1. Conscription and Vietnam War

2. What is conscription?
Compulsory Military Training, also known as National Service or the Draft
There are two types of conscription:
Army training for local defence, in case of invasion
Full conscription (where the conscriptee can be sent overseas into combat role)

3. Countries with Conscription
The ones in red are the countries that still have a form of conscription. In many of these countries this take the form of national service. Green have no military (Greenland). Yellow are looking to get rid of their conscription (Ukraine, Georgia). Purple no information on these countries (Libya, Western Sahara). Blue there is no enforced conscription.

4. History of Conscription in Australia
Australia has a history of compulsory military service of various forms
The first conscription was introduced for boys in 1911
A form of military training, as shown in the image here at Puckapunyal Army Base near Seymour

5. Conscription during World War One
Australia was under constant demand from Britain to send more ‘cannon fodder’ for the trenches
Under Labor Prime Minister Billy Hughes, full conscription was attempted through two referendums.
First was held in October 1916 and narrowly rejected conscription.
The second was in December 1917 was more emphatically rejected.
Anti-capitalist, Anti-conscription poster

6. National Service during WWII
National Service became compulsory during the War, but you could not be sent overseas.
Conscriptees joined the CMF or the Citizen’s Military Force
However, ‘nashos’ were sent to PNG (Kokoda etc) because it was technically part of Australia, being a colony.
Nashos didn’t have much training. They were referred to as ‘Chockos’ by the volunteer army, because they were supposed to melt in the sun as ‘Chocolate Soldiers’

7. Menzies Government in 1961
Menzies announced in Parliament: “The government has…decided that there is no alternative to the introduction of…compulsory service. We know that this presents difficult personal, social, economic and perhaps political problems. Our decision has been taken only because of the…needs of defence and…the preservation of our security.”

8. Source – ‘Trainees’
‘Trainees’ – The Age, 14 January 1965 “Call up of 20-year olds opens January 25 Registration for Army Canberra – The first registration of 20-year-olds under the new national service scheme will begin on January 25. The registration will continue for two weeks – until February 8. Those required to register are British subjects, both natural born or naturalised, who ordinarily reside in Australia and who turn 20 years of age between January 1 and January 30 this year.”

9. Why was conscription introduced in the 1960s?
‘Aggressive Communism’
Developments in Asia such as ‘recent Indonesian policies and actions’ (i.e. domino theory)
‘deterioration in our strategic position’
The Government had concluded that Australia had inadequate defence manpower
Seen as the only way to increase the size of the army

10. How long was the service?
The National Service Act 1964 required 20-year-old males to serve the Army for a period of twenty-four months of continuous service.
The Defence Act was amended in May 1965 to provide that conscripts could be obliged to serve overseas
In March 1966 Prime Minister Holt announced that National Servicemen would be sent to Vietnam to fight in units of the Australian Regular Army.

11. How many became conscripted?
Between 1965 and December 1972 over 800,000 men registered for National Service
Some 63,000 were conscripted and over 19,000 served in Vietnam
Although registration was compulsory, a process of selection by ballot determined who would be called up.

12. CBS Draft Lottery Video
Ballot Process
A number would be drawn out of a lottery and if you were registered and born on that day; then you were to report for a medical check.
CBS Draft Lottery Video

14. “Conchies”
“Conchies” are conscientious objectors. They are pacifists who object to war and violence
Some people are automatically deemed to be pacifists because of religion (ie. The Quakers).
However, incidentally, many Quakers decided to fight Hitler in WWII because he was such a threat.
A court usually decides whether people are genuine pacifists or whether they are ‘cowards’.

