Initiated by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara
I first became aware of the Department of Defense ‘Project 100,000’ when it was posted on the Charlie Troop 1/9th Message Board the other day.
I often wondered how some men I was in boot camp with got into the Army with either their physical or mental shortfalls; now I know. I just hope they fared well in Vietnam and later in life.
Project 100,000 was initiated in October 1966 during American involvement in the Vietnam War and ended in December 1971. It was Considered part of the Johnson’s Great Society by giving training and opportunity to the uneducated and poor.
The men recruited or drafted under this program did not receive the same training as other recruits and draftees after Basic Training was completed. Mr. McNamara and his “Whiz Kids” insisted that these men had to be put into virtually all fields, and this was a disaster.
My Vietnam Experience 