From Draft NOtices, April-June 2013
– Sasha Wright
In his January inauguration speech President Obama declared that “a decade of war is now ending,” and “enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.” But the only wars Obama is ending (and even those not 100%) are the big ones, involving large-scale deployment of ground troops, substantial U.S. casualties and direct naked occupations.
As important as it is that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down – to the fury of the Neocons – U.S. militarism continues to spread in new forms. Out of the public eye this administration has killed thousands of civilians in CIA and covert operations drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia; has expanded the U.S. network of small bases around the world; and has provided training and military aid to support proxy wars. These new perpetual wars are the elite's "Plan B" for securing oil and maintaining U.S. economic and military hegemony in a climate of increased global inequality and the instability created by climate change.
Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (COMD)
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Navy Steals: The Military's New Interest in STEM Education
From Draft NOtices, April-June 2013
– Seth Kershner
[Originally published by Bitch Magazine, December 2012, http://bitchmagazine.org/article/navy-steals. Reprinted with permission.]
Although women make up about half of the United States workforce, they represent just 24 percent of careers in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). In order to correct this, major nonprofit groups have been organizing STEM enrichment camps for middle- and high-school girls, driven by the philosophy that more women will pursue STEM careers if their interest is piqued at an early age.
But recently, some girls-only STEM programs have gone beyond fostering interest in science and math among the next generation of women. Branches of the U.S. military – in particular, the Navy – have increasingly been using these programs to market the military to girls as young as 11 and 12.
Founded in 1974, Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) organizes dozens of STEM conferences for middle- and high-school girls each year. According to its website (http://www.expandingyourhorizons.org/), the EYH “recently had the opportunity to partner with the Navy and learn about careers where young women are underrepresented.” They give girls the following pitch: “You probably never gave much thought to having a career with the United States Navy. Many girls don’t. . . . We want to introduce you to several inspiring professional women who are currently active in the Navy and serve on aircraft carriers, who serve as Navy divers, or who serve in other interesting Navy careers.” Accompanying the text is a handy-dandy link to the Navy’s recruiting website.
From Draft NOtices, April-June 2013
– Kathy Gilberd
In January, outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced the lifting of the Combat Exclusion Policy (CEP), which formally excluded women from ground combat service in the military. Panetta’s action, which reflected the unanimous recommendation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will give women potential access to over 230,000 positions previously closed to them. In his announcement Panetta also said, “We are moving forward with a plan to eliminate all unnecessary gender-based barriers to service.” The lifting of the exclusion policy follows a 2012 decision to open more than 14,000 additional positions to women, allowing them to serve in select positions in ground combat units at the brigade.
The change is not immediate, however. While the services must submit plans for integration by this May, the overall plan is set to phase in through 2016, and it may not be universal. Although the formal exclusion is ended, much remains to be determined about this change in policy. DoD has pledged to use gender-neutral physical standards, rather than establishing separate standards for women, and Panetta firmly said, “I’m not talking about reducing the qualifications for the job.” But it is not clear whether physical requirements will be adapted to the differences of various Military Occupational Specialties or will be universal. Some observers believe that it will be difficult for many women to qualify under current standards, particularly those involving upper body strength.
While this action is in many ways historic, in reality women have already been serving in combat despite their formal exclusion. Recently, while women could not serve in combat units, they could be attached to those units; for example, women have served as medics attached to combat units in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The concept of “asymmetrical warfare,” with indistinct boundaries and fronts, has meant that women assigned to non-combat units frequently encounter combat as well. In Afghanistan, women routinely participate in convoys and armed patrols, where they often come under fire. More than 280,000 women have seen service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and about 150 have died in these wars. The government’s figures on injuries are often low, but according to them more than 800 have been wounded. In announcing the lifting of the CEP, Secretary Panetta acknowledged that women have already “become an integral part of our ability to perform our mission.”
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:
