Thread: Any conscripted Vietnam veterans here? Somethings right up my nose.

The military chiefs opposed conscription because they only wanted to send regular soldiers, rather than deal with the problems caused by forcing conscripts to serve, but the government overruled them.

Originally Posted by trout1105

I do NOT agree with conscription at all, If people don't want to fight then they shouldn't be forced into it

Way after conscription day’s I freely joined ‘naively’........a couple of years in was overheard saying I wasn’t interested in going to a two way range......

Bloody hell what followed was interesting to say the least.......try reasoning with a couple of frustrated SNCO’s that were itching to deploy and get a real medal.....this was when Gulf War 1 was breaking, I chuckle when my unit was stood down....from then i always had a little smile when I walked past these cranky old bastards.

A few years later I stuck to my word and gave up my position on overseas training exercises/deployments to rifle company butterworth, NZ and Brunei ....and than after another couple of years declined the offer/carrot to rejoin for the fight against terror

Originally Posted by biggin

Bob Hawk pulled you out of Vietnam?

I agree, My Bad.

Originally Posted by trout1105

I emphasised "Conscription" because I wasn't Forced into signing up I Volunteered for 6 years service, I was a couple of weeks away from finishing my Infantry training at Singleton when Bob Hawk pulled us out of Vietnam So I didn't have to fight in Indo China after all.

I do NOT agree with conscription at all, If people don't want to fight then they shouldn't be forced into it

Thanks for that. I guess we should call it what it was, National Service. As it was, those who opposed war on moral or religious grounds could be excused in a court of law. I had cousins in the regular Army at the time, and they told that the general consensus at the time was that conscripts would lower the standard needed to fight a war effectively. That attitude was proven wrong, and by wars end conscripts had earned the respect of the regulars. here are some facts & figures.

Australian War Memorial Facts Sheet re National service 1964 to 1972
Statistics
Between 1964 and 1972, 804 286 twenty-year-olds registered for national service and 63 735 national servicemen served in the Army.12.
Balloted out: 567, 238
Theological students, ministers of religion and members of religious orders: 553
Physical or mental disabilities: 1768
Conscientious objection determined by a court: 1242
 Indefinite deferments: 35 548
Married before the date of call-up: 20 502
Members of the Citizen Forces: 7197
Citizen Forces whose obligations completed: 7849
 No longer liable to be called up: 102 134
Death subsequent to registration: 916
Served or serving in Permanent Forces: 2194
Rejected as not meeting the medical, psychological and educational standards required by the Army: 99 010
Imprisoned for refusal to obey a call-up notice: 14

Originally Posted by biggin

Bob Hawk pulled you out of Vietnam?

Here are some facts, as told by Tim Fischer, ex Deputy PM.

Termination Act
During the 1972 election campaign the Australian Labor Party promised that 'all men imprisoned under the National Service Act will be released, pending prosecutions discontinued and existing convictions expunged'.
Within a few days of winning office in early December the new Minister for Labour and National Service, Lance Barnard, suspended the operation of the scheme by administrative action, cancelling the call-up of approximately 2200 men who had been medically examined and deferring the liability of all men who had enlisted for service. National servicemen already in the Army who did not wish to continue their service were released as quickly as possible. Prosecutions and pending prosecutions were dropped. Young men who had taken up the option of part-time military service in the Citizen Military Forces were able to be discharged at their own request. National servicemen who opted to complete their term of service were entitled to the same benefits as before.

In June 1973 the Whitlam Government passed the National Service Termination Act, giving legislative effect to Barnard's administrative action. The Government also intended to repeal the National Service Act itself as soon as possible, but felt constrained to wait until national servicemen who continued to serve under the Act had completed their service and received all the benefits to which they were entitled under the Act. This state of affairs did not come about before the dismissal of the Whitlam Government on 11 November 1975.
The National Service Act 1951 and its subsequent amendments were repealed by the Defence Legislation Amendment Act of 1992. Following this legislation, the Government retained the power to introduce conscription under the Defence Act, but only in a time of war and only with prior parliamentary approval. The Act also revised provisions concerning conscientious objection, providing for special tribunals to determine claims and making it possible for an individual to be recognised as a conscientious objector to a particular war. In introducing the legislation the Parliamentary Secretary to the Attorney-General, Peter Duncan, said that the Keating Government's aim was 'to preserve the capacity to introduce conscription for the protection of Australia, but to ensure that those claiming exemption would receive a rapid and fair hearing'. The Government clearly wished to remove many of the anomalies in the operation of compulsory military service that had become evident during the Vietnam War. Duncan expressed the hope that repeal of the National Service Act would 'remove this last vestige of an unhappy and divisive episode in our history'

Why does this subject remind me of this? Aahh I know......

George W. Bush military service controversy - Wikipedia

Conscription or National Service call it what you like it doesnt alter the Fact that young Australians were being forced to bear arms by Law.
It also deosnt alter the Fact that the well heeled and the influential had the means and the influance to be able to "Dodge" the draft if they so desired where the kids from a lower social economic background didn't get that choice.

Originally Posted by trout1105

Conscription or National Service call it what you like it doesnt alter the Fact that young Australians were being forced to bear arms by Law.
It also deosnt alter the Fact that the well heeled and the influential had the means and the influance to be able to "Dodge" the draft if they so desired where the kids from a lower social economic background didn't get that choice.

And that, in a nutshell, is what was wrong with the system. Interesting to see that , in 1992 ,legislation was passed to allow individuals to opt out of going to fight wars they objected to. I'm assuming that this applies to future periods of National Service / Conscription. Serving members would not have that option, I imagine. EDIT That was Keating.