FDA...the Covid vaccine was rushed, and we now are seeing a high number of YOUNG men with heart conditions. It is killing youth, (who should NEVER have been forced to take it) but your media probably hasn't been reporting THOSE problems.

I agree with you that everybody should serve in the military. We need to toughen up the young woke progressives who whine when they don't get their way.

rcocean said...

RIght now minimum weight for a 5/5 man in US Army is 115. Good God, you'd have to be a toothpick! Maximum of 155.

IRC, Jimmy Stewart had to go on a crash eating regime to gain enough weight to meet the US AAF requirement. Of course, he was 6-2.

Michael K said...

Readering said...

I seem to recall in UK in WW1 underweight/undernourished recruits was a big problem.


It was but better then the Boer War when 25% of volunteers were ineligible. A lot of it was tb, endemic in industrial towns.

I know a couple of chief petty officers with 20 years experience who did not re-up because of the Woke military.

JK Brown said...

Well, those who might wish to serve in a well-organized military saw the reality of the general staff in their actions during the Afghanistan withdrawal.

If they try to restore the enslavement of young men, might as well fight for American liberty in America, than die as a slave under orders of political senior officers.

It should be noted that these young men, and perhaps women, they would seek to enslave to the state are already 2nd class citizens as adults. They are prohibited from alcohol, purchasing handguns and in many place rifles, harassed by the state security forces, etc. And many want to ban those young men under 21, who do not have an father-figure male in their household, from possessing firearms. Ironic since many of those young men without fathers, lost their fathers when they were fighting for the regime in one of the many conflicts the 'elite' conduct for fun and profit.

Ceciliahere said...

Didn’t Hunter Biden get thrown out of the military for testing positive for drugs? Great example for young people wanting to join the military. The President’s own son gets the boot from the Navy….So, the guy next to you who is supposed to have your back in combat might be too high to care. Then we have obesity, drug use, unvaccinated young people out of the draft right from the start. In order to widen the pool, we must include all those demonstrating young women who seem so brave when destroying property and threatening SC justices. They have so much anger and rage I think they would make excellent fighters in the military. Just tell them that our enemies kill gays, do not allow women to have any rights, have prison camps for minorities, etc. and then let them lose in Afghanistan, Iran, China, etc.

Robert Cook said...

We desperately need to CUT our War Department budget drastically, a minimum of 50%, but preferably up to 75% and cease our attempt at global domination. We should shut down the hundreds of US military bases in nations around the world. James Madison warned of the dangers of a forming and maintaining a standing army:

"In time of actual war, great discretionary powers are constantly given to the Executive Magistrate. Constant apprehension of War, has the same tendency to render the head too large for the body. A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defence agst. foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people."

And:

"Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few... No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.”

Greg The Class Traitor said...

The pool of those eligible to join the military continues to shrink, with more young men and women than ever disqualified for obesity, drug use or criminal records.

And the majority of the ones who are eligible dont' want to be in a "woke" military.

So, congratulations Democrats. You are concurrently:
1: Trying to stir up a national civil war
2: Making sure that the Army that you currently boss won't be effective even if it is on your side

Please do keep up the good work

BG said...

66% of the military was draftees in WWII and 25% were draftees in Vietnam. So much for the Greatest Generation.
*Face palm*
I don't even have to look up the numbers - WWII covered multiple countries, continents and combat forces. (Probably where they got "World War" from.) This war involved a heck of a lot more people.
Vietnam - if you can't see the difference regarding territory covered, etc...eh.
But I did look up the number of combat deaths.
WWII U.S. combat deaths: 291,557
Vietnam U.S. combat deaths: 53,220
My dad was drafted into the Army during WWII. He was already married and was 26 years old.
Maybe you're too young to have heard the personal stories about what these guys went through. They were called up and they went into hell.
I am not minimizing Vietnam. I had relatives who were in that "conflict." One was drafted, the other wasn't. It wasn't a piece of cake there either. War never is.
But for you to question the courage of the "Greatest Generation," all I can do is shake my head.

MikeR said...

