John Bolton, Neo-Con, War-Monger Bolton was a supporter of the Vietnam War[33] but avoided combat through a student deferment followed by enlistment in the Maryland Air National Guard.[29][34][35][33][36] During the 1969 Vietnam War draft lottery, Bolton drew number 185. (Draft numbers were assigned by birth date.)[37] As a result of the Johnson and Nixon administrations' decisions to rely largely on the draft rather than on the reserve forces, joining a Guard or Reserve unit became a way to reduce the chances of service in the Vietnam War[38] (although tens of thousands of National Guardsmen and Army reservists would serve in Vietnam with over 5,000 being killed there).[39][40] Before graduating from Yale in 1970, Bolton enlisted in the Maryland Army National Guard rather than wait to find out if his draft number would be called.[41][31]:11 The highest number called to military service was 195.[42] He saw active duty for 18 weeks of training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, from July to November 1970.[31]:11 After serving in the National Guard for four years, he served in the United States Army Reserve until the end of his enlistment two years later.[5]