What would you do if you got drafted?

frigidmagi · Post by **frigidmagi** » 2004-04-23 04:26am

If the draft came round again, I'd reenlist.

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2004-04-23 04:33am

Joe wrote:The link won't open up for me. Which Senator is this, is it Rangel again?

No, it's Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel.

Post by **Vympel** » 2004-04-23 04:40am

Well, if I was an American, and it was basically a draft for Iraq and not some dire threat to the country, I'd tell them to go fuck themselves.

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2004-04-23 04:48am

Vympel wrote:Well, if I was an American, and it was basically a draft for Iraq and not some dire threat to the country, I'd tell them to go fuck themselves.

Then what happens? I wonder what's the minimum and maximum penalty for refusing the draft.

Superman · Post by **Superman** » 2004-04-23 05:06am

Muhammed Ali refused the draft and served some time for it. I forget how long though...

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2004-04-23 05:12am

Superman wrote:Muhammed Ali refused the draft and served some time for it. I forget how long though...

3 years I think.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2004-04-23 05:42am

I tried to join 15 years ago, I am 4F

if they tried to draft me, it would be bad things indeed...

consequences · Post by **consequences** » 2004-04-23 06:06am

Tsyroc stole my answer. I would have to laugh, maniacally. Although I did receive a notice to register for Selective Service about three months after basic and advanced training, that was good for a laugh in and of itself.

Dargos · Post by **Dargos** » 2004-04-23 06:51am

consequences wrote:Tsyroc stole my answer. I would have to laugh, maniacally. Although I did receive a notice to register for Selective Service about three months after basic and advanced training, that was good for a laugh in and of itself.

But did you register? Trust me they can be rather dickish about that when it comes time to apply for Fed. Student loans, Fed jobs etc etc. I almost got blasted for not registering when I turned 18 during a Clearence interview with the MIB of the DSS( Ive already served 7 years at the time of the brief).

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2004-04-23 06:52am

BoredShirtless wrote:
Superman wrote:Muhammed Ali refused the draft and served some time for it. I forget how long though...
3 years I think.

not only that but you also be prohibited from collecting social security or government loans (education) for the rest of your life.

Post by **Vympel** » 2004-04-23 07:10am

BoredShirtless wrote:
Then what happens? I wonder what's the minimum and maximum penalty for refusing the draft.

Oh, I forgot: " telling them to go fuck themselves" = "myself moving to another country"

salm · Post by **salm** » 2004-04-23 09:56am

i was drafted back in 1999. i rejected and did my social service, which is a normal procedure over here. i had to work in a house for mentally ill people which meant to start at 1 in the afternoon, watch TV, hang out with the psychos and read on book after the other.
far superior to military service with crawling around in dirt, getting yelled at by stupid as fuck, undereducated officers with inferior complexes and biwaks in december.

fuck military service.

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2004-04-23 10:31am

Most people's answer, I think, would be that if another clear cut moral situation came up, like WW2, they would register and fight. But let me tell you why I think that's the wrong answer. It's because that doesn't change the fact that the leadership doesn't much value the lives of its soldiers, although they'll go to all kinds of trouble to lionize them after they're dead.

I've read enough first hand accounts like All Quiet on the Western front to know that within a few weeks, you won't even remember why you're fighting in the first place. The chance of dying face down in the dirt without having done a damn bit of good is better than even.

Besides, most college graduates with marketable skills can do more good for the war effort by staying at home contributing to infrastructure than shipping out to get their faces blown off.

Knife · Post by **Knife** » 2004-04-23 11:06am

I've read enough first hand accounts like All Quiet on the Western front to know that within a few weeks, you won't even remember why you're fighting in the first place. The chance of dying face down in the dirt without having done a damn bit of good is better than even.

Its not that you won't remember, its that you'll be too busy or too terrified to care about the reasons any more. If you're lucky, you've had enough training to mute alot of that but then it just becomes mission accomplishment and protecting your buddies ass.

Besides, most college graduates with marketable skills can do more good for the war effort by staying at home contributing to infrastructure than shipping out to get their faces blown off.

Yeah, because well educated people would make such a lousy officer corps. and every one knows that military people don't have to have any skills except to 'grunt' and pull a trigger.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-04-23 11:08am

Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:I've read enough first hand accounts like All Quiet on the Western front to know that within a few weeks, you won't even remember why you're fighting in the first place. The chance of dying face down in the dirt without having done a damn bit of good is better than even.

If the chances of dying without having done anything are over 50%, why aren't we losing soldiers in the tens of thousands right now?

salm · Post by **salm** » 2004-04-23 11:23am

Rogue 9 wrote:
Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:I've read enough first hand accounts like All Quiet on the Western front to know that within a few weeks, you won't even remember why you're fighting in the first place. The chance of dying face down in the dirt without having done a damn bit of good is better than even.
If the chances of dying without having done anything are over 50%, why aren't we losing soldiers in the tens of thousands right now?

i think he´s talkiing about WWII and similar situations.

