Young men starting to feel a draft

[AndyTiedye]

Some anxious about registering; Pentagon denies plans for return

09:20 PM CDT on Friday, June 24, 2005

By ANDREW BECKER / The Dallas Morning News

Brandon Carter feels like a wanted man. He says military recruiters have pestered him so much that he's nervous about registering with the Selective Service.


Mr. Carter, a 17-year-old DeSoto High School graduate from Red Oak, said recruiters have called him for months – up to four times a day recently – trying to lure him into service with promises of college tuition. But anxious about fighting in a war he doesn't believe in, he wonders whether a draft could be next if the U.S. cannot keep up its volunteer troop strength.
...

Pentagon database opposed

That question – Will there be a draft? – emerged repeatedly in interviews with young men facing the Selective Service sign-up rules. Their parents said registration conjures images of draft boards, the Vietnam War and the false promises that the war would soon be over while raising fears that their sons could be forced to go to war.
"How quickly can we get out of this war before my son has to go?" asked Jeff Balthrop, a DeSoto West Junior High School teacher....

Compliance rate

Last year, the Selective Service registered 15.6 million young men 18 to 25 years old, a national average compliance rate of 94 percent. Texas has historically ranked below the national average of registered young men. Last year, its rate was 89 percent for that age group.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/062505dnnatdraft.4104c275.html

[eleonora]

1. you know

They will deny it until they make their 'compelling case' for a draft. I give it 2 years.

[lenidog]

4. One of these days I think we will end up with the draft

you might be right it may be 2 years up the road or 10 but sooner or later it will start up again. During the 90s they talked about it because besides the Marines everyone was missing their quotas. People just weren't interested.

[Ayesha]

40. Off topic but...

Love your Thylacines!

On topic...if there is a draft I volunteer to be part of any Underground Railroad that forms to help people escape. So add me to your buddy list now and hopefully the government will have forgotten/not noticed by the time the draft rolls around. ;)

[YellowRubberDuckie]

64. I'd sure as hell give money to the Underground Railroad Cause.

When it comes time, I'll give whatever I can to help those kids stay away from war!
Duckie

[AndyTiedye]

66. For Now, There is the Jason Tharp Memorial Scholarship Fund

because nobody should have to join the Marines to try to get money for art school.
(Jason Tharp was the Marine who drowned in the pool during "water survival training" under highly suspicouls circumstances last February).

They are in the process of applying for 501c(3) status.

[BrendaStarr]

42. Neocons calling for a second 9/11 to get the nation's head on straight

Which makes me want to build a fallout shelter.

I know the nukes that might be unleashed, would be minor, but it should work against gas and whatever attack that would be most likely to affect my home.

Then we'd have to stay home a lot though.

Article: http://jameswolcott.com/archives/2005/06/superpatriot_pe.php


Then after their second 9/11 they could get a draft, hands down.

[MADem]

8. Unless we take Congress, it could be right after the mid term elections

It's getting very rough over there, more fodder is needed. I swear, this is why they are retooling the draft board regs, gathering up volunteers to serve on boards, and scouting out office space. They will need to get it up and running in a hurry, but they don't want a long, public run-up so as to avoid be much discussion. Every time Charlie Rangel rubs their noses in it, they slap it down quickly and try to divert the discussion.

Instead, they will insist there will be NO draft right up until there is one. They'll do it quick and sneaky, lay it on us in the dead of night, unless we can take back the Congress...

[Cobalt Violet]

21. I agree, right after the 2006 election. n/t

[kypper]

26. They're going to use the draft to win 2008

They're going to make it impossible to leave by 2006 so that if the democrats get into congress, then they'll be forced to call a draft, promptly tanking any chance of winning the presidency in 2008.

Not that I want Hillary in there... but Jeb is such a bad thought.
Please let Clark get on the ticket.

[lastliberalintexas]

38. I can't see how they have even that long

Even the Air Force and Navy are starting to have problems with recruiting, now that a few of their guys are being sent over there- esp the Navy, which is even having trouble keeping people in (voluntarily) past their initial term.

