I was attending Junior College part-time and working. In October 1965 I received my notice to appear for my pre-induction draft physical. To be honest, in spite of the fact that the Vietnam conflict was going on, I really had not given much thought to the military other than registering for the draft. I was in a fraternity and several of my friends had joined the Marine Reserves. This was just before things heated up and the first group of combat Marines landed in Da Nang. So I went down to sign up. The Marine recruiter told me that they were full up. So I decided to talk with the Navy recruiter. They had a delayed enlistment program. Meaning you could defer going on active duty for up to one year. So I decided to sign up.
In December 1965 I went to Navy Basic Training in San Diego. I was also required to attend weekend drills. After several months I was having second thoughts about serving Active Duty in the Navy. My best friend had joined the Air Force six months prior to my enlisting and liked it. He suggested that I see an Air Force recruiter. I took the AFQT and got 95 percentile across the board. The recruiter said that ALL technical training areas would be open to me. The only rub was that I had to be formally released from the Navy so I could join the Air Force. I got a release and I enlisted in August 1966 and went through Basic Training at Amarillo AFB.
The Christy Collection
Military Stories and Articles
Service Reflections of PS1 Gerald Brooks, U.S. Coast Guard (1975-1996)
I was an Army brat for 17 years (Dad was career army, West Point graduate). I had two years of Army ROTC in college. I went to the Oakland (CA) recruiting station fully intending on enlisting in Army or Marines. However, I saw the sandwich board sign at the end of the hall advertising the Coast Guard. Went in talked with the recruiter and realized the CG was a natural fit for my interest in having a career in law enforcement or firefighting. Signed up on delayed enlistment in 1975 and have been involved in law enforcement, firefighting, and emergency management since then.
Service Reflections of SSG Peter Olsen, U.S. Army (1967-1973)
Too much partying, and it turned out a 1.2 GPA would not keep me from being drafted. So I volunteered for the draft. Once I got back from Vietnam, I actually received 2 degrees and maintained a 3.7 GPA while working full time as a police officer. Funny story – After I left school to volunteer for the draft, I thought it would be a quick process. Not so. The first month my draft board did not meet for some reason. The second month the draft board did not take up my request. The third month a draft board member died of old age – no meeting. In the 4th month, the draft board finally met and acted on my request but did not approve it until the 5th month.