15. “Conchies” – William White
William White was a Sydney school teacher during Vietnam War.
Australia’s first public conscientious objector in July 1966.
Following various applications for exemption (all rejected) he was jailed in 1966
Finally achieved conscientious objector status on 23 December 1966

16. William White
Firstly, I am standing against killing - the taking of human life... Morality, to me, is based on the respect for life. I respect people, I respect their feelings, I respect their property and I respect their equality, on the basic conscientious assumption that they have, as I have, the unquestionable right to live. Secondly, I am standing against the war itself as a national and international policy. As war, by definition, has always incorporated killing, I would have been opposed to any war on this basis. On the third front I am opposed to a state's right to conscript a person, I believe very strongly in democracy and democratic ideals—and I believe that it is in the area of the State's right over the life of the individual that the difference lies between totalitarian and democratic government. My opposition to conscription, of course, is intensified greatly when the conscription is for military purposes. In fact the National Service Act is the embodiment of what I consider to be morally wrong and, no matter, what the consequences, I will never fulfil the terms of the act. William White - Melbourne Moratorium marches of 1970

17. Opposition to Conscription
From 1966 opposition to conscription swelled
It became part of opposition to Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War

18. The ALP’s view
National service was a significant issue in the Federal election campaigns of 1966, 1969 and 1972.
The Australian Labor Party (ALP) consistently opposed it and was committed to recalling troops from Vietnam

19. Conscription and The Age
Below is an excerpt from an editorial which appeared in The Age newspaper on 21 January “…Conscription has many disadvantages, among which the effects of the national economy, individual employers and personal careers and lives are prominent. If, in addition its conditions arouse some ill-feeling against migrants or discourage some settlers from applying for citizenship, these are similarly part of the price the nation has to pay for over-riding necessity to defend itself and to protect its vital interests abroad.”
Questions:
In this source, what does The Age suggest the disadvantages of conscription were?
In this source, what does The Age suggest the reasons behind the introduction of conscription in the national interest were?

20. James Castle
James Castle was a ‘Nasho’ who went to Vietnam. Download and read his story about being drafted from the wikispace.

21. ‘Draft Dodgers’ Evasion of national service was not uncommon
Some draft dodgers were punished harshly, leading to much publicity.
Universities had secret underground networks protecting draft dodgers.
Eg. Simon Townsend, who went to jail for draft dodging and later became a children’s show host.

22. Going Underground

23. Simon Townsend in a recent interview
“There’s nothing so lonely as sitting in a cell by yourself at night. You know, when you’ve got all your thoughts and of course doubts come in and you say to yourself, “Why am I doing this? Am I doing it all for the right reasons? Is there something wrong with me?” It’s not easy being by yourself in a cold dark cell. And of course, now, looking back 30, 40 years later, I was right. All of us who objected to the war, we were right.”

24. Geoff Mullen was also jailed
“Since I was balloted in…I had to decide if there were in fact valid reasons for killing people…The Vietnam war and conscription are not only wrong for me but for all Australians. In opposing conscription and our aggression in Vietnam, I am doing my utmost that Australia should not become a nation of slaves or barbarians.”

25. A militant mother’s group who organised to fight conscription
Save our Sons
A militant mother’s group who organised to fight conscription

28. Jean McLean, founding member of Save our Sons, was jailed for handing out leaflets
“When Menzies brought in conscription, in fact, in the dying days of 1964, most people didn’t even notice that it had happened. We were jailed because we were handing out leaflets to young men who were registering for conscription, explaining that they had a right to register as conscientious objectors” Jean later became a Labor politician and advocate for East Timorese independence

29. America Same thing happened in America
125,000 draft dodgers fled to Canada, where they created a prominent community for a number of years
President Jimmy Carter offered them amnesty in 1977.
Only half came back!!!

30. Burning draft cards was a popular protest

31. ‘Draft Dodger’s Rag’ by Phil Ochs
A satirical anti-war song by Phil Ochs
The song is sung from the perspective of a gung-ho young man who has been drafted.
When he reports for duty, however, they young man recites a list of reasons why he can’t serve.
List of reasons as a way to be able to dodge the draft:
Age
Ruptured Spleen
Homosexuality
Poor-eyesight
Flat Feet
Asthma
Drug Addictions
Care giver of an invalid relative
College enrolment
War industry worker
Spinal injuries
Epilepsy
Allergies
Lack of physical fitness