I'm certainly no expert, but I just don't see how we can go another year and a half without some sort of upswing in enlistment, whether voluntary or not.

[AndyTiedye]

62. Easy

I just don't see how we can go another year and a half without some sort of upswing in enlistment, whether voluntary or not.

That's Easy...

GET OUT OF IRAQ!

[lyonn]

57. Sounds like the Iraqi war buildup style

Deny that you have plans but the plans are on the table, beef up bombing in Iraq months before the UN appearance and the Senate vote. It's called getting your ducks in a row and then let the dummies know that they did all they could to avoid the war (draft) but they were left no options.

You are right, wait until after the 06 election. How long can we keep those same troops over there rotating in and out every 6 mos. or year?

[kster]

51. I hope it doesn't take 2 years

sad to say we need the draft to wake people the f*ck up.

Without the draft more soldiers will be killed from not having enough people there to help them, and the people in this country think the soldiers there can fight forever. Well they can't and somethings got to give.

[AndyTiedye]

58. With The Draft They Will Invade Iran and Syria and...

...Venezuela and North Korea and who knows how many other countries.

Then we'll protest, and they will call up even more troops to put down
the protests and enforce martial law. Perhaps they will MIHOP again.

If we can prevent the draft, they will have to end the war.

[AndyTiedye]

63. Wake People Up to Do What?

sad to say we need the draft to wake people the f*ck up.

People are awake already. Most don't seem to have figured out what
to do about the mess that ** has got us into. Have you?

Without the draft more soldiers will be killed from not having enough people there to help them,

Help them do what? Level Fallujah? They already did that.
"Pacify" the rest of Iraq?
What good can our troops possibly do there now, having earned the
hatred of practically everyone?

Our troops won't need any help leaving.

and the people in this country think the soldiers there can fight forever. Well they can't and somethings got to give.

What will give is the war. Sooner, rather than much later the way
it was in Vietnam.

[loveable liberal]

2. Simple solution: No Iraq or Afghan clause. recruitment will pick up.

After all the military should be used to DEFEND our country, not go galavanting around the world to secure oil and oil pipelines. Congress should act, but instead they're willing to draft people rather thank admit they made a mistake. People who vote republican hate government but trust it blindly when it comes to invasions. Dopes.

[eleonora]

6. well...there are many more countries to invade...

such a clause is too narrow, unfortunately.

[MADem]

9. Sort of like the time limit on the enlistment contract?

And all those stop-loss orders? The contract is not worth the paper it is printed on, in national emergency, the President can send you anywhere, everywhere for as long as you are needed. Clause or no clause...

And the place that they need people is Iraq...we've got civilians doing a massive amount of the work both over there and stateside, but what they need is kids in Humvees wearing body armor and carrying weapons. That's where the shortages are.

[JerseygirlCT]

18. And anyone who would believe they would hold to such a

clause is a fool.

[lenidog]

3. Damm! California is at 61 % compliance

I would have never guessed it to be that low.

[assclown_bush]

56. Hurrah! I'm glad that Californians are NOT enlisting.

Why should we? We didn't vote for the "war pReznit" so why should we enlist to fight in HIS war? Let the RED states fight the war. I'm gay so I shouldn't have to fight in any war where I am not wanted as a soldier. The military can bugger off.

HELL NO WE WON'T GO!!!

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. my cynical self is going GOOD

maybe they will remember to vote in '06 and actually get involved... it will take a draft for the people to take to the streets. Oh and I and others have made the case before... suffice it to say the only US Draft that had no oposition was WW II

[mitchum]

31. As is mine

and for the same reasons

[AndyTiedye]

61. It is Too Dangerous to Give THEM That Kind of Power

maybe they will remember to vote in '06 and actually get involved...

We voted in '04 (or at least we tried to), but we got robbed again.
Kerry got more votes than any Democrat before him, ever. It wasn't
enough, because the machinez voted for Bush**.

They are stealing the elections.

it will take a draft for the people to take to the streets.

