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Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)

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Draft or Volunteer 1966 was an eventful year for not only for the new high school graduate, Steve Sober, but for the U.S. and its involvement in Vietnam. Because of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, President Johnson was able to rapidly increased U.S. military presence in Vietnam. With almost 200,000 troops stationed there by the end of 1965, the Selective Service inducted around 300,000 young men annually for the next four years.

Sober attended Dickinson College upon graduating high school. With the draft in full force and a constant threat to young men across the nation, Sober chose to leave Dickinson and volunteer to serve in the U.S. Army in 1967. By doing so, Sober was able to choose his initial MOS (military occupation speciality), something that would have been assigned if he had waited to be drafted.
"I decided to avoid the draft by enlisting. Because I could choose my initial MOS. And I was in my first semester at Dickinson, I had got a Dickinson varsity letter for [the] rifle team. I was an expert. Real expert shot. And I did not want to get — I just couldn't be in military service. Put me somewhere where maybe you can use my brain. I really did not want to go out there killing agents."
During (and prior to) the Vietnam war, the U.S. utilized conscription, the draft system mandating the enlistment of men into the armed services. Even though only 1/4 of the military force in Vietnam were draftees, the system of conscription caused many young men to volunteer when faced with the threat of the draft. Like Sober, it enabled them the choice of how they would serve. Between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. military drafted almost 2 million men, the year Sober joined being one of the highest induction years.

While most who attended college had deferment from the draft, in 1967, the time Sober was attending Dickinson, it was only a matter of how long one could delay their eligibility for the draft.
"It was either get drafted or join."