Conscription of people with disabilities

Military conscription of people with disabilities has occurred on various occasions historically.

Cases

Below are listed known cases of the drafting of disabled persons.

• In Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War, more than 480 people with intellectual disabilities were conscripted.^[1]
• In Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, numerous people with a variety of disabilities have been drafted over the course of the conflict.^[2][3] The Ukrainian Defence Ministry amended the criteria for medical exemptions, reclassifying people with tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, thyroid disease and HIV to be fit for military service.^[4] In August 2024, it was reported that people with epilepsy had been recruited.^[5] On 22 October 2024, Ukrainian president Zelenskyy sign a decree which dissolved the medical examination commissions for determining the severity of disabilities that qualified for military exemptions.^[6]
• In the United States during the Vietnam War, there was a disability draft under the Johnson Administration, called Project 100,000. Men who had previously been rejected from military service due to physical or mental disabilities were re-classified and sent to the frontlines in Vietnam.^[7]
• In North Korea: The conscription physical examination has eased the criteria for military service suitability due to low height, reportedly to 142 cm (4 ft 8 in) as of 2012.^[8][9]

See also

• Conscription
• Disability abuse
• McNamara fallacy
• Project 100,000