America's Last Draftee: "I'm a Relic"

[Wailuna]

This is a worthy read from Time (dot.com edition) about Command Sergeant Major Jeffrey Mellinger, the last U.S. Army draftee who is still on active duty, 36 years after he was inducted in April 1972.

 

This is a good tie in with the long running USMF thread: "Would You Have Been Drafted?, Think you might not be drafted....lets see!"

[Teamski]

Amazing, simply amazing. Here I'm retiring after 20 years in May and somebody like that sticks with it for so long. It's amazing he has lived to tell the tale....

 

-Ski

[Devious6]

Amazing, simply amazing. Here I'm retiring after 20 years in May and somebody like that sticks with it for so long. It's amazing he has lived to tell the tale....

 

-Ski

 

I was in the last year to get a sequence number - 1973 - and the first 100 picked got classified. Lucky me, my number was 59 so I soon received my draft card as 1A.

 

They had stopped calling anyone up at that point and I remained 1A for over a year when I entered the Marine PLC Program and was reclassified 1D. I was in the program for training as a Naval Flight Officer but the post-Vietnam drawdown caused the MC to cut back on pilots and NFOs. I went to Quantico for the first 6 week training session and 40 of us were declared not physically qualified for flight training...but we could re-sign as ground officers. Months later I got a new draft card designating me as.....4F.

 

A year later I signed a contract with Army ROTC and had to fight my way through a physical since I had had knee surgery at age 17 and carried a 4F draft classification. At my physical st Ft Bragg, several folks in front of me were laughing because a PA had told them that there was some guy expecting to pass the physical with a bad knee and a 4f draft card - they laughed while I expected to be sent home. When I got to see the doctor he looked at my file and asked me if I played any sports. I said I played softball, flag football and tennis. He looked at me, looked down and stamped COMBAT ARMS QUALIFIED on my physical.

 

After 26 years on active duty I retired at the end of 2003.

 

36 years is really an accomplishment!!

[El Bibliotecario]

When I enlisted I had a PULEHS (did I get that right??) physical profile of 1-1-1-2-1-1 because I was blind as a bat without my glasses. After a break in service, I re-enlisted at a time when the army was hot for warm bodies, and discovered I now had a picket fence profile, all '1's. The medical corps works in mysterious ways.

[ItemCo16527]

That was a really great article; thank you for posting it, Wailuna. I didn't think any Vietnam-era draftees were still serving. CSM Mellinger seems like a heckuva guy! Almost 37 years active service.... he's got more Good Conduct Medals than I have brain cells

[Latewatch]

I served with Jeff Mellinger in the 2nd Ranger Battalion in the early 80's. He was a lowly SFC Platoon Sergeant at that time. I had no idea he was a draftee or that he was "STILL" in after all these years.

[topdcnut]

I think the Navy term would be Hazzah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!