4 - The Black Vault

THE BDM CORPORATION
B. PERSONNEL POLICIES (MANPOWER PROCUREMENT)
This section deais with those personnel policies most directly related
to manpower procurement. The effects of these policies on the soldier and
the overall war effort, and diszussion of other policies not as closely
related to manpower procurement are discussed in later chapters of this
volume.
Here the question is principally limited to who was selected, how,
and why.
1. Background
Military manpower procurement methods had been actively analyzed
and debated for many years before the Vietnam requirements actually tested
reinforced by
her faith in the militia system but was challenged by
problems faced in the Civil War.
The unpopularity of federal recruiters
led to the establishment of local draft boards during the Civil War.
Serious discussion of draft policies followed in 1866.
The 1917 Selective
Service System was oatterned directly on these recommendations. The system
as constructed was extremely successful and its structure and processes
were partially responsible for its winning of acceptance for conscription.
Since 1917 the system underwent amazingly few substantial changes
until the introduction of the all-volunteer Army in 1973.7/ The basic
principle that all young men had an equal obligation to serve unless certain
exemption qualifications were met became fairly well established.
The existence of any exemption categories, however, opened up the
possibility of active avoidance in addition to more legitimate disqualification.
In World War II the most common way to avoid military service was
to fail the necessary physical examination. Nationwide, nearly a third of
all registrants failed this preinduction exam; the failure rate went as
high as 50 percent in some parts of the South. Student deferments were
also given, though they were tightened up as the war progressed until they
exempted only those in the most critical fields such as engineering and
medicine.
prewar levels.8/
By 1944 m.ale college enrollments had dropped by two thirds from
1-3