Conscription of people with disabilities

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Although people with disabilities are generally exempt from military service,^[1] conscription of people with disabilities has occurred on various occasions historically.

History

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, more than 480 people with intellectual disabilities were conscripted into the military of Imperial Japan.^[2]

Project 100,000 was a disability draft under the Johnson Administration. Men who had previously been rejected from military service due to physical or mental disabilities were re-classified and sent to the frontlines in the Vietnam War.^[3]

Modern times

Numerous Ukrainians with disabilities have been drafted over the course of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[4]^[5]^[6] 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.^[7] 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.^[8]

The physical examination for conscription in North Korea had eased height criteria for military service, reportedly to 142 cm (4 ft 8 in) as of 2012.^[9]^[10]

References

^ Unfit for Service: Physical Fitness and Civic Obligation in World War. National Park Service
^ "＜旧陸軍＞知的障害者も徴兵大戦中、４８０人以上（毎日新聞）" [More than 480 people with intellectual disabilities were conscripted during the [1937] war]. Mainichi shinbun (in Japanese). 2005-09-19. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
^ Hsiao, Lisa (1989). "Project Project 100,000: The Great Society's Answer to Military Manpower Needs in Vietnam". Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
^ Musumeci, Natalie. "Ukraine needs new troops so badly it is taking people's passports and tried to recruit a mentally disabled man". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
^ "Disabled Ukrainians complain of getting draft notice; military stresses need for timely data updates". english.nv.ua. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
^ "Mobilization in Ukraine - when people with disabilities are called up - all the latest news today – 112.ua". 112.ua. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
^ "Defense ministry amends rules exempting Ukrainians from mobilization on health grounds". The Kyiv Independent. 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
^ "Zelensky signs decree to liquidate medical examination commissions amid corruption scandal". The Kyiv Independent. October 22, 2024.
^ "North Korea cuts minimum height for military conscripts as past famine consequences hit". AFP. 2012-04-02. Archived from the original on December 7, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
^ ""키 145cm, 몸무게 43kg이면 북한군 현역"" [If you are 145 cm tall and weigh 43 kg, you are serving in the North Korean army.]. Daily NK (in Korean). 2012-04-02. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.

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Modern times

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References