> I suggested the current poll question. I expected about at least 50 percent of the people to have enlisted or been drafted. I was *extremely* surprised when I saw 60% had never joined because they didn't want to. I myself plan to join the Marines or Army, and my father was two months away from Vietnam. I was just wondering why some of you people weren't interested. Was it a personal situation or was it you did't want any personal risk?
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> By the way, I didn't mean the title, that was just to catch you're attention.

I'm Canadian, for one, and beyond that, I'm another of those "too smart for grunt duty" people. I looked into enlisting a while ago, and they said that even with my incomplete university degree, I'd probably skip basic training and start as an NCO, unless, of course, I wanted the people serving under me to actually respect me, and decided to go through basic anyway.

I'd still go if it was required of me, but the type of engineering I like to do is not something I could get into easily in the military. When it comes right down to it, military service is just another job, and in that job, not everyone can get the specific placement they want, so not everyone goes in. Being drafted is a whole different situation, of course, but the poll doesn't ask about that specifically.