Nixon suspends conscription – UPI Archives

WASHINGTON — President Nixon today announced the cancellation of the draft of 50,000 men in November and December.

He said that in addition to cancelling the conscription of 32,000 men in November and 18,000 in December, the incorporation of 29,000 men scheduled for October would be phased out over the three months of the last quarter of the year.

The president said that if Congress does not act this year on his proposal to move to a random selection system, he will institute a random selection system by executive order.

Nixon made the revelation in a brief statement just before a White House news conference with Defense Secretary Melvin R. Laird, who was preparing for a news conference in the Fish Room.

The figures of 32,000 troops for November and 18,000 for December mentioned by Nixon had not been made public before, but the quota of 29,000 troops for October had been announced earlier.

Laird’s press conference had been scheduled earlier at the Pentagon to publicize what he had announced in advance were “significant” changes in draft calls, as a 60,000-man reduction in troops in Vietnam was expected to be completed by December 15.

Nixon’s revelation that the total number of draftees for the last three months of the year would be 29,000, as expected for October, means that the total number of draftees for 1969 would be 289,000, slightly less than in 1968. The total number of draftees last year was 296,000.

By the end of the month, the total number of 1969 inductees will stand at 260,000.

Asked how the October draft of 29,000 would be phased in terms of inductions, Laird said the issue had not yet been definitively decided, but Selective Service officials had told him they favored calling up 10,000 in October, 10,000 in November and 9,000 in December.

He said the January call-up, currently scheduled for 35,000 men, would be reviewed in December with a view to a possible reduction.