By the end of the Spanish Civil War, around 1939, the republican government drafted 18 and 60-year olds. The Spanish people, who always show their humor in the most difficult situation, called them the
pacifier and the
sack drafts; elderly people took a sack or bag with food (dry sausages and beans, mostly) and their meager belongings, and young people, well, they had to be pacified.
The US Army seems to be in the same situation in Afghanistan, since they are
drafting a 70-year old colonel to serve in Afghanistan (via
blogdex). If would be funny, if it weren't for the fact that
they seem to be calling the pacifier draft, too (via
HT4E, sorry, can't find permalinks). In fact,
some find it as an indication of a compulsory draft. Can't see how the american people would take this. Or how this could be done.