The draft is really unpopular, but that is what we should be doing. The whole point of the draft is that it is not volunteer. It means the United States will not get into wars without a national consensus of a desperate need.
Right now we have an underclass of soldiers who are unrelated to the people sending them off to war. Enough.

CHMCM said...

I know several young men who were rejected because they had an ADD diagnosis and had been on Ritalin when they were children. Another one was rejected because he had been on antidepressants. Considering the number of automatic disqualifiers discussed here and in other posts , the USA may not be able to field an army even with a draft and even if women are included.

Original Mike said...

US Army minimum weight for 5'9" is 128. I'm only one pound above that today. One day of fasting should do it. Of course, at 66 years old I think I'm safe anyways.

Robert Cook said...

President Eisenhower, himself a culprit in building our global war machine, made this prescient (and more relevant than ever) observation in his "Cross of Iron" speech, accurately describing the "best" that can be expected from a non-stop arms race as "...a life of perpetual fear and tension; a burden of arms draining the wealth and labor of all peoples; a wasting of strength that defies the American system, or the Soviet system, or any system to achieve true abundance and happiness for the peoples of this earth.

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."

Narayanan said...

just make them all Generals

General Pavel, 67 and 20 stone, has been called out of retirement by Vladimir Putin after yet another round of purges of top commanders has left him 'scraping the barrel'

Howard said...

Not only was the unpopular unnecessary war in Vietnam fought by mostly volunteers, they saw on average 6-times the number of combat days as compared to WWII.

the average warrior saw 40 days of combat during World War II and 240 days during the Vietnam War

Jimmy said...

Endless wars, for no purpose, destroy patriotism. Young people see what a waste wars have been, and how poorly those who served have been led.
Fighting to make Afghanistan a democracy, or Iraq was and is, a bad idea.

Jupiter said...

"We desperately need to CUT our War Department budget drastically, a minimum of 50%, but preferably up to 75% and cease our attempt at global domination."

Agreed. And eliminate draft registration.

rcocean said...

we don't need a draft. The idea they won't get us into wars if we have "Mr. Average Citizen" drafted into the army is obviated by Cold war experience. The rich and powerful won't be drafted, and if they are, they will sent to a safe and snug rear echelon job.

the only way to keep people like George Bush or Joe biden from getting us into useless foreign wars is to keep the number of Army personnel so low. If they don't have them, they can't waste them.

Narr said...

Any major crisis requiring large numbers of young Americans to do anything they don't want to will prompt the complete breakdown of society, now so well along already.

Our leaders and elites are, on the whole, more ignorant, greedy, and corrupt than any in our history, and have no standing to institute a draft.

Some people argue that the existence of a draft will discourage overseas adventurism, which is true enough; the reciprocal is that overseas adventurism by the present PTB could make a draft counterproductive and worse.

One of my older Vietnam veteran friends said that when he was awaiting separation stateside there was a whole "Queer Barracks" on the base, where young men who were gay, or turned gay by the prospect of combat, were kept until they could be discharged.

That dodge won't work now. OTOH the base level of patriotism and willingness to sacrifice is much much lower among all the young than it was in the '60s, and not likely to improve.

Richard Aubrey said...

"one French platoon", it has been said. If the French had resisted even with a platoon--more than likely a real number would have been a battalion--the German miliarization of the Rhineland in 1936, that would have been the end of Hitler.
Not wanting to wargame the thing....
Question is, had it happened, how would it be characterized fifty years later? "sordid struggle for markets". "mean-spirited victor's vengeance", "military industrial complex needed a fight"
Certainly not, "Thank God we escaped another World War...."

Are we absolutely certain that every single troop stationed abroad since September of 1945, or in combat anywhere for any reason, was for nefarious reasons with no, absolutely no, possibility of having prevented something worse?

n.n said...

Affordable, available, taxable, and adequately functional. What is a coed military to do.

John henry said...

I wonder if the constitutional question about "letters of marque" may come up in this century?

What is the question? The constitution specifically says

Article I, Section 8, Clause 11:

[The Congress shall have Power . . . ] To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; . . .

