What would you do if there was a draft?

[Luv2Fall 0]

Retired from the Army..................anyway, I'm to old and ugly now.

[freakflyer9999 1]

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I'm already registered for the selective service, and have been since 18, as all American males are supposed to.

Not true. I'm not registered for the draft, nor was I ever required to do so.

Though I wasn't required to register, I had already decided that I would move to Canada if the draft had continued. I wasn't against the possiblity of giving my life for others, but I was against giving my life in vain.

That was a different situation though. My son is registered for the draft and my advice to him is to understand what he is being asked to do and then to make a decision based on his values. He and I have discussed this on several occasions. He has indicated that he would be willing to serve, however he would not be willing to serve in a position that would require him to take another life.

[vmsfreaky1 0]

I'd avoid it. Then leave the country.

[TheAnvil 0]

I would drink tequila....oh wait...I do that already...er...I'd skydive...and drink tequila...er...no...I do that already...er....

I wouldn't do a damned thing different!

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[Kennedy 0]

rephrase: all American males are required to, under age 26 not serving active duty.

http://www.sss.gov/FSwho.htm

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WHO MUST REGISTER

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. It's important to know that even though he is registered, a man will not automatically be inducted into the military. In a crisis requiring a draft, men would be called in sequence determined by random lottery number and year of birth. Then, they would be examined for mental, physical and moral fitness by the military before being deferred or exempted from military service or inducted into the Armed Forces.

A chart of who must register is also available.

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[Jimbo 0]

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I'd avoid it. Then leave the country.

What do you suppose the punishment for that ought to be?

Me, I think it should be severe. Our/Your country isn't perfect (no one is), but since you haven't packed up and moved elsewhere I have to assume that it's good enough for you. Should you be allowed to enjoy the benefits of citizenship without giving back when called upon to do so?

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[beowulf 1]

If a draft is started up I will join up.

[billvon 2,435]

>What do you suppose the punishment for that ought to be?

Nothing. I think everyone should be free to leave. But if he tries to re-enter, he is treated as any other foreign immigrant who wishes to live in the US.

[Jimbo 0]

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>What do you suppose the punishment for that ought to be?

Nothing. I think everyone should be free to leave. But if he tries to re-enter, he is treated as any other foreign immigrant who wishes to live in the US.

My thoughts exactly.

Are you suggesting that fleeing after you're called would be cause for removal/revokation/suspension of citizenship?

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[Erroll 49]

Out of curiosity, does the US draft system/legislation allow for the concept of "Conscientious objector", and if so, how is it normally handled?

[Jimbo 0]

Yes, the United States allows for Conscientious Objectors to escape military service, though COs can be required to serve in an alternate capacity.

From http://www.sss.gov/FSconsobj.htm.

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ALTERNATIVE SERVICE
Conscientious Objectors opposed to serving in the military will be placed in the Selective Service Alternative Service Program. This program attempts to match COs with local employers. Many types of jobs are available, however the job must be deemed to make a meaningful contribution to the maintenance of the national health, safety, and interest. Examples of Alternative Service are jobs in:

1. conservation

2. caring for the very young or very old

3. education

4. health care

Length of service in the program will equal the amount of time a man would have served in the military, usually 24 months.

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Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[DrunkMonkey 0]

If the draft was reactivated, I'd have serious reservations about the quality of individuals pressed into service against their wishes. The percentage of sh*tbags in your average flight would skyrocket. The costs would probably be higher taking care of sh**bags than it would to attract more quality volunteers.

[RoadRash 0]

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>Honestly; what would you do?

May not be such a hypothetical question:
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U.S. eyes proposal to draft women
Toronto Star

WASHINGTON—The chief of the U.S. Selective Service System has proposed registering women for the military draft and requiring that young Americans regularly inform the government about whether they have training in niche specialties needed in the armed services.

The proposal, which the agency's acting director Lewis Brodsky presented to senior Pentagon officials just before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, also seeks to extend the age of draft registration to 34, up from 25.

The issue of a renewed draft has gained attention because of concern that U.S. military forces are stretched thin because of worldwide commitments.
---------------------------------------------

This is an issue that I have been curious about lately. Should women be included in the draft? And from the snippit that was posted, what kind of "specialties" do they refer to? Maybe women with medical training (nurses/doctors), or other areas?

I would really like to know what the guys think about women being drafted....pros/cons...Support/not support...


~R+R...I have thought previously about joining the military, and pretty recently had someone as me to speak to his recruiter, just to hear what he has to say...

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Fly the friendly skies...^_^...})ii({...^_~...

[Jimbo 0]

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If the draft was reactivated, I'd have serious reservations about the quality of individuals pressed into service against their wishes. The percentage of sh*tbags in your average flight would skyrocket.

Possibly, but even the shittiest of the shitbags most likely has a will to live and will do what he can to protect himself - kill the enemy.

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The costs would probably be higher taking care of sh**bags than it would to attract more quality volunteers.

I'm thinking that if we had enough quality volunteers that we wouldn't have a need for the draft.

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[billvon 2,435]

>Should women be included in the draft?

Yes. Many military positions nowadays do not involve heavy lifting or sheer size.

>And from the snippit that was posted, what kind of "specialties" do
> they refer to? Maybe women with medical training (nurses/doctors),
> or other areas?