While taking to the streets is good for letting people in other
countries know that we disapprove of the war, they are the only
ones who hear about our protests. They have been largely ignored
by the rethuglican media. We protestors are always kept out of
sight and hearing of Bush**.

As it stands now, people can vote against the war with their feet.
They can walk away when the recruiters come calling. We are winning
that vote, and their Diebold voting machinez won't turn it around for
them.

[lebkuchen]

7. If June's recruitment quota is off the mark, it will be a bellwether

for July and August, all three typically high recruitment months. After that, draft-age folks can start to worry because the Bushies will have played their entire military numbers hand, save for the joker.

Once the draft kicks in, sites like DU and Buzzflash will see a boon in their own recruits, without even trying, not that either site would welcome the draft. Prepare to go "mainstream."

[MADem]

10. They reduced annual goals by a massive percentage

...and they aren't even making the reduced goals. It is a disaster for recruiting, one of the worst years ever on record. They would have to have a bang up summer, better than any ever, to make goal by end of year (which for the military, is Sep 30). It is not going to happen, the real question is, how bad will it be?

[tabasco]

22. The neocons have a choice.

Either scale back military operations, or institute a draft.

Hmmmmmm, I wonder which they will choose, considering that the "New American Century" is their stated goal.

If I was 18 right now, I would be worried. But the pinheads that support Bush are too stupid to see the writing on the wall.

[lebkuchen]

45. The Bushies see the writing on the wall, and want to avoid "going there"

at all costs.

In the end, their ludicrously insane decisions will cost America plenty.

[loveable liberal]

43. Bush cant draft....Remember papa's "no new taxes"??

Push that hard and even the puke side will be taking a hard look at chimpy's behavior

[lebkuchen]

46. Papa Bush has been praying with Billy lately

"Dear Lord, why oh why couldn't Jebbie have taken over the reigns instead of my nitwit drug-addled son? What will become of the Bush family legacy?"

[AnotherMother4Peace]

50. Have the #'s at DU been increasing at a greater rate since Bush's

deceptions are becoming more apparent? I consider myself kinda mainstream, & I find a kindredness here. I wouldn't be surprised if many of the members & lurkers here consider themselves very much mainstream, more so than the crooks in the White House.

[ngGale]

11. Parent's are getting concerned over all the calls at home ...

one of my friend's is having a hissy fit. They call so much, I told her not to allow him to answer the phone. I took on a recruiter before Gulf War I, trying to get my son to quit high school and join up. I'm a Vietnam mom - he and I got on real friendly terms. I told my son there was going to be a war, they never asked a kid to leave school. Last call my son had just started college, he was majoring in music - I told the recruiter we didn't do war in our family. Been there, done that - didn't appreciate it.

I'm betting on a draft, they are hitting the kids hard. When they do have one, the kids will have no choice but to go. After the '06 election - IF they can wait that long.

[HughBeaumont]

23. No Choice?

WRONG. They DO have a choice. What are they going to do . . . incarcerate EVERY kid who chooses NOT to serve in the Oily Bloodbath? Our prisons are overcrowded as it is and we have no funding to add wings to them. Nobody HAS to die for bullshit (which is what this is), and believe me, once the millions of now-mouse-people wake the hell up and realize this if there IS a draft, you're going to see mobilization like never before. The riots and demonstrations will be at 60s levels. Unless the evil government's actions personally affects them, Dumberica will sit on their asses and pick their noses at the latest pretty white girl kidnapping on the news.

Alas, neo-clowns are stupid, but not THAT stupid. They know a draft would be political suicide; not just now, but forever. We're now witnessing the punchline of the comedy that is the never-admitting-wrongdoing Bush Administration.

[annabanana]

32. Maybe the recipients of that HUGE tax break..

would let Bush have some of it back to jail the resisters..
jes' sayin'

[Selatius]

12. I don't see how Republicans can pull a draft without a cover

It would be political suicide for Republicans who are up for a run in 2006 or '08 to get behind it.

They need a good excuse to pull one, and right now, another terrorist attack seems like the perfect "rally 'round the flag" excuse to pull the draft card.

