Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (COMD)

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From Draft NOtices, January-March 2017

— Jesus Mendez Carbajal     


Please note: Given that updates and developments at/from Standing Rock and #NODAPL occur weekly if not daily, not all the history of the movement and details of the ongoing actions will be covered in this article.

Humanity is facing difficult times on many different fronts. Many people are being exploited for their labor; the Earth’s resources are being unsustainably extracted; war, death and forced migration are gripping many peoples around the world -- and, yet, there is still hope brewing for a better future for all of us.

One of the important and inspiring movements happening in the U.S. is the struggle against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) propelled by the Great Sioux Nation and many worldwide supporters.

Although the organizing in North Dakota began in 2014, the #NODAPL Movement gained increased visibility and support throughout 2016. On June 25, 2014, plans to construct the DAPL, a brainchild of Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), were first released but were not approved until January 2016. A few months later, Standing Rock Reservation Tribal Member Ladonna Allard Brave Bull donated land for the establishment of the Sacred Stone Camp in Cannonball, North Dakota. Since April 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the larger Great Sioux Nation of North Dakota, have received an outpouring of monetary, material and on-the-ground support from people from all walks of life who care about the collective wellbeing of humanity and the Earth. They include other Indigenous Nations (both federally recognized and otherwise) from all over the world united to fight against DAPL and protect a water supply that is threatened by the pipeline. “Water protectors,” as the protesters like to be called, seek to preserve the health of the Missouri/Cannonball River, which the pipeline originally planned to traverse, but they also believe their work carries great symbolic weight because they are acting in defense of the most important element to human life and the natural world.

Late summer saw continued DAPL construction, accompanied by desecration of sacred sites. This was met by increased planned political demonstrations intended to keep up the pressure on DAPL and its construction. First-hand accounts of arrests made since August have revealed that water protectors were being routinely strip searched and held in makeshift jail cells resembling dog kennels--all of which was denied by the Morton County Sheriff’s Office, the law enforcement agency coordinating the policing of the protests. Since August, tensions have been building with both sides putting forth strong efforts to move forward in their respective ways. Early September, during a non-violent action at a sacred burial site where bulldozers desecrated the land, a privately hired firm was present with vicious attack dogs, which ended up hurting many of the water protectors present at that action. Also in September, the governor of North Dakota, Jack Dalrymple ordered the National Guard mobilized to “protect” the DAPL, by extension protecting business interests.  Most recently, on December 4, 2016, the Army Corps of Engineers denied ETP the easement necessary for continued construction. In response, ETP and investors have made it clear that they plan to continue and finalize construction of the pipeline with or without the necessary legal permissions. The latest violent response to NODAPL Water Protectors occurred on December 27, 2016, during a peaceful prayerful action held at a sacred site.

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From Draft NOtices, October-December 2016


— Rick Jahnkow   

Legislation that would require women to register for the draft was still uncertain as of our publication date [see following update]. The U.S. Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017 contained such a requirement, while the House of Representatives’ version did not.

The differences between the two versions were supposed to be resolved by a joint Senate/House conference committee before the October 1 start of the next fiscal year, but slow progress has made it unlikely that a bill with final language will be sent to Congress until after the November election.

The Senate’s NDAA language would impose draft registration on women when they turn age 18, beginning January 1, 2018. The House version would only require a study to evaluate the impact that female registration might have on readiness, as well as the possible effects of ending male draft registration.
Meanwhile, a hearing has been scheduled for October 24 in an ongoing lawsuit that is challenging the constitutionality of male-only draft registration. The hearing will be held in the Federal District Court in Los Angeles. If the suit succeeds, and if Congress does not pass legislation to extend registration to women, it could ultimately terminate the draft registration program. Congress could continue to fund the Selective Service System, but then SSS would have little justification to exist.

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From Draft NOtices, October-December 2016

— Ray Wolf     



[Editors’ note: Football quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand when the national anthem is played at football games has intensified the debate over racial injustice in the U.S. Many have responded positively to his message, but others have claimed that his method of protest is disrespectful of members of the military who, they argue, are the ones who guarantee our freedom to protest. We don’t see how Colin’s actions are disrespectful of military members, but even more troubling to us is the frequent assertion that the U.S. military is the protector of our freedom. Because this is such a powerful mythology, we decided to reprint this 2003 article from Draft NOtices.]

“I’d like to thank our military personnel for defending our country and protecting our freedoms." In the wake of September 11, this is a common public acknowledgment from celebrities, politicians, myriad TV and radio commentaries, and many people on the streets of the United States.

As a Navy veteran, whenever I hear statements like these, I think, "What are they talking about? Since when does the military have anything to do with freedom?" If I make this statement out loud, I’m often told that the military protects my right to criticize the U.S. government and the military. I use such circumstances as an opportunity to educate people who believe that the military protects our freedoms. Here is one blueprint I’ve used successfully in conversations with friends, family and even strangers to shift the conversation.

History is a powerful place to begin, and many people know little about how the U.S. government has repeatedly used its military against its own citizens. In 1877, for example, railroad workers went on strike to protest pay cuts, profiteering by the railroads, and unsafe working conditions that led to injury, dismemberment, and death. The U.S. Army was deployed to crush the union strikers. Collusion played a major role, since the railroads loaned the U.S. government the money to pay the Army officers (but not the enlisted men). What this means is that the Army was protecting the railroad barons’ right to harm and exploit their workers. For those who might protest that this was a long time ago, it’s important to point out that these early actions set the precedents for continued use of the military against U.S. citizens, and then proceed with the history lesson.

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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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