Physicists and the draft

“They're calling up my graduate students!” exclaim department chairmen from California to New York as Selective Service begins to dip into the pool of two million deferred students (including 25 000 physics majors). At the same time many industrial physicists previously deferred in critical occupations are likewise receiving 1A reclassifications. And though relatively few PhD candidates and physicists from industry are now being drafted, their number can be expected to increase in the near future as monthly draft calls range above 30 000 and the supply of available manpower is depleted.