[kypper]

28. See my post above

They'll sacrifice 2006 to force the Democrats to do the deed, guaranteeing them 2008.
Just like Rove to do that.

[Broken_Hero]

13. I give the draft a year...

I'm pretty sure young men and women will be getting a nice card from GWB congratulating them on becoming a part of the force, that will fight terrorism. Damn, i can just see me burning that card now *ponders the irony*. I give it a year, its going to happen, if we proceed with this frigging insanity.

[Old Vet]

14. Selective Service board Volunteers Needed..........

Ad in local upstate paper says that local town looking for volunteers to work the selective service board. No kidding.

[Skittles]

15. welcome to the DU, Old Vet

I've seen that too. I believe these neocon assholes are not done with us yet by a long shot - they have their eyes on Iran and Syria.

[davsand]

27. I volunteered for that board and never got any response back from them.

I'd been reading here at DU about the idea that progressives should volunteer to serve on the local draft boards, and it made good sense to me. I figured if a draft came back those kids needed to see at least ONE face there that didn't view them as expendable, so i went ahead and volunteered.

I sent in that application form about four months ago. I have never even heard a word in response.


Laura

[ticapnews]

60. I applied as well and never heard back...

I think they consider me "too young." I'm 31.

[Igel]

36. Every once in a while they exhaust their list of

applicants, and recruit new ones.

I have a form around here some place I keep meaning to fill out and send in. No rush, though, the Board here's staffed and they have a volunteer list.

Selective Services Boards have been continuously staffed, and their plans regularly updated every few years ... by law ... since soon after the draft was ended in the '70s.

[union_maid]

16. It's a lose/lose

A draft with a war that has 39% support of the American people? That'll work. People are going to sit still for that. Not...

[hadrons]

17. BTW, the College Republicans are throwing a party ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1580379

someone enlist these cowards

[vapro]

19. 1140 AM Radio Station Richmond Virginia Asking for Enlistment

I was returning from a conference yesterday and was near Richmond, Virginia. I had tuned the radio to the AM dial to find out about an accident that held up traffic on I-64 for an hour. The radio station was 1140 AM. I could not believe what some fool "host" was spouting over the air waves. He actually was telling people who had children to get them to enlist in the military to protect the 1st Amendment. "We are fighting a war, and people do not understand this," he spewed. Callers who disagreed were cut off. "It does not matter if people agree with Bush or not. Parents should just get their children to enlist." This fool believes the US is in Iraq to fight and conquer terrorists. I wanted to call in but I had no phone service. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. I have a 17 year old son. There is no way in hell he will be fighting in a "war" that was created by that idiot. I did not vote for him in either election. I do not believe in anything he has done. It still amazes me that 51% of the registered voters voted for him. People in this country are such sheep. They believe anything that is told to them because it is the easiest path of resistance. That way they will not have to do any work such as think. But I love the fact that the chimp's ratings have fallen even further.

[yorkiemommie1]

37. that's their new talking point

to convince parents that if the draft comes about, it's because parents were not patriotic enough to get their kids to enlist.

[UCSBLiberalCat53]

59. Go figure

Of course that host would never have told any of his family members to enlist.

[saigon68]

20. TELL THE RECRUITERS TO GO "FUCK THEMSELVES"

TELL THEM THEY ARE RUSTIC MORONS AND TOOLS OF THE BUSH CRIMINALS

TELL THEM THEY ARE THUGS

THEY WILL THEN LEAVE YOU ALONE.

[rocktivity]

24. Don't worry--they'll only be drafting people with "special" skills

Computer skills (which you have if you've ever touched one)
Linguistic skills (which you have if you've ever ordered Chinese food)
Medical skills (which you have if you can breathe unassisted)
But your first stop will be the Infantry in Afghanistan of Iraq, or course...

:headbang:
rocknation

[mitchum]

30. What? They don't need Business majors?

I guess this is how they will protect the precious asses of so many college repukes.

[pie]

25. Dayglo Orange body bag

I would get that in writing.
Don't be shipping me around in black or drab green!

