Why So Little GI Resistance Today?

by Larry Kerschner

I will be co-presenting, with Todd Boyle, a workshop on GI Resistance and Military Counter-Recruitment at the April 12 Spring Assembly at the Fauntleroy UCC Church in West Seattle. I will focus on GI Resistance and Todd will focus on Military Counter-Recruitment.

In my opinion, the American War in Viet Nam ended mainly from three factors. First, the tenacity and fighting abilities of the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong in protecting their country from a foreign invader.

Second, the growing opposition to the war among the American public. By September 1970, 47 percent of college-educated and 61 percent of grade-school graduates were in favor of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Viet Nam.

Finally, the increasing incidents of GI resistance which eventually became a widespread rebellion in which some units locked up their guns to keep them away from the soldiers. This resistance took on many forms: thousands of GIs went AWOL and deserted their units; large numbers of discharges were given for misconduct, unfitness, and unsuitability; high levels of drug use and serious crime; many acts of sabotage and obstruction; avoidance of combat; mutinies; threats and actual occurrences of fraggings; publication of antiwar newspapers; demonstrations; petitions; and Conscientious Objector applications.  Army prison population tripled during the course of the war.

During the American War in Viet Nam, there were three types of soldier: those who were drafted, those who joined in fear of the draft hoping for safer duties, and those who joined up believing it was the patriotic and noble thing to do. Surprising to many people, much of the resistance was from the third group.  After joining with high ideals, the stark realities of being part of an imperialist aggressive invading army killing women and children caused many of these volunteers to rebel.  Given that the current U.S. military is composed of volunteers, I have wondered why there is so little apparent resistance among Iraq/Afghanistan GIs.

There are social differences between the two times: during the Sixties and Seventies there was a world-wide revolution going on – women’s liberation, the Black power movement, the anti-war movement especially among students, the counter-culture movement generally, the SDS, and many other forms of radical social and political change. The music was charged with an idea of liberation and change for the better.  Today there doesn’t seem to be an underlying sense of expecting change to make things better. It may be a too harsh assessment but today’s students don’t seem interested in changing any world except their own.

There were 4 million in the military during the Viet Nam era while today there are about 1.5 million including those in the Reserve and the National Guard. In large part because of the draft, the military of that era was a more representational cross-section of society. Today the military is mostly made up of working class and the poor, in effect, an “economic draft.”

During the Viet Nam era the economy generally was better with jobs available outside of the military, while today unemployment is still quite high after five years of Obama’s economic “recovery.”  The pay for those in the military today, while certainly not lucrative, is better than it was in the Sixties and Seventies. Most of those of low rank were single during the Viet Nam era while today most are married.

Those sent to Viet Nam, unless voluntarily extending or signing for additional tours of duty, could expect a single tour of twelve months. Many of today’s soldiers can expect multiple tours through the involuntary extension of their enlistment under “stop loss” orders.  In January 2008, 75% of the soldiers in Iraq were on their second or more tours in that country.

During the Viet Nam era there were at least 300 GI newspapers and over 20 coffeehouses near military bases. Currently there are only two GI coffeehouses near homeland military bases and one that I know of in Germany. During the American War in Viet Nam there were at least 600 cases of fragging which resulted in close to a hundred dead and over 700 injured.  There were at least ten cases of actual mutiny during the last stages of the war. There have been only two cases of fragging that I am aware of in the Iraq/Afghanistan conflicts.  Compared to Viet Nam, there have been very few Conscientious Objectors produced during the Iraq/Afghanistan military occupations.

Because of the history of the type and amount of GI resistance during the American War among the “volunteers” this would lead me to expect a significant resistance movement among the current all-volunteer military.  This doesn’t appear to have happened.

I invite you to join us at the Spring Assembly to share your ideas about this issue.  Why is there so little resistance today among the military?  Since an army cannot effectively fight wars with soldiers who resist, how can we encourage and promote GI resistance?  Is there so little resistance in the military because there is so little resistance to the military and war in our society?

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