From: acm@Sun.COM (Andrew MacRae)
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.politics
Subject: Re: Draft Dodging Illegal?
Date: 12 Nov 1992 01:45:13 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View CA
Distribution: world
Reply-To: acm@Sun.COM (Andrew MacRae)
NNTP-Posting-Host: grendal.corp.sun.com

In article <POLITICS%92111112312996@OHSTVMA.ACS.OHIO-STATE.EDU>,         David Clem <$GET@PCCJES2.BITNET> writes:
 > Replies to KAT's comments.
 > 
 > >        And I guess Dan Quayle is OK because he LEGALLY dodged the
 > >        draft.
 > 
 > Well, yes, the legality of the means *can* make a difference, although
 > they may be morally equivalent.

It sure is easy to spot someone who wasn't of draft age back then.

Actually, Clinton did nothing illegal while avoiding the draft.  He
finessed the system, but committed no crimes.  Unless you can cite
the law you claim he broke I suggest you stop trying to convince people
of the the truth of your claim through repetition.

I speak as one who was of draft age during those years.  There were many
ways to finess the system, sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn't.
One way was to use family influence to get into a special unit of the
guard where there was no chance of being sent overseas.

A friend managed to succeed by using the bureaucracy of the system against
itself.  He was from the Chicago area but was going to school downstate
when he received his notice to report for a physical in Chicago.  He wrote
back explaining that he would be happy to do so, but as he was 150 miles
away and without transportation he couldn't make it.  They wrote back saying
they would re-schedule him for a facility near where he was living.  Six
months later, that summer, he received a notice to report for a physical
at the downstate facility.  He wrote back saying that he was in Chicago for
the summer and could not make it.  They wrote back saying they would re-
schedule him for the Chicago facility.  He kept this up for two years.  Every
six months they would schedule him for a physical at a location that he
wasn't near.  Eventually the draft ended and so did their efforts.

For those who did not live through this period, let me explain a little
about the process of being "drafted".

	Step One		Notice to report for physical
	Step Two		Pass physical
	Step Three		Notice to report for induction
	Step Four 		Being inducted
	
It is only after step four has been completed that one has been "drafted".
At any time up to the minute one is sworn into the army, you could instead
join ROTC, the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Marines, the Air Force, the army
(there were advantages to 'volunteering'), or file for a delay in induction.

When the media reported that Clinton had received his "draft notice" while
at Oxford, they probably meant that he received his notice to report for
a physical, step one in the process.  Even if he had received an induction
notice, that is not having been drafted.  Many people waited until they
received an induction notice before trying to find a way to avoid induction.
  > 
  > >        And maybe you can cite the exact law that Clinton broke when
  > >        he "illegally" dodged the draft.  BTW: don't let the little
  > >        fact that Clinton actually drew a draft number (is that what
  > >        is called?) stop you from your accusations.
  > 
  > I can't cite the law but here are two points: 1) by military regulations,
  > Clinton's participation in anti-war demonstrations made him unfit to
  > be an officer, and, 2) he concealed the fact that he had received
  > an induction notice, which would have prevented him from enrolling in
  > the U. of AR. ROTC program.

Totally untrue on both counts.  There are no military regulations that keep
someone from becoming an officer if they have taken part in demonstrations
while a civilian.  Second, the ROTC recruiters (at least in Illinois) were
given names, address, and phone numbers of people who had been sent induction
notices, knowing that they were prime candidates.  For months I had a
sergeant calling me every week asking if I was ready to sign up, telling me
how much easier it would be for me instead of being drafted.

Now, it *is* true that in interviews the ROTC commander of the unit Clinton
signed up for has said that he would not have allowed Clinton to join had
he but known that Clinton had received an induction notice.  Maybe he would
have, maybe he wouldn't have.  I do know that all over the country ROTC units
were signing up people who had received induction notices.



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