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.

New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE) is a collective of New York City public school employees who believe that radical change is necessary in our country’s school system. We began the creation of “Military Myths: Combating Military Recruitment in the Classroom” as part of a widespread response to the increased efforts of military recruiters in New York City high schools. NYCoRE stands firmly against US militarism both at home and abroad. We believe that drastic cuts in state and city education budgets are indicative of the war being waged against low income youth, especially youth of color. Lacking sound educational institutions in low-income communities, military recruiters see this as an opportunity to encourage young people to join the military after high school. We must combat the effort of military recruiters to colonize our school hallways, lunchrooms, and courtyards. Teachers must proactively address military myths with their students and challenge them to seek alternatives to enlisting in the military.

Download NYCoRE’s Military Myths Curriculum

Fernado Suarez’s son, Jesus, a Marine, was killed early in the war. Fernando was with the VFP and Global Exchange group in Iraq. Thank you to Jorge Mariscal from the Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities YANO for the translation.

Hello everyone: All is as well as can be. I was finally able to go to the place where my son Jesus had his accident, a very lonely place near where there used to be an Iraqi National Guard base. I was able to stand in the exact spot where Jesus fell. I placed the crucifix that my wife gave me in the ground and prayed, asking that wherever he is that he help us find peace. I took some earth, which may still hold Jesus’ blood, for my return trip so that I can plant a white rosebush in a park in Escondido and place a sign that says: “For peace and brotherhood between two fraternal nations–USA and Iraq–in memory of Jesus Suarez del Solar Navarro and all the fallen in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

It was a painful experience. I wept, yes, I wept out of control and I asked my son’s forgiveness for the times I was a bad father, for the times I punished him unjustly, and I know that from that marvelous place he now inhabits he responded that he loved me very much. I lost strength and the friends who were with me came to my aid and held me up, they all wept with me. The press was there and they turned off their cameras and wept too and prayed that my son’s soul rest in peace.

Finally, my spirit calmed itself a bit. I now have more energy than ever because I am convinced that the energy my son left in that place has been transferred to my body and that he will be with me, nearer than ever, always protecting me.
I will tell you about other activities later. Thank you for your invaluable support, thank you, and receive greetings from all my travel companions.

Peace, Fernando Suarez

By Lila Schow
February, 2004
from International Action Organization
"The ultimate test of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and moments of convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge and moments of controversy."
–Martin Luther King, Jr., 27 January 1965

Iraq invaded Kuwait August 2, 1990. Later that month Jeff Patterson, a US Marine sat on a Hawaiian runway, refusing to board the plane that was to take him to Saudi Arabia. His action stemmed from disgust at being forced to fight for "American profits and cheap oil".³ Arrested and confined to brig in Pearl Harbor¹¹ he later received an Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharge.³

Patterson is one of 2,500 estimated conscientious objectors enlisted in the military during the 1991 Gulf War. "A subsequent General Accounting Office investigation placed the number closer to 500, but this failed to include those who were jailed for refusing orders."⁶

In 1962, DoD (Department of Defense) Directive 1300.6 created a path for conscientious objectors (CO’s) to receive a complete discharge from the military or transfer to non-combat duties.¹ To meet the qualifications for CO status, a soldier must prove that they have a sincere objection (moral, ethical or religious) to all forms of war.²

Any soldier applying for a CO "solely upon considerations of policy, pragmatism, expediency, or political views" will not qualify for discharge or transfer under DoD 1300.6.¹

The process of receiving a CO discharge is intimidating, difficult and not widely known to Americans in or out of military service. And why should it be easy? As Army Lt. Col Ryan Yantis says, "It’s disingenuous for a soldier to wake up and say they never knew they were joining the Army to fight wars. … It’s much like a fire [fighter] suddenly realizing, ‘You mean I have to fight a fire?’" ⁴