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| Biden got deferments for Vietnam, then had asthma | |
| 2008-09-01 | |
Officials with Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's campaign released Biden's Selective Service records at the request of The Associated Press. Less detailed records were available from a National Archives facility in Philadelphia. According to the documents, Biden, 65, received several deferments while he was an undergraduate at the University of Delaware and later as a law student at Syracuse University. A month after undergoing a physical exam in April 1968, Biden received a Selective Service classification of 1-Y, meaning he was available for service only in the event of national emergency. "As a result of a physical exam on April 5, 1968, Joe Biden was classified 1-Y and disqualified from service because of asthma as a teenager," said David Wade, a campaign spokesman. In "Promises to Keep," a memoir that was published last year and became an instant best-seller after he was tapped as Obama's running mate, Biden never mentions his asthma, recounting an active childhood, work as a lifeguard and football exploits in high school. The Obama campaign pointed to media interviews from 1987, when Biden was making his first bid for the presidency, that mention his asthma. Biden's five student deferments equal the number given to Vice President Dick Cheney, who has been quoted as saying he had "other priorities" than military service in the 1960s. According to records AP obtained from the National Archives, Biden registered Feb. 15, 1961, with the Selective Service, when he was an 18-year-old student at Archmere Academy in Wilmington. The archives documents do not include any information about his classification or physical exam. Documents provided by the Obama campaign indicate Biden received a classification questionnaire in October 1963, when he was enrolled at the University of Delaware, and received his first 2-S student deferment a month later. Additional deferments were granted in roughly 12-month intervals, the last coming in January 1968, shortly before he graduated from law school at Syracuse University. Then in April 1968, when he was 25, Biden was disqualified from service due to asthma. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #14 I took out two sizeable loans to get through college and luckily had a minor scholarship for academics to cover the rest. My parents gave me very little in the way of finances and for that I'm thankful. Upon graduating college I sought out the nearest USMC Officer Selection Office in order to serve my country - they didn't do loan reimbursement at the time - I went through the 10 weeks of OCS and graduated earning both my butter bars and more importantly the EGA at the same time. It took me damn near 10 yrs to pay off my college loans AFTER I earned my commission as an Officer of Marines. Whoever said all us zeros are rich - GO FUCK YOURSELF. |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2008-09-01 21:35 |
| #13 Redneck Jim, your comments really miss the mark. I was an enlisted Marine, made E-6 in 4 yrs and then at age 29 went to Army OCS and did a total of 29ys, most of it active duty. I've been in both worlds and retired as an 05. I have to say your comments do not reflect the real experience in those services. |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2008-09-01 19:36 |
| #12 rich is a relative term. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-09-01 19:24 |
| #11 I went to Naval OCS in 1970. My father was far from rich. I went to college on a scholarship. Graduated with honors. I applied for OCS before I graduated from college, while I still had my 2-S deferment, so strictly speaking I was never eligible for the draft. I don't remember many of my OCS classmates as rich. |
| Posted by: Rambler in California 2008-09-01 18:49 |
| #10 Ditto Pappy! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-09-01 16:36 |
| #9 The "Poor" were weeded out before they could be considered for OCS FYI, I was picked up for OCS; neither I nor my family were or are 'Rich'. In fact, I went in at the tender age of 28 as an ET2 in the Reserve, after having to compete for a slot. So kindly go Fuck Yourself, you class-warfare troll. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-09-01 16:23 |
| #8 Now Besoeker, that was cold. LOL |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-09-01 16:20 |
| #7 Some :) were told.....you will never make a good NCO" and were shuffled off to OCS at Fort Benning. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-09-01 16:15 |
| #6 Must have been a Navy thing. Mr. Lotp was commissioned in USAF in the 70s out of OTS and I assure you he came without wealth, privilege or family influence. He did however graduate with the top honors. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-09-01 14:47 |
| #5 To put it somewhat more clearly, Those without family wealth, privelege and influence, need not apply. (For OCS) |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-09-01 14:42 |
| #4 Personal experience (Navy) the wealthy (And children of "Privilege)were Officers, and the not-so-wealthy were Enlisted There were NO "Poor Officers". The "Poor" were weeded out before they could be considered for OCS |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-09-01 14:38 |
| #3 According to VDH: 85% of the 58,000 soldiers killed in Vietnam were regular army, white, 21 years old, and predominatly from rural or southern America. Why do I post this? because discussing Biden and Kerry as Vietnam vets is disrespectful to those of us who served by choice to attempt to allow the South Vietnamese to live in freedom. |
| Posted by: bman 2008-09-01 11:22 |
| #2 B, one of the side effects of the peacetime and then Vietnam era drafts was as a means to regulate unemployment upon large numbers of young males in the Boomer period exiting high school and entering the job markets for which there were not enough employment for everyone. Back then 5% unemployment was taken statistically as full employment [people moving between jobs, hospitalized, attending further education, etc counting the below 5%] and unimagined. America hadn't seen 5% till recently in its history, so soaking up 1, 2, or 3% was seen as useful. If they went on to school they fell into the computation in that below 5% category. Throw in that those with college educations constituted the fewer back then, their employment prospects were significantly higher and therefore in the interests of economic planners were to be given preference. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-09-01 10:25 |
| #1 The Selective Service System is, and may well remain a shamefully flawed mechanism. I could never understand the priority of education over a simple 2 year period of national service....other than a convenient escape mechanism for those wealthy enough to employ it. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-09-01 08:19 |