The Iraq War keeps getting compared to the Vietnam War. I certainly hope it doesn’t get that bad. I was a teenager during the latter years of the Vietnam War and I can honestly say it was all very sad. It did affect us more directly than the current war in that there was a draft and many young men did not want to fight. It did affect us more directly than the current war in that over 55,000 young men and women died. It did affect us more directly than the current war in that the returning caskets were not hidden. It did affect us more directly than the current war in that the war protests, in college towns anyway, attracted many more people (Did I say there was a draft?).

The desertion rate has declined since 9/11, only 3,456 Army, Navy, and Air Force personnel deserted in 2005 as compared to 7,978 in 2001. There were 33,094 Army desertions in 1971. Keep in mind the active duty force in 1971 was nearly twice the size it is now.

“Opposition to the war prompts a small fraction of desertions, says Army spokeswoman Maj. Elizabeth Robbins. "People always desert, and most do it because they don't adapt well to the military,"
  

I just hope the military, and our government, can adapt to the changes in society and society doesn’t have to adapt to the military.