NORTH VIETNAM'S DRAFT POLICY SINCE 1965

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78T02095R000800070007-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 12, 2006
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: January 1, 1969
• Content Type: IM

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25X1
Secret
DIRECTORATE OF
INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence Memorandum
North Vietnam's Draft Policy Since 1965
Secret
ER IM 69-2
January 1969
Copy No.
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WARNING
This document contains information affecting thc' national
defense of the United States, within the meaning of '['itlc
18, sections 793 and 794, of the US Code, as amt.uded.
Its transmission or revelation of its contents to or re-
ceipt by, an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
GROUP 1
0XC[1UI)! D I OM AUTOMATIC
nrO%N'.tOAtjING AND
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This memorandum presents an analysis of infor-
mation pertaining to the induction of North-Vietnamese
manpower as contained in interrogation reports of
about 420 North Vietnamese prisoners captured prima-
rily in 1968 but mobilized over a number of years.
Of the 420 prisoners in the sample, 93 were enlistees
and 20 were former servicemen. Because of inconsistencies
in the interrogations, the data available on the prisoners
varied; for some, age, date of draft or enlistment, and
former occupation were not available. Other publications
on North Vietnam's military mobilization and civilian
labor force will follow.
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Directorate of Intelligence
January 1969
INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM
North Vietnam's Draft Policy Since 1965
Summary
The steadily increasing demand in North Vietnam
for military manpower has been met since 1965 by the
progressive broadening of the scope of compulsory
service. In 1965 an estimated 800,000 males were
eligible for military service, according to age and
physical criteria. Changes in draft regulations by
mid-1967 had extended the length of service in the
army from a tour of three years to the duration of
the war, had raised the maximum draft age from 25 to
30 years, and had subjected to recall former service-
men up to the age of 35 and officers up to age 45.
The criteria for exemptions from service also were
restricted, permitting additional callup within the
eligible age groups. By 1967, these measures had
added more than 600,000 to the number of males that
were eligible for military service.
Draft regulations in North Vietnam are promul-
gated at the national level but executed by admin-
istrators at the local levels. Exceptions apparently
are made at the discretion of district and village
authorities who are responsible for filling allotted
quotas. This probably accounts for the occasional
reported drafting of the unusually young and those
in poor physical condition.
A large proportion -- more than half -- of the
draftees were farmers or worked in animal husbandry
or fishing, reflecting the predominance of these
occupations in North Vietnam's total labor force.
Note: This memorandum was produced solely by CIA.
It was prepared by the Office of Economic Research
and was coordinated with the Office of Current
Intelligence and the Director's Special Assistant
for Vietnamese Affairs.
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The proportion of agriculture workers drafted during
the'years 1965-67, however, declined somewhat. The
majority of draftees each year were in the age group
18 to 25.
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Introduction
1. North Vietnam's increased involvement in the
war in South Vietnam beginning in 1965 and the US
bombing of North Vietnam forced the regime to broaden
the draft regulations in order to expand and maintain
its armed forces. Rapid expansion of the armed forces
and an increasing level of attrition, together with
the need for civilian laborers to cope with the bomb-
ing and to provide a civilian defense organization,
caused a demand on the manpower pool that could not
be satisfied entirely by the estimated 120,000 phys-
ically fit males who reach draft age each year.
Hanoi's response was to make basic changes in the
draft regulations.
2. The exact sequence of events is not clear,
but an analysis of interrogation reports of North
Vietnamese prisoners indicates that the following
changes were made during 1965-67: the term of army
service was extended, former servicemen were recalled
to active duty, the maximum draft age was raised,
physical standards were lowered, and the grounds for
exemptions from service were limited. In 1965 an
estimated 800,000 males were eligible for military
service according to the criteria of age and physical
condition. The changes in these criteria had, by
1967, added in excess of 600,000 to the pool of males
eligible for military service.
Terms of Service and Draft Age
3. Early in 1965 the term of army service was
extended from three years to the. duration of the war.
In addition, former servicemen up to the age of 35
who were not on active duty were made subject to
recall. In mid-1966, veteran officers up to the age
of 45 were subjected to recall. The number of for-
mer servicemen and officers actually recalled to
active duty is not known, but slightly less than 5
percent of the sample were recallees.
4. The ages of eligibility for the draft appar-
ently remained at 18 through 25 years until early
1967, when the maximum draft age was raised to 30
years. Raising the draft age made an estimated
400,000 additional men eligible for military service
in 1967. The minimum age for draft eligibility
apparently was never reduced below 18 years. All
males are required to register for the draft at age
16 and normally are not called up before reaching
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18 years. However, some males under 18 have been
drafted, probably because certain areas could not
fill their quotas otherwise. (Table 1 shows the age
distribution of draftees for selected years.)
Although the sample is limited, the data show that
the large majority of North Vietnamese draftees have
come from the prime 18-25 age group.