Seems pretty straightforward

ga6 said...

Do a web search for "McNamara's Morons", the Democratic party answer to low enlistment rates designed to fill up the ranks and keep the little college kids out of the draft. (Joe Biden)

If they did it once they can do it again.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=%22McNamara%27s+Morons%22&atb=v265-1&ia=web

1/5 2/3 8th Comm 1961-65

Static Ping said...

Under Biden's administration, the military has been openly hostile to conservatives and conservative thought, as well as being openly hostile to traditional religion. The religious and conservatives make the backbone of the military. I am not sure what they expected to happen.

Our elites are idiots.

Job said...

Howard: "66% of the military was draftees in WWII and 25% were draftees in Vietnam. So much for the Greatest Generation."

Highly misleading.

Not long after Pearl Harbor, the military stopped allowing people to volunteer. Nearly everyone was inducted through the draft. If you wanted to volunteer, you asked your draft board to draft you.

Static Ping said...

Howard said...
66% of the military was draftees in WWII and 25% were draftees in Vietnam. So much for the Greatest Generation.


The United States Army at the start of WWII was small. Per Wikipedia, in 1939 the United States Army was no more than 200,000 men, which made the army smaller than Portugal's. This was combined with a 200,000 man National Guard, which had only existed for 6 years at this point. By the end of the war, the US Army was over 11 million men. To increase an army to that size requires conscription. It is amazing that that many men could be pulled out of the labor force without completely wrecking the economy.

In comparison, the most men ever in Vietnam at one time was 500,000+. It was a significantly smaller war.

effinayright said...

Howard said...
66% of the military was draftees in WWII and 25% were draftees in Vietnam. So much for the Greatest Generation.
*****************

WTF? We went into WWII with a very small army and navy. We were attacked by the Japanese, and Germany declared war on us. So----despite the fact that tens of thousands volunteered during the first months of the war--- OF COURSE we had to draft a bunch of guys ASAP, as we were suddenly involved with a two-front war.

Overall, our military went from roughly 450,000 in 1940 to 12 million by 1945.

But the key question is: Did those draftees and volunteers draftees perform badly, Howard?

Did they engage and defeat their enemies, often taking severe losses in the process?

Or did they cower in corners, like Upham in "Saving Private Ryan"? [as I suspect you would]

As for Vietnam: Those drafted weren't part of the "Greatest Generation" in the first place, you doofus.

The war was unpopular, and thus Johnson was forced to....force young men into the fight.

So....what's yer point?

If the Russkis and ChiComs declared war on us today, how many latte-sippin', skateboardin', "woke" androgynous males do you think would sign up to fight for a country they hate?

effinayright said...

the only way to keep people like George Bush or Joe biden from getting us into useless foreign wars is to keep the number of Army personnel so low. If they don't have them, they can't waste them.
*******************
RIIIIIGHT...... keeping our military forces weak and ineffective will encourage the Russkis, ChiComs, Iranians and NORKS to be nice to us.

I mean----hasn't history shown that always to be the case?

SNORT

Lars Porsena said...

considering Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Milley, quandary about white rage and SecDef Austin's purging of 'extremists' just who do think is volunteering for the military. The white middle class which provides most of the warrior class, is taking a pass. The word is out.

Lars Porsena said...

"..the only way to keep people like George Bush or Joe biden from getting us into useless foreign wars is to keep the number of Army personnel so low..."

International version of defund the police. If you don't have police they can't make problems.

who-knew said...

I don't see the problem. Just lower the standards. That was what they did for women.

Gusty Winds said...

The recruiting also depends on who you might end up fighting, and what/who you are fighting for. In 2022 modern America alpha-males are disposed and hated. Do we expect these kids to sign up after being called white supremacists by their senile commander in chief?

I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of having American kids, and American tax money spent on protecting arrogant Western European countries, and Arab nations who's oil we don't need if we would just go back to producing our own. Does Generation Z want to put their lives on the line to protect the Ukrainian money laundering operation? Screw that.

