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]
^"＜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.
^""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.
