<P> Many early rank - and - file anti-conscription protesters had been allied with the National Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy . The completion in 1963 of a Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty left a mass of undirected youth in search of a cause . Syndicated cartoonist Al Capp portrayed them as S.W.I.N.E, (Students Wildly Indignant About Nearly Everything). The catalyst for protest reconnection was the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution . </P> <P> Consequently, there was some opposition to the draft even before the major U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War began . The large cohort of Baby Boomers who became eligible for military service during the Vietnam War was responsible for a steep increase in the number of exemptions and deferments, especially for college students . Besides being able to avoid the draft, college graduates who volunteered for military service (primarily as commissioned officers) had a much better chance of securing a preferential posting compared to less - educated inductees . </P> <P> As U.S. troop strength in South Vietnam increased, more young men were drafted for service there, and many of those still at home sought means of avoiding the draft . Since only 15,000 National Guard and Reserve soldiers were sent to South Vietnam, enlistment in the Guard or the Reserves became a popular means of avoiding serving in a war zone . For those who could meet the more stringent enlistment standards, service in the Air Force, Navy, or Coast Guard was a means of reducing the chances of being killed . Vocations to the ministry and the rabbinate soared, because divinity students were exempt from the draft . Doctors and draft board members found themselves being pressured by relatives or family friends to exempt potential draftees . </P> <P> The marriage deferment ended suddenly on August 26, 1965 . Around 3: 10pm President Johnson signed an order allowing the draft of men who married after midnight that day, then around 5pm he announced the change for the first time . </P>

History of military draft in the united states