The film highlights the New Zealand student-led movement against compulsory military training during the Vietnam War. Le | dG1fQUZyZG9QR3VES3M
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00:00Well, OAMS, as well as being a play on Her Majesty's Service, is a physics unit for
00:16resistance. Resistance describes the tactics that OAMS will use and Omega, the symbol,
00:23describes our aim, and that is to end the National Military Service Act.
00:35For the very first time, we handed out a political leaflet on the streets of New Plymouth.
00:40Oh, in 1969, I got my marble pulled.
00:44I was opposed to conscription on principle.
00:49This was, I think, the quickest campaign, successful political campaign ever.
00:53It just seemed wrong that we had made it compulsory with the possibility that people would be
00:59called up to go and fight in an unjust war.
01:03I remember how we had that campaign to get rid of school cadets.
01:09I remember that very well.
01:11Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Puttick, today inspects secondary school cadets
01:19in camp here at Narrow Neck. Under a new system, the boys get a thorough training in more and
01:23varied weapons.
01:27In our last year of high school, Don and I decided that we would actually have a campaign
01:33to get rid of cadets.
01:37For free men, for responsible men, for men of conscience, there just is no acceptable
01:45alternative but to resist aggression.
01:49So that was certainly one motivation, I think, for us to do something.
01:55Gosh, it was only a few months later, we were all turning 19, and Bones was born.
02:03A family at a time almost indivisible...
02:07Nothing should be compulsory, especially a law such as this which is training people
02:13to kill. A constable at any time may come up to a person who for no more reason than
02:19he looks 19 years of age and ask him for his name, address, his date of birth. If the person
02:25refuses to do that, he has committed an offence. If a person attempts to leave New Zealand
02:31while he is subject to registration, he commits another offence. If a constable asks you to
02:37produce your certificate of registration and you fail to do so within a certain specified
02:41period, well then you have committed another offence. And probably the worst aspect of
02:47it is for those who are non-compliers with the Act, it is an offence for an employer
02:53to employ anyone who is non-compliant with the Act.
03:01I wish you well guys, give them hell, kill me a thousand or so, and if you ever get a
03:21war without blood and gore, I'll be the first to go.
03:31Thank you very much.