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Military Draft and Registration: Are we ready?by Titus Peachey How would a draft work?If the President and Congress would authorize a draft, a lottery would be held to determine the order in which inductees would be called. Those turning 20 years old in the calendar year in which the draft is enacted would be the first to receive call-up notices. Those turning 21 would be called next, and on up through the age of 25 until sufficient numbers were inducted. Those turning 18 and 19 would only be called in the event of a very large personnel requirement. A return to military conscription could include an effort to draft women. Whether or not this effort would succeed, it is important that both young men and young women prepare themselves for this eventuality. Note that current draft guidelines do not provide long-term exemptions for college students as was true of the Vietnam War draft. In a move to make the draft more equitable, college students who are drafted would only be permitted to complete the semester of study during which they received their notice. According to the guidelines, college seniors would be permitted to complete their senior year before reporting for duty. Those youth who are drafted would be given a physical and mental evaluation. After receiving the results of the evaluation, according to one scenario these youth would have ten days in which to submit a request for conscientious objector status. A limited number of other deferments would also be available. For more details, see the Selective Service Web site at: www.sss.gov/whhap.htm There could also be a registry of medical personnel between the ages of 20-45, and a draft of selected
medical personnel. A plan for such a draft, known as the Health Care Personnel Delivery System has been
prepared by Selective Service but would not be passed into law unless there were a national emergency. For
more detailed information, see the following Web sites: Are we ready?Mennonite Central Committee and denominational peace staff continue to monitor developments related to Selective Service and a draft. In addition, the Center on Conscience and War, formerly NISBCO ( www.nisbco.org/ ) in Washington D.C. stands ready to assist. The Center on Conscience and War and MCC are also able to provide counseling for those already in the military who are seeking a discharge. In the event of a draft, many church agencies would likely offer service opportunities which would qualify as alternate service under Selective Service guidelines. No doubt some of the current programs would qualify. However it is clear that many church agencies would need to organize new opportunities for the influx of younger service workers. Selective Service is not maintaining a list of qualified alternate service employers at this time,
but will do so in the event of a draft. Selective Service is also prepared to match conscientious objectors
with jobs that would qualify for alternate service. Individuals wishing to do alternate service could make
their own arrangements with a qualified employer, or ask Selective Service to find an appropriate job and
employer. See the SSS Web site for more details: Military Registration DevelopmentsAs in the past, all 18-year-old males are required to register with Selective Service within 30 days of their 18th birthday. Failure to do so is punishable by fines (up to $250,000) and time in jail (up to 5 years). No one has been prosecuted for failure to register since the early 1980's. Instead, Selective Service has used other methods to ensure compliance with the registration law. Young men who do not register with Selective Service are ineligible for federal student aid and federal jobs. In addition, many states now also deny non-registrants financial aid for education. In the past year a new mechanism to increase registration compliance has been introduced into many states; the requirement to register with Selective Service when applying for or renewing a driver's license. As of June 2004, 32 states, two territories and the District of Colombia had passed such legislation. Many conscientious objectors comply with the Selective Service registration requirement, although many who comply wish it were possible to register as conscientious objectors. For those whose conscience forbids them to cooperate with the Selective Service System in any way, there is help available to obtain education loans. The Mennonite Church USA has a fund which provides loans to assist non-registrants with higher education. Non-registrants wishing to apply for such an education loan or persons wishing to contribute to the fund should contact Kathy Harshbarger (telephone: (574) 294-7523, ; peace.MennoLink.org). A similar fund, FEAT (Fund for Education And Training) is held by the Center on Conscience & War (formerly NISBCO) in Washington D.C. They may be contacted at: telephone: (202) 483-2220, ; www.nisbco.org. Contacts:Titus Peachey Center on Conscience & War
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