Particularly if my destination were to be Iran.
I think the odds of coming back in a bag are just too
high not to make arrangements in advance.

Dayglo Orange (perhaps an ultra bright Lime Green).

[tomg]

29. I just sent away t

for an application to be a Selective Service Board Member. I joined National Guard in Jan. 1970 ( when National Guard meant "Not Going," or, as draftees and enlistees called us No fuckin Good.) Long story short, after Kent State and while going through basic, I filed for CO, which automatically activated me into regular army (TDA to my home NG unit). After two years, I won and was discharged. Here is where it gets weird. That put me back in the Selective Service pool with my local board, who immediately tried to draft me. I gave them all of my documentation, and they turned it down, and rejected the findings of the military court in Washington, classified me 1A all over and since my original number was 36, I was off to get my physical (again). At induction, they kick me out - I'm a CO with a discharge from the US Armed Services. This actually went on for months. My draft board made it clear they had never given a CO deferment and never would give a CO deferment. They finally gave me a 1H. I'm still not sure what that means.

In short, back in the 1960s, there was no direct administrative connection between the Selective Service and the Armed Forces. And people on the boards - at least my board - were, shall we say, slightly to the right of Atilla the Hun. I imagine it is the same. When the draft comes back, better that a wide range of people are on those boards - and I mean a wide range.

[annabanana]

33. Hi tomg

I agree with you. If we can staff these boards with some regular Americans, rather that the hypnotised Fox folks.. We might be able to do some kids some real good....

Oh, and Welcome to
DU!:toast:

........as we swim around in a time warp...

[annabanana]

34. Hi tomg

I agree with you. If we can staff these boards with some regular Americans, rather that the hypnotised Fox folks.. We might be able to do some kids some real good....

Oh, and Welcome to
DU!:toast:

........as we swim around in a time warp...

[leesa]

35. All those red necks with Bush/Cheney stickers and NO FEAR stickers

on their giant trucks. What a bunch of wimps!

[Timmy5835]

39. I'll start worring when.......

When you can get a majority of Congress Members to support a draft then worry. But I don't think that's likely, that is if they want to get re-elected.

[AspenRose]

41. COLLEGE REPUBLICANS FIRST

I think it should be a national campaign all over college campuses.

DRAFT YOUNG REPUBLICANS FIRST.

I'll see your little 'affirmative action' bake sales and kick it up a notch, Biff!

[lateo]

44. If the draft does happen...I think it would be a good time...

to remind the people about Dumbya's ANG record.

[MountainMama]

47. I think so, too....

but this draft business scares the hell out of me. My handsome, talented, intelligent oldest nephew just turned 17 and will be a senior in high school this fall. The thoughts of him having to join the military through a draft and being sent off to god-knows-where for this illegality just terrifies me. I have another nephew turning 13 next week and I pray this government returns to some form of sanity before his 18th birthday.

I'm in AZ, but I swear if this draft talk gets serious, I'm buying a ticket to Washington. My darlings will be drafted over my dead body.

[TeddyBear77]

48. I WILL NEVER GO

I'm 22, and I will NEVER EVER GO to fight in Bush's oil war. But I won't run to Canada either. That is the pussy move.

No, I will sit in jail just like Muhammed Ali did. That is the brave thing to do. Only cowards run away.

[burrowowl]

53. Welcome to DU, TeddyBear!

You are a brave one!

[mondo joe]

49. Fuck people who only care when it comes to their son. But it's

what will bring Bush down.

[DarkAngel]

52. I won't go, I can't go.

I can't kill people who have done nothing to me. This is not a just war.

[burrowowl]

54. Welcome to DU, DarkAngel!

You are right, it is not a just war!

[VegasWolf]

55. Well, now that the election is over Bush can start talking about a

draft. Gotta keep that oil flowing.

[pfitz59]

65. Have no fear...Labor Ready is here!

http://press.arrivenet.com/bus/article.php/658571.html

"Labor Ready, Inc. (NYSE:LRW) and the Army National Guard are teaming to offer flexible work opportunities for members of the Guard through Labor Ready offices nationwide."