By Angela Garcia

Will there be a draft or not?

The short and simple answer, yes. It already exists. The draft is a permanent part of the US constitution. The only thing that is required for it to be active is for Congress to authorize induction and allocate money. The Military Selective Service Act will never expire. Induction ended after Vietnam but in 1980, Jimmy Carter revitalized the SSS (Selective Service System)¹ after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

During Bush’s campaign, he promised that there would be no new draft. He doesn’t need one. The Army’s “stop loss orders,” also known as the “back door draft,” prohibits a soldier from retiring or quitting when they complete their required assignment. The all-volunteer army is under massive distress. Donald Rumsfeld stated, “The United States has “inadequate total numbers” of troops.”²

For the first time since 1994, the Army National Guard has not met their recruiting goals³. They are now trying to motivate soldiers to re-enlist in the combat zones by offering them tax-free incentives and bonus pay. They also are transferring Air Force soldiers into the Army.⁴

Why are recruiters having a tough time? It is harder for them to lie. They are finding it challenging to deceive young potential recruits. Young people are not so gullible. The recruiter will down play war but would-be-enlistees are not stupid; they are seeing through all of the recruiter’s deception.

Often times, the recruiter will tell young people that they will never see combat because of their technical skill. They base this on their Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test results. What the ASVAB tests really do are track students into military jobs. The higher the score, the more jobs they have to choose from. The lower scorers are recruited for infantry or as tank drivers. Recruiters use this score to promise the best jobs but young person beware: the tactics of the recruiters are getting trickier and more deceptive. So do not believe them when they say you would be the last person to fight in a war.

Drafting students from high school: JROTC & Recruiters

Despite the recent down turn in recruitment goals, the recruiters are visiting schools two or more times a week! They have fancy websites full of interactive gizmos and a stellar video game that hypnotizes even the most innocent and vulnerable. How, you ask, do they have the resources to keep up this recruiting campaign? The Department of Defense of course! They have a gluttonous hand in the pocket of the taxpayer. How else can they justify buying Hummers and flight simulators and promotional give-aways like back packs, key chains, shirts, sweaters, et cetera.

School administrators are rolling out the red carpet for federal funding in the form of programs like Junior Reserve Officer Training (JROTC). This program masks their intention of conscription by saying it is for “at-risk-youth.” Students respond to this type of discipline because it is the only one offered to them. Their choices: jail or JROTC.

How do you resist the forbidden fruit from the serpent? Do not sign up for the Delayed Entry/Enlistment Program, or Deferred Enlistment Program. Though the draft is already in effect, if Congress declares war, it is highly likely that the DEP will be legal. As it stands now, if you are signed up in the DEP, you are not obligated to enlist. You can simply not show up to your reporting place and you are out.

Next step is to declare your self a conscientious objector. You don’t need to know how to spell it, but you should start saying right away that you don’t believe in killing another human being. In fact, you don’t have to be a pacifist or have a religious affiliation. For more information contact the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO). ⁵

Do not join JROTC; instead, join a community organization working for social change. They are doing real work and trying to make our society safer, sane, and democratic. You can better serve your community and country by taking action locally instead of adding to the destruction of the world by participating in the domination of it.

Remember, recruiters are like strangers offering candy. What did you learn about taking things from strangers? Don’t.

Angela Garcia is a volunteer at Voices in the Wilderness and co-founder of Non-Military Alternatives Project based in Chicago.

1. Almost all male U.S. citizens, and male aliens living in the U.S., who are 18 through 25, are required to register with Selective Service. This includes: Non-Citizens, dual nationals, hospitalized or incarcerated men, disabled men, full-time military, national guard and reservists, and conscientious objectors. www.sss.gov/FSwho.htm
2. Duluth News Tribune 10/21/04
3. Associated Press 09/24/04
4. Washington Times 09/30/04
5. www.objector.org