The draft
- Troops called up to fight in the Draft were expected to serve for just over a year, so that morale would be easier to sustain over 12 months than over several years of fighting; officers were expected to fight for six months. The effect was to deprive the American army of the experience it needed and guaranteed that leadership would always be lacking. The average age of the US combat soldier in Vietnam was 22 (not 19 as it is commonly reported) compared with 26 during WWII.
RGS History 