Romney's (non) military record faces new scrutiny

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Mitt Romney's military background — or, rather, his lack of one — is facing new scrutiny as he courts veterans and makes his case to the nation to be commander in chief.

The Republican presidential candidate is calling for a stronger, active American military. But he avoided military service at the height of the Vietnam War.

Romney sought and received four draft deferments from 1965 to 1970 during college and his time as a Mormon missionary in France.

As a presidential candidate in 2007, he said he had "longed" to be in Vietnam. But his actions, Selective Service records and previous statements showed little interest in joining the violent conflict.