Chicago, IL—This story begins in my hometown, where I was drafted into the Army during the peak of the Vietnam War (1968-1970). Growing up as a fighter, I was ready for combat even as a teenager. Though I had no desire to join the military, I knew that getting drafted was a real probability, and I had to prepare myself to face it.
During this time, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara significantly lowered the intelligence requirements for military enlistment and recruited large numbers of petty criminals. Many of these recruits, often referred to as 'McNamara’s morons,' struggled to complete basic training, with many going AWOL or getting into other trouble. Those who couldn’t adjust left the military with less than honorable discharges, though some did manage to turn things around and become successful soldiers despite their limited intellectual capabilities.
The nickname 'McNamara’s morons' was fitting for many of these recruits, who mostly volunteered to join the military. In contrast, the draftees were generally better qualified and more disciplined. In the army, serial numbers indicated whether a soldier was drafted (with the prefix 'US') or had enlisted voluntarily (with the prefix 'RA'). Those with the 'US' prefix were often draftees or “volunteers” fulfilling their military obligations at a time of their choosing.
Regardless, nearly 70,000 young Americans lost their lives in that war, and another 300,000 were wounded. Although I consider the Vietnam War 'my war,' I was lucky and fought it out in Germany, where I was assigned as a medical corpsman. My fellow soldiers called me 'Doc,' a term of genuine respect in the military.
My fellow soldiers were baby boomers, most of whom are either deceased or collecting Social Security today. We grew up in a different era, playing with G.I. Joe figures and embracing what is now called 'toxic masculinity.' If we mouthed off to cops, we got the crap slapped out of us and nobody cared about our complaints.
Most young men of my generation understood combat from those rough-and-tumble of schoolyard fights. In high school, I joined the Junior ROTC, where we drilled with real M1 rifles and shot .22 caliber rifles at the school’s rifle range. This actually prepared me if I was to face the challenge of combat.
Today’s culture is vastly different. Many young men were raised as 'soy-boys' or 'femboys,' lacking the masculine traits that were once encouraged. As kids, they traded their G.I. Joe figures for Barbie dolls and now struggle with keeping their testosterone levels down.
Many other young men who could potentially serve as soldiers have no military skills, and most haven’t even gone camping, fishing, or hunting. Even with training, they would be at a disadvantage in combat.
This brings us to the topic of women in the military. Many women are more effective and courageous than a significant percentage of men. However, there are still many women who just don’t belong in combat roles but can contribute to the military in other essential ways.
The reason I bring all this up is to emphasize that if we were to face a major conflict today, the military we could muster would be woefully inadequate. The kind of men that fiercely fought for us in Normandy, France, on D-Day, so long ago are a very rare commodity today.
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