Feral Jundi

   I really liked this article, and it even motivated me to start a new category.  Many of us have military roots, and these types of stories are great.  Today’s all volunteer fighting force is truly a heroic, tough, and intelligent bunch. I also think it is important to note that civilian contractors are volunteers too, and it is a system that works.  I could not imagine working with someone that did not want to be there or was doing a job against their will.  Although a draft should never be taken off the table for national defense, it’s just if we can get troops that want to be there, then that to me seems the most optimum scenario.  (Although I am sure the Starship Trooper fans out there would disagree–lol.) Semper Fi. –Matt

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America’s Last Draftee: “I’m a Relic”

By Mark Thompson/Washington

Saturday, Feb. 07, 2009

     America’s generals love to brag about their all-volunteer Army. That’s because they tend to overlook Jeffrey Mellinger. He donned his Army uniform for the first time on April 18, 1972, about the time the Nixon Administration was seeking “peace with honor” in Vietnam and The Godfather was opening on the silver screen. Nearly 37 years later, he’s still wearing Army green. Mellinger is, by all accounts, the last active-duty draftee serving in the U.S. Army.

     “I’m a relic,” Mellinger concedes with a self-deprecating laugh. But the last of the nearly 2 million men ordered to serve in the Vietnam-era military before conscription ended in 1973 still impresses 19-year-old soldiers. “Most of them are surprised I’m still breathing, because in their minds I’m older than dirt,” the fit 55-year-old says. “But they’re even more surprised when they find out this dinosaur can still move around pretty darn quick.” 

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