Enough with the bombing brown people. The Trump base was sick and tired of all of it when they abandoned the GOP war-mongering establishment. Now the Dems and their frothing, Ukrainian Flag virtue signaling followers are the war mongers.

Try and imagine being inspired by Biden, woke General Mark Milley, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. All three are douchebags. If Biden doesn't make it through his term, you've got dingbat Kamala as Commander in Chief. If she becomes President, she can send in the social workers to push China out of Taiwan.

Gusty Winds said...

Soon the US can launch its first all LGBTQ aircraft carrier, the USS Harvey Milk. They can hoist the gay pride flag and try and scare the modern Chinese Navy just before they get sunk.

The Village People were decades ahead of their time when they released "In the Navy" in 1979. The Navy should use it as a recruiting song today and use the same drag queens for the music video commercial as the public schools use for story hour. It's actually a great song.

Where can you find pleasure, search the world for treasure
Learn science technology?
Where can you begin to make your dreams all come true
On the land or on the sea?
Where can you learn to fly, play in sports and skin dive
Study oceanography?
Sign off for the big band or sit in the grandstand
When your team and others meet

In the navy
Yes, you can sail the seven seas
In the navy
Yes, you can put your mind at ease
In the navy
Come on people, fall an' make a stand
In the navy, in the navy
Can't you see we need a hand

rcocean said...

About the Ww II draft.

1) Volunteering for men of draft age (18-37) was stopped in Jan 1, 1943. For the last 2.5 years of WW II, you were draftee. If you over/under draft age, you could volunteer. you could also go to the local draft board and say "Take me". But you would be recorded as being a Draftee.

2) Depending on who you read, and what dates you use, about 12 million men serving at one time in WW2. That's about 50% of the men ages 18-39 in the uSA in 1940. You're not going to get men over 30, to volunteer to fight in large numbers, you gotta draft them. Same thing with Fathers under the age of 30.

3) Probably the only WW II major party POTUS candidate that got drafted was Dole. And even he tried to vounteer for the navy. Humphrey was 4F. OTOH, Romney, Trump, Biden, Clinton, Bush, all managed to avoid the fighting.

4) You have to go all the way back to Kerry and McGovern to find a Democrat POTUS candidate that did any fighting. Gore spent a couple months in Vietnam as a journalist. Carter spend WWII at Annapolis, and the Korean war was spend on a sub.

Sebastian said...

"And you thought your body was yours."

Snarky, I know, but still: we men have never been under that illusion. It's one reason many of us rejected the absurd "my body is mine" rationalizations for Roe. The state can commandeer my body to kill and be killed but a woman can't be exempted from prosecution when she kills a fetus to keep her body hers?

Sebastian said...

"And you thought your body was yours."

Snarky, I know, but still: we men have never been under that illusion. It's one reason many of us rejected the absurd "my body is mine" rationalizations for Roe. The state can commandeer my body to kill and be killed but a woman can't be exempted from prosecution when she kills a fetus to keep her body hers?

takirks said...

Never ceases to amaze me how many "experts" there are, when it comes to military affairs and the manning thereof, who have exactly zero personal experience or knowledge of the military in any way, shape, or form.

News flash for you: The military is mostly manned by the very people that the government has taken to denigrating and discounting. The Kyle Rittenhouse's of the nation, in other words. If you think that those potential recruits and their parents haven't been observing things and taking notes over the last few generations, well... You're not all that bright.

We have an all-volunteer force. What, do you suppose, happens when you alienate and actively vilify the segments of society with the most actual "propensity to serve", as US Army Recruiting Command used to put it, when I was a recruiter myself?

As well, who the hell wants to join an organization that does things like the withdrawal from Afghanistan as its hallmark? You think people weren't watching that and going "Yeah... I want nothing to do with that outfit, whatsoever..."?

Reap what you sow, Progressive America. Good luck with your brave new world, and I hope the LGBTWTFBBQ types step up and do the job their now-excoriated redneck peers did. Which I doubt they will, but you can still hope...

Gospace said...

Ann Althouse said...
In the Vietnam era, I knew guys who thought they could evade the draft by getting their weight too low. I remember the number 120 was said to be the cut off. I knew guys who didn't have very far to go to get below 120!


