draft news stories on Newser

Trump Used Deferments to Dodge Vietnam Draft

Rob Quinn — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 04:50:00 CDT

Donald Trump must have "misremembered" when he told an interview this week that he avoided serving in the Vietnam War solely because he held a high draft number, according to documents obtained by The Smoking Gun . Selective Service records reveal that Trump—who graduated from New York Military Academy—received...

To End Afghan War, Reinstitute the Draft

Kevin Spak — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:44:45 CST

There’s one surefire way to end the war in Afghanistan: bring back the draft. After all, that's what worked in the '60s, writes cartoonist Jeff Danziger, who was drafted and served in Vietnam. The protests over that war ripped the country apart, grinding the war effort to a halt. “The...

16-Year-Old Quits School for Pros

Matt Cantor — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:41:11 CDT

A 16-year-old baseball player is skipping his last 2 years of high school to head to college—and hopefully a big-league contract, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Bryce Harper’s father acknowledges that “there are going to be critics” of the move, but says “Bryce is always looking for his next...

Red Sox Draft Another Yastrzemski

John Johnson — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:18:01 CDT

A familiar name might someday being roaming the outfield for the Boston Red Sox. The team today drafted the grandson of Carl Yastrzemski, reports the Globe . The younger Yaz, Michael, is 18 and no sure thing to make the bigs. But it can’t hurt that he’s been tutored by one...

The Death of the 'Old Army Buddy'

Katherine Thompson — Sun, 24 May 2009 11:23:00 CDT

On Memorial Day, former soldiers of all ages will be touching base with their brothers in arms, but as Michael Auslin writes in the Washington Post , real Old Army Buddies are on the verge of extinction. The men who willingly served during the drafts of the '50s and '60s came...

McCain Puts the 'Pol' in 'Politically Incorrect'

Jonas Oransky — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:23:40 CDT

This week's flap over a rape joke John McCain reportedly made 22 years ago inspired Politico to recall the candidate's checkered history of telling jokes. Some examples: A quip about why then-18-year-old Chelsea Clinton was "so ugly.” Calling a young man who asked about his age “you little jerk" and...

German Soldiers Too Fat: Study

Kevin Spak — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:19:00 CST

The German army is fat. It’s also unfit, smokes too much, and eats badly, according to a recent parliamentary update, the Guardian reports. About 40% of German soldiers are overweight—8.5% seriously so—and 70% smoke. “This has much to do with poor equipment and lack of training,” the...

'War Czar' Concerned Over Troop Stress, Mulls Draft

Dustin Lushing — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 17:36:26 CDT

Washington’s “War Czar” admits that it makes sense to a consider a military draft to relieve soldiers of repeated deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute tells NPR that the pressure point will come in spring, when Bush will have to juggle the nation's military needs versus the...

Draft Won’t Solve Army’s Problems

Heather McPherson — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 11:04:03 CDT

Despite calls for a draft to "fix" the ailing US Army, it would be less efficient financially and less effective on the ground than the volunteer Army, a new study concludes. A Congressional Budget Office paper, reported in Time, says draftees make for less well-trained soldiers because they stay less...