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2004-04-23 11:23am

consequences wrote:Tsyroc stole my answer. I would have to laugh, maniacally. Although I did receive a notice to register for Selective Service about three months after basic and advanced training, that was good for a laugh in and of itself.

It's funny, but the Navy recruiters asked me if I'd registered for selective service back when I was joining up. Considering I was still 18 and joining the military I don't really see what the point was but I'd registered back on my birthday before I'd ever even thought about joining the military.

Of course I'd registered in Iowa and then a month later moved to Arizona.

Oni Koneko Damien · Post by **Oni Koneko Damien** » 2004-04-23 11:33am

Well, I'd accept the draft solely on the grounds that I really don't feeling like marring a perfect record by doing anything illegal, but from there I'd give 'em merry hell. They draft me, great, let's see how long it takes before I get discharged for refusing to follow a single order. I am not willing to kill anyone as it is, and I have no interest in letting others fuck with me until I am willing to.

-Damien

Oni Koneko Damien · Post by **Oni Koneko Damien** » 2004-04-23 11:34am

<Edit>Oh, that and the fact that I'm proudly bi should get me out of there pretty damn quickly. I'll just start hitting on the draft officer.

-Damien

Glocksman · Post by **Glocksman** » 2004-04-23 11:34am

If they drafted me, It'd be because of the US being invaded, considering that I'm 37 with some bad health problems.

In that case, I'd serve. I'd probably drop dead in basic training, but I'd serve.

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2004-04-23 11:39am

I'd tell them I'm a diabetic and laugh as I watched everyone ELSE head off to boot camp.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-04-23 11:42am

The Kernel wrote:
Durandal wrote:I'd accept. The only possible time the draft would come back is if the country was in utter, dire need for soldiers, and that would probably mean some significant foreign threat with lots of manpower. Under those conditions, I wouldn't have a problem defending my country.
That isn't the best assumption to make considering recent events. Suppose for example that Bush decided to invade another country before the situation in Iraq was finished. In such a scenario, drafting would be pretty much his only option, and although I would think it would destroy his chances of re-election, I wouldn't put it past the pig fucker.

and we all know what happens when a country decides to spread its resources thin by invading more than one country at a time. That'd be a bad move for Bush to make, considering how stretched resources are right now, supposedly.

Oni Koneko Damien · Post by **Oni Koneko Damien** » 2004-04-23 11:47am

Darth_Zod wrote:That'd be a bad move for Bush to make

Oh come on, considering Dubya's track record, do you think this little fact would dissuade the neo-theocracist for even a second?

On another note, I guess I'm sort of unlucky in a way. I have no dehabilitating sicknesses, and I'm quite, quite fit, so I'll have to rely solely on my flamboyant sexuality to get out of there. A question for those in the military, should I get drafted and sent to camp, how hard would it be to get discharged on the basis of absolutely refusing to follow any orders from day one, and what kind of penalty/consequences would occur because of it?

-Damien

Sebastin · Post by **Sebastin** » 2004-04-23 12:13pm

I already was drafted once and served as a conscript so if the risk isn´t too high I would do the same again: grudgingly accept. Otherwise it would be moving to another country. Perhaps canada, half of my family lives there.

A few words of the many ways to dodge the draft people mentioned. It was in germany and not the USA but I know how conscript armies work. they have seen every one of these ideas a thousand times over.

- claim being gay: The ban of gays in the military would go the same day the draft comes for the simple reason that the military can´t disprove gayness. They don´t like blanket tickets out. The only conscript forces that ban gays are those in countrys where gayness yields you an even worse fate, like soviet russia where it was a one way ticket to a gulag.

- being/fake being in bad health: This is the most popular bet among draftees in germany. Trust me, faking won´t work. They don´t even ask you in the first place, just examine you. Being in bad shape won´t work either, that´s what PT is for. As for actualy being medically unfit; In germany this applies to about 10% of the draftees, and thats for a peace time army which actualy wants as few conscripts as possible, so don´t get your hopes up.

- being uncooperative/getting discharged: Conscripts don´t get discharged easily. If a conscript refuses orders he gets time in a holding cell. Now before you think spending your conscription in a cell is preferrable to going to war, keep the following two things in mind:
1) Once you accumulate a certain number of days it goes on your criminal record.
2) The time you spent in the cell is tacked on to the end of your conscription period, so you gain nothing.
The only way to get discharged as a conscript is to commit a crime that yields you at least as much jail time as the conscription period.

- Being/pretending to be unskilled: The less skill a posting requires the shittier it usually is. Cannon fodder requires no skill besides "run in this general direction". A draftee will be motivated to give his best by the simple desire to have it as easy as possible.

This is based on the german military but the methods of handling and motivating conscripts are roughly the same in any military.

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2004-04-23 12:54pm

-shrug-
In the unlikely event of the draft, it would be able-bodied, patriotic 18-year-olds like myself who they would want, and I can't see myself backing off if it came dowwn to the draft.

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

What would you do if you got drafted?

You receive the letter in the mail, "Your country needs you.." do you: