My military draft lottery number was #165 during final Vietnam War years

By Steve Hammons

(Related articles “Storytelling affects human biology, beliefs, behavior” and “Reagan’s 1987 UN speech on ‘alien threat’ resonates now” are posted on the CultureReady blog, Defense Language and National Security Education Office, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, U.S. Department of Defense.) 

My 18th birthday was in the spring of 1970 when I was a senior in high school in southwestern Ohio, where I was born and raised. Shortly after, I received a Vietnam-era “draft card” from the U.S. Selective Service System. My draft status was listed as 1-H, meaning not immediately eligible for draft into the Army.

At the time, as a high school kid, I did not fully understand that by the date I received my draft card, tens of thousands of American troops had been killed and severely wounded in the Vietnam War. And more were being killed and wounded daily.

That summer, the second year of the draft lottery system was conducted. Like the state gambling lotteries of today, numbers were placed in a large bin and randomly drawn – one number for each of the 365 days in the year that a male baby was born in the year 1952 who turned 18 in 1970.

Those babies, now 18-year-old American males, would be available for the military draft for the Vietnam War. My birthday was picked as #165. I was fairly clueless as to what that meant.

Those draftees were sent directly to Army basic training, then to advanced infantry training and other preparation, and then often to Vietnam and combat.

YOUNG AND DUMB

As it turned out, the “Vietnamization” process of the war had started in 1969 – the U.S. pulling out and handing responsibility to the South Vietnamese government and military.

The draft was winding down. The Selective Service System never did reach #165 of the 1970 batch of bodies to draft, though many 1970 18-year-olds with lower lottery numbers were drafted and went to Vietnam. The Selective Service System drafted up to #125 for that age group.

Americans would be fighting, killing and dying in the Vietnam War for a few years to come before the final withdrawal of combat troops in 1973 (the U.S. embassy was evacuated in 1975 in a chaotic, final pullout.)

The final death toll for American military personnel came to more than 58,000. The vast majority were in their twenties.

There were also significant numbers of American prisoners of war (POWs), more than 1,600 missing in action (MIA) and more than 150,000 injuries.

Vietnam veterans also later suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other behavioral health issues, alcohol and drug abuse, family problems, homelessness, war-related medical issues (war injuries, exposure to Agent Orange herbicide), incarceration and other problems related to their experiences.

But in the spring 1970 in my senior year of high school, I did not know about all of these factors in motion.

The teenager life of high school, learning to drive, playing football and dating was about to change for me as it had for many before me and after me. I and my peers across the country had now turned 18 and received our draft cards. (And we could now legally buy and drink 3.2 percent "low" beer in Ohio from stores, restaurants and bars.)

But there apparently was a very serious war going on – which we were learning was not totally supported and was seemingly believed by many to be a very bad idea overall – even a war crime.

We were learning that there had been protests, “disturbances” and riots happening on college campuses for the previous few years because of opposition to the Vietnam War.

And that spring, something happened at Kent State University, one of the several medium-size state universities in Ohio. Combat came home when Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on Kent State students protesting the Vietnam War.

As student riots spread, the Ohio governor closed state universities early, sending students home and deploying more National Guard as needed to college campuses to accomplish this. No college graduation ceremonies for the universities' Class of 1970.

VIETNAM WAR AND DRAFT END

By this time I had informed my “draft board” (local committees who made decisions on who to draft) that I was registered for college the following September at Ohio University in Athens, located in the far southeastern Ohio Appalachian region near West Virginia. My draft status was then changed from 1-H to 2-S (student). My draft lottery number of #165 remained the same.

This was the context in which I had contact with Army Special Forces Reserve personnel in southwestern Ohio in the spring of 1970, still a high school senior, due to somewhat puzzling circumstances.

The next fall I participated in Army Reserve Officers Training Corps in my first year at Ohio University in 1970-71. I also experienced two two-week summer Special Forces Reserve training exercises on either side of that freshman year, summer of ’70 and summer of ’71.

There were robust protests against the war at Ohio University. The storage area under the football stadium bleachers used by the ROTC program had been firebombed in previous antiwar riots.

Opponents of the Vietnam War were saying that old men in Washington, DC, were sending young men off to war in some kind of sick ritual.

People were also saying that lots and lots of money was being made from the Vietnam War and from the blood of our troops and others.

Although I don’t remember the more-recent term “chicken hawk” being used, the idea was the same: Many men (and women) who are very brave about sending other people to kill, die and be severely injured, seemingly don’t want to go themselves or send their own sons and daughters. They wave the flag and beat the drums while other young Americans kill, bleed and die.

In June 1971 the Pentagon Papers about the Vietnam War were published. In June 1972 the Watergate break-in burglars were arrested.

The draft was ended in January 1973, mid-year of my junior year at Ohio U., related to the drawdown of U.S. troops in Vietnam and the significant opposition to the Vietnam War among Americans and internationally.

The final evacuation of the U.S. embassy in Saigon took place April 30, 1975.

‘Force protection’ for our troops is now the responsibility of all Americans

By Steve Hammons

(Related articles "Navy Research Project on Intuition" and "Human perception key in hard power, soft power, smart power" are posted on the CultureReady blog, Defense Language and National Security Education Office, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, U.S. Department of Defense.)

The concept of “force protection” for U.S. military personnel and U.S. assets involves a system of analyses, assessments and actions in response to ever-changing threats.

Multiple force protection levels can flex and fluctuate in response to conventional and unconventional dangers, and from various and changing directions and sources.

Readiness and ability to recognize new and emerging threats are key for force protection for our Army soldiers, Marines and other tip-of-the-spear warfighters from the Navy and Air Force.

On March 18, 2009, James Mattis, former Marine Corps general and former secretary of defense, addressed the House Armed Services Committee.

Mattis was then commander of the U.S. Joint Forces Command. At the time, the Joint Forces Command was one of 10 combatant commands in the U.S. Department of Defense and oversaw a force of 1.16 million active duty, National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers, Air Force personnel, Navy personnel and Marines.

ADVANCED TRAINING

In his address, Mattis said “core competency” is needed in “irregular warfare (IW).” He also referenced "hybrid warfare" which can combine IW and more conventional methods.

Mattis said adversaries could use methods of a "hybrid nature that combine any available irregular or conventional mode of attack, using a blend of primitive, traditional and high-tech weapons and tactics."

He told committee members, "We must have balanced and versatile joint forces ready to accomplish missions across the full spectrum of military operations – from large-scale, conventional warfare to humanitarian assistance and other forms of 'soft' power."

Mattis’ guidance to lawmakers was not hypothetical.

Many thousands of American military personnel have been killed and tens of thousands severely injured during the 2003 invasion and subsequent multi-year occupation of Iraq, and in attempts to stabilize Afghanistan. (Civilian deaths from those conflicts are estimated in the high hundreds of thousands, at a minimum.) 

American military families have been traumatized by the deaths of and severe injuries to sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers and other loved ones serving in our armed forces.

In facing the sometimes confusing and changing threats around us, Mattis put forth a key question: "What capabilities are required?" An obvious answer: Education and training of joint personnel, he said. "A trained warrior may perform acceptably in a conventional operation, but irregular and hybrid wars demand highly-educated warriors to prevail," he told the committee.

He also told committee members, "Special emphasis must be placed on human, cultural, language, and cognitive skills. A 'cognitive' warrior knows how to acquire knowledge, process information from multiple sources, and make timely, accurate decisions in complex, ethically challenging and ever-changing environments."

"So, we must be prepared to think the 'unthinkable,' using our study and imagination to help us defeat the enemy," Mattis told committee members. "We must employ to our advantage the power of both inspiration and intimidation, each in the appropriate measure, to confound our enemies."

COMMON OPERATIONAL PICTURE

Now, in January 2020, we find ourselves in a situation when the subject of force protection of our military personnel – many in their 20s and 30s, with spouses, young children, parents, siblings and other loved ones – is haunting our souls.

Back in 2009, Mattis also told the House Armed Services Committee that he believed current and future national security challenges demand "whole-of-government" approaches. 

"Essential to a whole-of-government approach for applying all aspects of national and international power is the ability to share information and situational awareness among all partners," he said.

When information is appropriately shared, an "interagency common operational picture" is created, Mattis told the committee. Military personnel must communicate with civilian counterparts and create a synergy of effort, Mattis said.

As part of preparation for enhanced U.S. force protection, it could be helpful to revisit the concept of “transcendent warfare.” This term was put forth by a former Navy SEAL officer back in 2001 when he was completing graduate-level studies at the Marine Corps War College.

The idea of transcendent warfare was related to U.S. defense research in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s into human perception, awareness, consciousness and intuition. 

Now, expanding military training and civilian public awareness of transcendent warfare concepts could be helpful in our approaches to force protection for U.S. armed forces personnel.


(Related article “Reagan’s 1987 UN speech on ‘alien threat’ resonates now” is posted on the CultureReady blog, Defense Language and National Security Education Office, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, U.S. Department of Defense.) 

Was Reagan briefed about UFOs and original ‘Day the Earth Stood Still’ movie?

By Steve Hammons

(Related article “Reagan’s 1987 UN speech on ‘alien threat’ resonates now” is posted on the CultureReady blog, Defense Language and National Security Education Office, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, U.S. Department of Defense.)

In the 1951 movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still” actor Michael Rennie played the part of Klaatu, a friendly but firm extraterrestrial with a very serious warning for Earth humans and their leaders.

That message: Due to the development of atomic weapons, if the apparently destructive and self-destructive nature and behavior of Earth humans is not corrected, an interplanetary alliance will intervene, and it won’t be pretty – “Earth will be eliminated,” Klaatu tells a prominent physicist (actor Sam Jaffe).

In the 2008 version of the movie, actor Keanu Reeves played Klaatu, who again brings his warning to Earth humans. With the help of an astrobiologist tapped by U.S. national security officials (Jennifer Connelly), Klaatu lays out the situation for the leading physicist, this time played by John Cleese.

