The Pentagon's first consideration is selecting "the one third that we require from the two-thirds that we consider fit for service." But what to do with the two-thirds that remain is a problem that has been ignored too long, he said.

To deal with the one-third unqualified for military service according to present standards, the Secretary urged that the military expand its facilities for training and rehabilitation. "By selecting from these men those who can benefit from military service, putting them through the military, using them for military service," he explained, the government can incidentally equip them with "skills and attitudes that will turn them into productive members of our society."

One major disadvantage of expanded remedial training in the military, McNamara said, is the possibility of "so diluting the strength of the Army as to reduce its military effectiveness." This can be avoided, he thinks, by "careful selection" and "careful application of remedial training."

McNamara dismissed the argument that using the Army for such rehabilitation might overweight the importance of the military in American society. "We don't make any effort to militarize a civilian" while he is in uniform, he said.

As for the other one-third -- those mentally and physically able to serve but not required by the military -- McNamara said "My personal feeling is that they do have an obligation to serve."

Although he suggested in a speech in Montreal earlier this year that the government create possible alternatives to military service, McNamara emphasized that such service must be voluntary.

"I don't think the service should be required," he affirmed. "I do think it should be encouraged -- that was the theme of Montreal. And obviously, the choice I'm talking about would not be possible for people who have already been called up."

Asked about the feasibility of universal one-year military service, McNamara said "professional soldiers do not consider it practical -- and neither do I." The large number of men provided by this system are not required, he explained. "And I think it would degrade the military capability of the service."

McNamara seemed most concerned with the men who fail to meet the "very low" requirements for service. "It means that the public school system has failed," he emphasized.

This country, he continued, has the resources to meet problems of education and health, while maintaining its foreign commitments. "The question is do we have the will power and I don't think we do," he said. "We haven't demonstrated it to date. And I'm afraid we're not going to demonstrate it in the future."

Revenue for these domestic programs is not being diverted to defense needs, McNamara contested. Defense expenditures in 1966, including those for Vietnam, were less in relation to Gross National Product than in four of the previous five years.

To raise the necessary funds for domestic programs, McNamara emphasized that "you can't rely on the President alone, you can't rely on the federal government alone. Much more remains to be done at the local level and the state level."