From Draft NOtices, May - June, 2004
— Lorraine Demi
Apparently, deploying troops to Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea and Europe simultaneously is beyond what the U.S. military can do. Yet they're doing it — by holding thousands of soldiers and reservists long past their release dates, against their will, with serious detriment to their health, careers, families and morale.
The Army has begun offering bonuses of up to $10,000 for soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait who will re-enlist for more time in the military. At the same time, though, thousands of soldiers are not being allowed to retire or leave the military for up to 90 days after returning to their home bases. The Army has blocked 40,000 soldiers from leaving the ranks, with about 16,000 of those being National Guard and reservists who were eligible to leave this year. As of December 31, 2003, the Pentagon reported 187,746 National Guard and Reserve troops had been mobilized. Approximately 20% of U.S. troops initially sent to Iraq were reservists or Guard members. This number is expected to double soon. David Segal, director of the Center for Research on Military Organization at the University of Maryland, said, "We have stopped treating the reserves as a force in reserve. Our volunteer army is closer to being broken today than ever before in its 30-year history."
Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (COMD)
From Draft NOtices, May - June, 2004
— Rick Jahnkow
If you were thinking "relief" is spelled K-E-R-R-Y, think again. John Kerry could be just as bad on the issue of militarism — more specifically, the militarization of young people — as the previous several administrations.
Besides the fact that Kerry advocates enlarging the military (imagine spending more on war making than we already are!) and supports continuing the occupation of Iraq, Kerry has a plan for national service that could be an intermediate step in the direction of mandatory civilian/military service.
From Draft NOtices, March - April, 2004
— Rick Jahnkow
Stories have been flying around the Internet warning us that the machinery for a draft is being "oiled" and will be used within a year. They include statements like the following:
"The Selective Service System has lain basically dormant for decades and now in the 2004 budget, Bush has added $28 million to get the whole thing ready to fly in 2005."
"The Pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft board positions and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide."
"$28 Million to get DRAFT READY BY JUNE 15, 2005!!"
"This website will provide absolute proof that Bush is making plans to reinstate the draft by the middle of 2005."
COMD is receiving copies of these articles or alerts every week, and we've spent a lot of time answering questions about whether or not they are true. Unfortunately, much of the information in them is inaccurate or untrue; and while there are reasons for people to be concerned about the possibility of a future draft, the current hysteria caused by these rumors is diverting attention from other immediate issues that could, in fact, increase the chances of a draft later if they aren't addressed more vigorously now.
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:
