Scott Peterson wrote in message ...
(Kevin Brooks) wrote:

No bad blood. But I get a bit tired when folks like Scott traipse out
the old "the Guard was a bunch of draftdodgers" mantra, not to mention
why he had to even enter into the "bash GWB" mode in the first place.
The first is a gross exaggeration born of enough folks making the
claim in the past, so it must be true, right? The second was just
another attempt at a backhanded swipe at a guy who performed military
service and flew combat aircraft in the defense of this nation-- a
much better alternative to refusing to serve at all, and then
attacking those who did, as many of his then-compatriots did, and none
of which he should be ashamed of, IMO.

Interesting. I mentioned George W. in one post. You have in seven
that I've counted so far, using me as the excuse. Of course, it does
make a good excuse to avoid other questions.

I have not avoided squat.


Seems like you have the problem here.

Nope, seems like you made the mistake of trying to insert an
irrelevant, and essentially incorrect, political point into a military
discussion. That more than a couple of folks have called you on it may
tell you something, if you have the common sense to consider it.


As far as what the NG is/was, I guess it was just coincidence that as
draft rates went up in the sixties, so did guard enlistments and
waiting lists. ....and when they went down, so did......

What service did they dodge? Those ANG and ARNG folks who were sent to
Vietnam in 68-69; what kind of "dodging" was that? Or those AC vets
who went into the Guard--what were they "dodging"? How about the
members of that "champagne unit" you ridiculed who volunteered for
Palace Alert, were they "shirkers"? Are you beginning to see the
problem with making overly generalized characterizations of groups
like the Guard?


Pure coincidence, I suppose.

FYI, *none* of the military services were *real* popular in the
aftermath of Vietnam (do you even know what a "VOLAR blanket" was?).
That the cessation of the draft hurt Guard recruiting efforts was
undeniable (as it also hampered AC efforts), but you are forgetting
that those who had joined the Guard because they thought it may (a big
*may* in the case of those who found themselves activated anyway) have
kept them from being drafted were not "dodging" the draft, but instead
were performing military service that exempted them from it. Not
unlike the folks who volunteered for the USN or USAF instead of
waiting for their draft notices--does that make those services "havens
for draft dodgers"?

Brooks





Scott Peterson