Ted Nugent came of age at a time when a America had a military draft. Nugent did not serve in the military. With Nugent under fire over his edgy comments last weekend at the NRA, the left has revived the story that Nugent was a draft dodger. Some have even cited an apparent Selective Service document to make their case.
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| From News Hounds |
For the sake of argument, let's assume the document's legit. The document's codes tell us:
We can debate Nugent's intent all day. Detractors now rehash tales of Nugent skipping personal hygiene prior to his physical to win deferment. But, even if true (and call me skeptical), soiled undies probably wouldn't rate a status of 1-Y. More likely, his last deferment reflects Nugent's long documented hearing loss associated with his early rock career.
- In February 1967, Nugent was classified as 1-S (Deferment to complete high school).
- In December 1967, Nugent was classified as 1-A (Available for unrestricted service)
- In February 1968, Nugent was reclassified as 2-S (Deferment for college study)
- In February 1969, Nugeent was reclassified as 1-A (Available for unrestricted service)
- In August, 1969, Nugent was given an armed forces physical exam
- Two months later, Nugent was reclassified as 1-Y (A designation usually given to those with limiting medical conditions. He was eligible for military service, but only in case of war or National Emergency)
- In December 1972, reclassified again. Hard to read on the document, but it may say 4-F. (Most former 1-Y registrants were reclassified 4-F, not acceptable for military service, when the 1-Y classification was abolished in late 1971)
Nugent was a long-hair madman rocker when dodging the draft was the stuff of popular myth and legend. But is there anything in his deferment history not in line with tens of thousands of others granted in the era?
One final thought. It's nice we have access to documents to help vet Nugent's record. Too bad our president prevents similar scrutiny keeping most records of his past under seal.
Updated 3:50pm EDT 4/19/2012 for clarity and to insert dropped link
Any idea why the document would show
ReplyDeleteSSS Form 708
Jul 77
in the lower left corner? The document is from July 1977, but has dates spanning 1967 to 1972? Also, all the handwriting appears from the same person, which seems unusual considering the dates span about 6 years. Also, a 2007 date in the lower right?
This document "smells" funny. Where did you get it?
There is nothing fishy that I see in the form, the dates, or the handwriting. If you read the intent of the document you see that it is an excerpt of another larger document (SSS form 102) that was kept on all registrants for the draft. The form was created in July 77 and was filled out by one person in May 07 who then signed to say that he prepared it on that date. There would not be a newer form available because President Ford signed proclamation 4360 effectively eliminating the draft. Even though President Carter reinstated the registration, we wouldn't have need for a newer form since no American has been drafted in over 35 years. I find it "interesting" that anyone would be keeping tabs on the previous Selective Service classification of a legal US citizen who was 58 years old at the time the form was filled out. Is it fair for the rest of us to expect this level of documentation is being kept on us as well? Or was Ted singled out. Either scenario is a good reason for concern.
DeleteIt's purported to be a document obtained through FOIA. I've tightened my text to reflect that, and have added a link to the source (which was inadvertently dropped in my initial post). The document was called to my attention by a third party and, after seeing it cited elsewhere, the intent here is to decode its content.
ReplyDeleteNo. The intent here was to defend Nugent with an obviously false document so that you could take a shot at the President of the U.S. and in some idiots eyes, look like a real journalist, which you obviously are not. The problem is, you are wrong and you know it.
ReplyDeleteHave you noticed Snopes seems to treat the document as legit?
Deletehttp://www.snopes.com/politics/military/nugent.asp
Sorry Doug. Here' a better final thought, Ted Nugent makes a lot of claims about the American Military. He once said we should have "nuked" Iraq. He never served, and is just a big mouth, with no brains. Ted and all the bomb Iraq, Iran, Korea, etc. crowd of small minded war politicians and entertainers should leave the comments about bombing someone to those who have actually served. Mostly, indigenous civilians, women, children, and the elderly die from such bombing and in America mostly the young US soldiers and the American economy bears the human and financial cost of such silly school yard bravado. Eight of my close friends died in Viet Nam to assauge LBj's ego. No country ever wins a war. And, you write about a little boy guitar player who couldn't go to war because his hearing wasn't up to par from listening to rock music? Veterans and their families deserve better.
ReplyDeleteJac
Ted Nugent is yet another wooden warrior who stands in line at the NRA Conference hefting a musket, CAR-15 or other such phallic armament to prove bravado trumps bravery. Like other white feather warriors of the flock such as Dick Cheney, Tom DeLay,who have stood upon the Podium of Wannebe Rambos, Ted proves it is better to rant than to have served; render verbal violence rather than sacrifice. He is a parody that first evokes a gulp, but than ends in a sneer. In Vietnam we would call him a prancing BOLO.
ReplyDeleteBRO, RVN
In February 1968, Nugent was reclassified as 2-S (Deferment for college study)
ReplyDeleteSo what college did Ted attend? At the time, Ted was known as one of the hardest working men in Rock 'n Roll. He was doing 300 concerts per year during that time period (late 60's, early 70's). 300 concerts per year = 6 concerts per week.
How does a person do 300 concerts per year, across North America, by bus, and attend college at the same time? Perform a concert in Miami one night, take a bus back to Detroit to attend college the next morning, then take a bus back to Ft. Lauterdale to perform a concert that same night, then take a bus back to Detroit to attend college the next morning, then take a bus to Atlanta to perform a concert that night, etc.. It is physically impossible to travel those distances in that amount of time.
Ted did not attend college. He is a chicken-hawk.
Ted was enrolled at Oakland Community College and probably didn't attend regular classes but used distance education or only attended when he could.It doesn't really matter considering his partial deafness kept him out of the military.
ReplyDeleteThe Document is from the Chicago Federal Records Center Note the FRC in the bottom right cornor it is a archive record. No Tin Foil Hat to figure that out.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.archives.gov/frc/chicago/