destined for Vietnam, some received draft deferments, and some were drafted by lottery and destined for Vietnam but were as protected from Vietnam as if their draft had been deferred. This last named case describes the widely reported story of Vice President J. Danforth Quayle's military experience in the Vietnam era, when he served in the Indiana National Guard. To explore the implications of this case history with reference to the nexus of conscription and various political theories, let us describe Mr. Quayle's case as an instance of avoiding the typical impact if not the fact of conscription; in the Vietnam era it came to much the same thing.
The relevant point assumes special importance if avoidance of conscription came about by reason of political or social connections to an elite. The questions of fairness, equality, entitlement, privilege, and the like unavoidably arise. In this regard, Rawls cites the need "to make sure that the risks of suffering from these imposed misfortunes [e.g.
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