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US Army Draftees served 2 years on ACTIVE Duty; 6 months in training, 12 month tours in Vietnam. With 6 months remaining in the Army, many were given 6 month EARLY OUTS. Thus serving only 18 months (1 1/2 years) in the Army. 6 month "early outs" were also given to men that applied to college, or served longer than 12 months in Vietnam. US Army 3 year RA's (Volunteer's for the REGULAR ARMY) normally got to choose their MOS (Military Occupational Speciality) for enlisting for the extra year. The 6 month "early out" also applied to them. Therefore, a 3 Year RA could do a 1 year tour in Vietnam, extend for 6 months, then when that was completed, extend for 6 more months (For the Army; after the 12 month mandatory tour, each extension tour was in SIX MONTH increments-so a US Soldier (NOT a US Marine, US Sailor or US Airman) who did 3 tours in Vietnam actually did TWO YEARS in Vietnam & not 3 years, as most people might believe. Consequently, if a 3 year RA soldier (US Army) did three tours in Vietnam, he could get an "early out" of the Army after 2 1/2 years of service (six month early out). US Marines, US Sailors, US Airmen, and US Coast Guardsmen may have functioned in a different system.

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17y ago

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