Physical Standards and Exemptions
5. All draft-eligible males are assigned to one
of at least six categories, according to their phys-
ical condition. Categories designated A-l, A-2, and
A-3 include those more physically fit and categories
B-l, B-2, and B-3 those less physically fit. Before
1965, only men in the "A" physical categories were
considered fit for active service. Men in categories
B-1 were classed below average, those in B-2 were in
poor health, and those in B-3 were in very poor health.
Prisoners reported that since 1966 all men who are
classified B-1 have been subject to the draft, at
least in some provinces. There were no references
to mental qualifications for draft eligibility. Under
North Vietnam's original physical requirements, about
60 percent of all draft-age males were estimated to be
physically fit for military service.- Experience in
South Vietnam has shown that more than 70 percent of
males in the ages 18 to 33 years were fit for military
service. If North Vietnam's relaxed physical standards
added only 10 percent to the physically fit category,
an additional 200,000 males would become eligible
for the draft.
6. Criteria for exemptions from-compulsory mili-
tary service also were changed since 1965. Catholics
and males from wealthy land-owning families, for
example, reportedly were considered politically unre-
liable and were not generally drafted for military
service. In 1967, however, Catholics were no longer
exempt from service and social status no longer
appeared to have been a meaningful criterion for
exemption. Similarly, entertainers became eligible
for the draft in 1967, as reflected in the sample.
Prisoners report that, for the most part, exemptions
are still being given to university students, sole
surviving sons, men with key positions in government
or industry, and fathers of four or. more children.
With few exceptions, the students in the sample had
completed their studies and had noother occupation.
Although they are not being drafted..into military
service, young unmarried women of at least 17 years
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SECRET
are urged to enlist to fill such jobs as clerks
and technicians.
Administering the Draft
7. Draft regulations are determined at the
national level, and provincial level administrators
apparently formulate draft quotas for the districts
and villages according to local availabilities.
Actual draft practices, however, probably vary con-
siderably, according to the difficulties encountered
by district and village officials in fulfilling the
quotas. National mobilization guidelines, there-
fore, are not strictly adhered to at the local level,
and these exceptions are apparent in the sample.
For example, despite exemptions for university
students, one prisoner claimed to have been drafted
in 1967 while studying electronics at a university.
Another prisoner, a 35-year-old Catholic, was drafted
in May 1966 at a time when political unreliables
reportedly were exempt from service.
8. From the limited sample, no conclusions can
be drawn concerning the draft burden on particular
occupations, although most drafted males were agri-
cultural workers (see Table 2). The proportion of
draftees from agriculture, animal husbandry, and
fishing declined from 65 percent in 1965 to about
55 percent in 1967; about 70 percent of North Viet-
nam's total labor force is engaged in these occupa-
tions. Other occupations represented by the small
sample of those drafted in 1967 included teachers,
entertainers, factory workers, and mine workers.
Nearly 10 percent of those drafted in 1967 were
factory or mine workers and about 15 percent were
students.
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Table 1
Age Distribution of Draftees by Year Drafted a/
1960-68
Per- Per- Per- Per- Per-
Age Drafted Number cent Number cent Number cent Number cent Number cent
Under 17 2 b/ 4 1 c/ 3 5 d/ 10 6 e/ 5 1 f/ 6
17 7 14 3 8 5 10 18 15 2 12
18 to 25 37 72 28 75 33 68 72 62 11 64
26 to 30 5 10 3 8 5 10 15 13 3 18
31 to 35 0 0 1 3 1 2 6 5 0 0
Over 35 0 0 1 g/ 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
a. Data are based on reports of interrogations of 271 North Vietnamese prisoners
drafted into military service, Enlistees and recaZZees are excluded from the
sample.
b. One 25-year-old in 1962 and one 16-year-old in 1963.
c. One 16-year-old.
d. Five 16-year-olds.
e. One 14-year-old, one 15-year-old, and four 16-year-aids.
f. One 16-year-old.
g. One 36-year-old, who formerly served three years as a village chief of public
secur vty.
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Distribution of Prisoners by Occupation and Year Drafted a/
1960-68
1960-64
1965
1966
1967
1968
F
Per-
Per-
Per-
Per-
Per-
ormer Occupation. Number
cent
Number cent
Number
cent
Number
t
N
b
cen
um
er
cent
Agriculture
b/ 31
70
23
65
27
56
53
56
14
78
Student
6
14
1
3
6
13
13
14
0
0
Teacher
1
2
3
9
3
6
1
1
0
0
Entertainer
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
Factory worker 2
5
0
0
0
0
7
4
7
0
2
0
11
Mine worker 0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
0
0
Other 4
9
8
23
12
25
15
16
2
11
44
100
35
100
48
100
95
100
18
100
a. Data are based on reports of interrogations of 240 North Vietnamese prisoners
drafted into military service or recalled to active service. Enlistees are excluded
from the sample.
b. Including those occupied in farming, fishing, or animal husbandry.
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