Back in 2006 and 2007 there were online reports making the rounds among people interested in UFOs that Pres. Ronald Reagan’s secret briefing on that topic included information about the 1951 movie.

Unsubstantiated claims within alleged “information releases” about UFOs were made via anonymous intermediaries reportedly associated with the U.S. national security community. Many people did not take these reports seriously, though they were thought-provoking.

INTERVENTION A LAST RESORT?

According to these reports, Reagan received a UFO briefing at Camp David, Maryland, between Friday, March 6 and Sunday, March 8, 1981. Other top advisors to Reagan were also reported to be present.

Allegedly, the briefing was presented to Reagan by an intelligence community contract employee. This contract employee reportedly worked within a group of "caretakers" who were said to safeguard records and assets about extraterrestrial visitation to Earth, and their activities on Earth.

These claims about a supposed briefing went on to state that Reagan was told about U.S. government activities informing the public about UFOs, including the original "The Day the Earth Stood Still" movie.

It was claimed that Reagan responded, "I always knew there was some form of cooperation between our government and the motion picture industry. I heard rumors over the years ... even during my acting days."

According to the unsubstantiated reports, the briefer allegedly told Reagan, "Well, Mr. President, the first cooperative venture was the movie 'The Day the Earth Stood Still.' That was a cooperative venture with the United States Air Force and the movie industry."

Before we completely dismiss these accounts of a special briefing for Reagan in 1981, a story about animator and entertainment-storytelling innovator Walt Disney might be relevant. According to one of the original artists working for Disney, the Air Force approached Walt in 1957 about producing a documentary film. This film would educate and inform the public about extraterrestrial visitation to Earth, according to the Disney artist. Work was reportedly begun on the project, but the Air Force cancelled it.

In recent years, the Rendelsham Forest UFO incident at an important U.S. air base in the UK has been a focus of much attention among researchers, the media and the public. In that case, UFOs were observed over a sensitive base and nuclear weapons storage areas there. The deputy base commander had a "close encounter" in the incident, along with other U.S. Air Force personnel.

In other incidents, UFOs have been reported around multiple U.S. and Russian nuclear missile facilities. There have even been reports that U.S. and Russian nuclear missile launch systems were remotely tampered with concurrent with observation of nearby UFOs. In an American case, the launch controls were reportedly taken offline by an unknown method. In a Russian incident, controls were allegedly activated to launch status.

Should we draw any conclusions about reports of significant numbers of incidents involving UFOs near nuclear weapons and missile locations, and strange interventions on missile launch systems? Does this dovetail in any way with the supposed briefing to Reagan about the 1951 “The Day the Earth Stood Still” film?

And are these issues relevant in January 2020 as we face threats of a nuclear attack against or by the U.S.?

SAVING EARTH FROM EARTH HUMANS

In the 2008 remake of “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” Klaatu tells the astrobiologist (Connelly) that he and his people are “friends to the Earth.” At first, Connelly is greatly relieved, because U.S. officials want to determine if he and the beings he represents are hostile.

Then she comes to understand that Klaatu means that to save the Earth, humankind needs to be eliminated due to its destructive nature.

Today, here at ground-level from the Earth human point-of-view, as we look around, some people might conclude we’re not living on a well-run planet. There is widespread poverty, disease, suffering, injustice and corruption. War and terrorism are also widespread. There is a large scope of killing and destruction. 

There is a shortage of human decency and compassion.

The planet’s ecosystem and climate are being significantly damaged, possibly beyond repair. Species of animals are becoming extinct, including insects and birds we rely on to pollinate our food crops. Many rivers, lakes and waterways are being further polluted. Seas are warming and acidifying, and the ocean ecosystems and fish supplies could be affected.

And what about the view looking down on Planet Earth? Why do these Earth humans act the way they do? Why do they constantly kill and harm each other over the thousands of years they have been around, developing bigger and more terrible weapons? 

Their leaders are often not the best of them, but the worst of them. They allow their children to suffer in homelessness, war zones and many other terrible situations. Is there any hope for Earth humans?

Obviously, if left to their own devices, they will destroy themselves and this beautiful little planet that the Creator has given them – this beautiful planet they have already disrespected and damaged. 

Then, they will probably seek other planets to disrespect, damage and destroy. Earth humans seem likely to continue to kill and abuse themselves and others amid their greed and lust for power and conquest.

When we look at the human race on Earth today from this viewpoint, we might understand why Klaatu was deadly serious in his message and mission. Many Earth humans probably agree with Klaatu that the human race on Earth is on a self-destructive path that must be corrected promptly to avoid terrible disaster in the near future.

And if Klaatu has contemporary counterparts, maybe we should expect to hear from them. If some of these counterparts are friendly toward Earth humans, maybe we could use their help.


(Related articles "Navy Research Project on Intuition," "Human perception key in hard power, soft power, smart power" and “Storytelling affects human biology, beliefs, behavior” are posted on the CultureReady blog, Defense Language and National Security Education Office, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, U.S. Department of Defense.)