Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (COMD)

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From Draft NOtices, July-September 2025

— Simeon Man

Photo caption: Residents and protesters outside Bora Training Ground on Miyako Island, blocking a construction truck from entering the base. The banners read: “Don't deploy missile or ammunition depot!” and “We will not let the islands become a battleground!" Photo by Simeon Man. April 2024.

In June 2025, Japan ratified the Reciprocal Access Agreement with the Philippines, allowing their armed forces to deploy to each other's countries for joint exercises and live-fire drills. This followed the annual U.S./Philippine Balikatan war games in which the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) participated for the first time. As the United States escalates aggression against China, Japan and the Philippines have proven their eagerness to play along, jointly militarizing the Pacific region, dragging more and more people and places into war.

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From Draft NOtices, July-September 2025

Book Review

Erasing History
How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future
Jason Stanley
Atria/One Signal, 2024

— Isidro Ortiz

On June 27, the U.S Supreme Court by a 6-3 vote issued a decision allowing parents to opt their elementary school children out of engaging with LGBTQ books in the classroom. On the surface this ruling might seem to be a simple case of religious parents who want to protect their children. Jason Stanley's book encourages us to envision these parents' challenge as part of a rising global fascist movement that has made targets of the public schools and institutions of higher education.

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From Draft NOtices, April-June 2025

— Rick Jahnkow

During the last few years, the U.S. military has experienced significant difficulty meeting goals for new recruits. In Fiscal Year 2022, for example, the Army fell 25 percent short of its goal. The Air Force and Navy have experienced similar shortfalls in recent years. Adding to the problem for the Army is the fact that almost one-fourth of all new Army recruits are not completing their initial enlistment terms.

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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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