Hi Bob,   
      
   On Wed 2012-Feb-29 23:42, BOB KLAHN (1:123/140) wrote to RICHARD WEBB:   
      
    RW> shouldn't be a draft, it should be compulsory military   
    RW> service, for every citizen, disabled, women, if you wanna   
    RW> vote, you want the benefits of citizenship, you'll showup   
    RW> as soon as you graduate from hs, or on your 18th birthday.   
      
   BK>  Amen.   
      
   Yep, knew you agreed with that one, think we've discussed it before.   
      
    RW> I tried to enlist, my draft card said "subject to call" and   
    RW> I told the man, I'm an experienced radio op. Remember back   
    RW> then the navy still used MOrse.  The man laughed at me, my   
    RW> card soon got switched to 4f.   
      
   BK>  You could have served. You should have had that right.   
      
   That's as I saw it.  I wrote up a resolution that was passed by the 1984   
   National Federation of the Blind national   
   convention which said that we demanded our right to serve.   
   Not that I was overly proud of VN at the time, but I thought that the   
   opportunity to serve would be a benefit to my   
   country, and a benefit to me personally.  It really ticked   
   me off that the man didn't seem to understand.  At one point he looks at me   
   and says, "people your age are burning their   
   draft cards in the streets and yelling "hell no we won't   
   go."  IS there something wrong with you?"   
      
   After I've seen the care my xyl got as a navy dependent I've changed my   
   outlook, but at the time I thought nothing could   
   be better, get higher education and training, career   
   advancement, if I found the woman of my dreams and we had   
   our 2.5 kids a military man's family was well taken care of, etc. etc.  What   
   wasn't to like for a young man looking for a secure stable future?   
      
   They'd already told me I couldn't have that day's version of a pell grant,   
   called a beog because my parents made too much money.  Rehab would pony up for   
   my college, with extra hoops to jump through.  Then in the civilian world   
   there was still job discrimination.  I thought that becoming a test case and   
   winning would get me waht I really wanted out of life at the time, but the   
   movement had bigger fish to fry than a young   
   guy who wanted to join the service and fight the   
   discrimination battle against them.  That's what happens   
   when you're young and idealistic.   
      
      
    RW> YEp, the Korea thing still had teh GI bill not so diluted   
    RW> though iirc.  VN may have had it too for the most part, but   
    RW> already that benefit was being slashed iirc.  IT's not near   
    RW> what it used to be for returning soldiers iirc.   
      
   BK>  It was better for WWII than for us in the Vietnam era. It was  much   
   BK> better for us than it is today.   
      
   YEp,  that's as I've perceived it from reading adn talking   
   to people, and that imho is a big disappointment. But, if   
   service is mandatory, that evens the playing field a whole   
   bunch no matter what the benefit is afterword.  But, if it   
   isn't, that all volunteer force of young peopleis already   
   behind the eight ball when their hitch is up.  Their friends already have a   
   head start on education, and life, if their   
   friends and peers have the resources to pursue those things.   
      
      
   Regards,   
              Richard   
   ---   
    * Origin:  (1:116/901)