I forget what the weight was, but I was just a few pounds over the minimum weight for 5'9" in 1973 for the Navy. I gained weight in boot camp. And lost an inch around my waist.

Michael K said...

Or did they cower in corners, like Upham in "Saving Private Ryan"? [as I suspect you would]

That whole movie was annoying. The writer has Tom Hanks say that saving private Ryan was
the only thing that was good about the war. I assume Spielberg was pleased that some Jews were rescued. What bullshit.

Rollo said...

So many men rushed to volunteer after Pearl Harbor that the military told them to stay home, continue working, and wait to be drafted. Combat was so different in WWII and in Vietnam that comparisons aren't easy to make stick.

Nowadays, men who want to fight may just skip the US military bullshit and go directly to Ukraine.

PB said...

Set up a recruiting stand at every LGBTQ... demonstration/event. Just see how many volunteers you get.

Howard said...

Fucking a Right: What don't you understand about 75% volunteers for Vietnam doing 6-times the combat. No parades no respect. Saving Private Ryan was a phoney baloney feel good Hollywood recruiting video where Spielberg rips off Kubrick and Felinni

Freder Frederson said...

Not to mention all the soldiers who got CANNED for not getting vaccinated.

The military requires nine vaccinations upon entering the military. Another eight are mandatory for certain risks and occupations (including smallpox, which the general population has not been vaccinated for since 1971).

Of course, concealed or open carry of firearms (and all privately held weapons must be registered and junior enlisted living in barracks must store their private firearms in their unit's weapons room) is prohibited on all U.S. military bases also, so the military is obviously anti-American.

Freder Frederson said...

[The Congress shall have Power . . . ] To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; . .

You do realize that subsequent international treaties have nullified this?

Freder Frederson said...

The writer has Tom Hanks say that saving private Ryan was
the only thing that was good about the war.


You do realize that the entire point of the movie is that the average soldier didn't care about the "bigger picture", but rather most soldiers were concerned with keeping themselves and their buddies alive?

Larry J said...

I come from a multigenerational military family. My father and most of my uncles served. My brother and I, along with most of my male cousins served. Both of my son served. The military has lost its focus with the “leadership” shilling for critical race theory and other politically correct bullshit. That loss of focus is going to get a lot of people killed when the shooting starts again, and it will start again. For thar reason, I will do whatever I can to discourage and of my four teenaged grandkids from joining the military. I’m unwilling to sacrifice their lives on the alter of political correctness.

Bunkypotatohead said...

If the US stuck to defending its borders it could make do with a small fraction of its current force requirements.
There are roughly 150000 US soldiers stationed in Europe and Asia. Doing what for US citizens? Protecting us from Italians and Germans?

effinayright said...

Freder Frederson said...
[The Congress shall have Power . . . ] To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; . .

You do realize that subsequent international treaties have nullified this?
************

Go ahead Arturo Ui, name the treaties that have nullified these Congressional powers under our Constitution....

Then explain why Congress would have ratified treaties that stripped them of those powers.

Then tell us where in the Constitution Congress has the authority to nullify a portion of the Constitution by ratifying a treaty.

(btw, Freder: Amazon is having a Flash Sale on shoe horns, which would you would find useful in scraping the crap out of your tighty-whities)

Paul Doty said...

Wow, I can't believe that red blooded American men with HS diplomas are unwilling to be used as fodder for leftist identity politics social experiments. No one wants to excel, suffer, work, to have their spot usurped by a Somali female recruit that has to have every bar lowered for her? They don't want to salute an illiterate inner city kid that can't speak coherent sentences let alone read or write them? They don't want to shower with makeup and latex wearing transgenders that weep when they break a nail? They can't get guys to volunteer to be murdered because their government has no respect or regard for them? Guys don't want to be maimed and killed in an undeclared war with no clear mission, no clear national interest? Who could have guessed?

Glenfield said...

Yet the DOD is set to release 14,000 National Guardsmen tomorrow because they thought their body was theirs and chose to not be vaccinated.