Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (COMD)

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From Draft NOtices, October - December 2007

 



—Rick Jahnkow
    

On August 10, 2007, Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, sometimes referred to as the Bush administration’s new “war czar,” was being interviewed on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” During the interview, he mentioned that a draft had always been “an option on the table” as one of the possible ways to address the serious staffing crisis faced by the military. Lute said, "I think it makes sense to certainly consider it."

Media reaction to his comment was swift: his statement became a widely repeated news story, and some individuals who have been predicting a draft for the last five years seized it as evidence that a return to conscription in the U.S. was once again imminent.

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From Draft NOtices, October - December 2007

 


—Paula Hoffman
    

During the summer, while most students, parents and teachers were busy doing other things, the principal at Mission Bay High School, together with the San Diego Board of Education, were hurriedly going through the motions of approving Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps for the Pacific Beach school. At both the July 23 and August 7 board of education meetings, the issue was not even listed as an agenda item, but rather buried in a list of budgetary points. The situation was only given any attention at all because John de Beck, the school board member representing the neighborhood around the school, had questions regarding the cost of the program.

Learning of the plan to sneak in MCJROTC, Project YANO attempted to get out the word. Despite the short notice, community members, parents and students arrived to speak out at the July 23 board meeting. Nine spoke against JROTC, making many important points to the unreceptive and nonobjective board (several board members have military connections themselves). For example, Pentagon-produced textbooks do not go through the standard review process and have been found to contain many ethnocentric stereotypes and subjective generalizations. JROTC instructors are not even required to have a college degree, and none of the strict new credential rules that other teachers are being subjected to under the No Child Left Behind Act apply to the military instructors. Also, money used to finance JROTC siphons away funds that could be used for other badly needed programs. JROTC is not a college prep class, but rather a P.E. credit. Students, already exposed to too much hate and violence, will be taught to use weapons.

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From Draft NOtices, July-September 2007

 



—Jorge Mariscal
    

    "The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM, provision in the immigration bill is expected to help boost military recruiting.” − Bill Carr, Acting Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy

    "I've been here almost eight years. I feel like I belong to this country," he said. "People like me, we want to serve the country. We love this country. We don't have papers. We can't afford to go to college. The military is the perfect option for us.” − Sebastián, undocumented student from Mexico

In early June, a two-pronged media cycle dealing with the issue of non-citizen soldiers and military recruitment slowly began to materialize. Following on the heels of an internal Pentagon study that reported a general decrease in interest in military service among young Americans, the debate about the role of non-citizens in the U.S. military intensified.

In the Washington Post, reporter Brigid Schulte filed a feature story titled, “Why Won't We Let Them Fill the Ranks?”, in which she described the willingness of many undocumented youth to enlist. Schulte’s piece is filled with enthusiastic comments from undocumented youth who are eager to sign up.

At one point, she depicts a group of undocumented workers cheering as the invasion of Iraq begins, apparently because the war would afford them the opportunity to enlist.

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Ninth CIRCUIT COURT RULING: CONFRONTING MILITARISM BY USING EQUAL ACCESS TO HIGH SCHOOLS

When the military comes to your local high school, you have a legal right to give students an opposing view. This has been the position taken by federal district courts in Florida, Pennsylvania and Illinois and two federal appellate courts. The most broadly-worded decision came from a case that COMD took to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the 1980s. Here is the background:

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