Well, if the draft got started back up, Amy would probably get sent to a hospital as an orthopedic or trauma surgeon. There are so many specialties where it is the person's skills, rather than their size or strength, that matters:

-Air traffic controller
-Telecom engineer
-Aircrews
-Aircraft maintenance
-Logistics support

[markd_nscr986 0]

well ok then.....I'll be serious...enlist........USMC

Marc SCR 6046 SCS 3004

[panzwami 0]

Both my parents are former Air Force officers. My father graduated from the Academy in 1969 and retired in 1999 as a Colonel, and my mother went to OTS after school after her brother, an F-4 back-seater, was shot down and captured in Vietnam. Both went to Southeast Asia.

They made absolutely sure that on my 18th birthday I was in line at the Post Office registering for the draft. If the call was issued, I would report for duty, no question.

[kelpdiver 2]

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Me, I think it should be severe. Our/Your country isn't perfect (no one is), but since you haven't packed up and moved elsewhere I have to assume that it's good enough for you. Should you be allowed to enjoy the benefits of citizenship without giving back when called upon to do so?

Jim

That argument is a hard one to make with regards to Iraq. Removing Hussein from power was a foreign policy goal of the US for 13 years. But nation building is not. Same for Vietnam. With the USSR and the cold war gone, politicians will not be able to force a draft without a real threat, and we don't have enough people to attack every (non nuclear) axis of evil.

WWII was a much simpler one to defend the draft for. Even our oceans weren't enough to protect us from aerial and submarine attack. Heck - a Japanese sub even started shelling the California coast.

A restored draft should not exclude women, and penalties similar to the past should be adequete.

[Jimbo 0]

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That argument is a hard one to make with regards to Iraq.

No it's not. As a citizen you don't get to pick and choose the wars that you might be called to serve in. If the draft is reinstated, for whatever reason, it's your duty as a citizen to register, and to go if you're called up. You know that old saying, "Freedom isn't free"?

If you object to the war you can try and get CO status and serve in an alternate capacity. I wish you, and anyone else, luck with that route. I believe that CO status is difficult to get. The other alternative is to desert your country in her time of need. Do that and I have no problem with whatever punishment the people decide is appropriate.

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[sdgregory 0]

My American duty. Serve. The price of Freedom is that some must defend it. And I would gladly fight for the freedom of those incapable of fighting for themselves.

I served before. I would do it again. No questions asked.

For those who would run to Canada, I would gladly serve two terms to take up your slack.

[sdgregory 0]

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>What do you suppose the punishment for that ought to be?

Nothing. I think everyone should be free to leave. But if he tries to re-enter, he is treated as any other foreign immigrant who wishes to live in the US.

I can accept this condition. How do we make it law?


Imagine the scenario. Ole Bob decides to flee to France in order to evade the draft. The draft ends and the crisis is ended. Ole Bob decides to come back to the States. Upon reaching the border He comes across Billy Boy who served in the crisis gladly and is now a customs or imigration agent. When Ole Bob shows identification Billy Boy sees Ole Bob is a draft dodger. Ole Bob is told, sorry you cannot cross the border without a visa from his home country. You are no longer a citizen of the United States. Unfortunately he was only living in France but was not a citizen and now he has no way of securing a visa. Or if he was a citizen of France, the US denies his visa. And all his assests are given to some child whose father died in the crisis. Have a nice life!


I like it!

[lifewithoutanet 0]

I'd get in a line and go...into service, not Canada. I may not up and just volunteer, but I wouldn't dodge if drafted.
-C.

[pajarito 0]

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Imagine the scenario. Ole Bob decides to flee to France in order to evade the draft. The draft ends and the crisis is ended. Ole Bob decides to come back to the States. Upon reaching the border He comes across Billy Boy who served in the crisis gladly and is now a customs or imigration agent. When Ole Bob shows identification Billy Boy sees Ole Bob is a draft dodger. Ole Bob is told, sorry you cannot cross the border without a visa from his home country. You are no longer a citizen of the United States. Unfortunately he was only living in France but was not a citizen and now he has no way of securing a visa. Or if he was a citizen of France, the US denies his visa. And all his assests are given to some child whose father died in the crisis. Have a nice life!

I like that scenario. It wouldn't matter, though. He could just come back some way illegally and we'll give him the rights and privilages of legal citizens. It doesn't pay to follow the rules.

[juanesky 0]

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That argument is a hard one to make with regards to Iraq. Removing Hussein from power was a foreign policy goal of the US for 13 years. But nation building is not. Same for Vietnam. With the USSR and the cold war gone, politicians will not be able to force a draft without a real threat, and we don't have enough people to attack every (non nuclear) axis of evil.

WWII was a much simpler one to defend the draft for. Even our oceans weren't enough to protect us from aerial and submarine attack. Heck - a Japanese sub even started shelling the California coast.

A restored draft should not exclude women, and penalties similar to the past should be adequete.

So I guess the attack on the WTC was in foreign soil, and the threat of radical islamist trying to destroy this country as well as any other is not sufficient?

"According to some of the conservatives here, it sounds like it's fine to beat your wide - as long as she had it coming." -Billvon

[Erroll 49]

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If you object to the war you can try and get CO status and serve in an alternate capacity. I wish you, and anyone else, luck with that route. I believe that CO status is difficult to get. -
Jim

Thanks for your earlier reply, Jim.
On the subject of CO's- How are CO's likely to be received by the community and the draftees? Is there any stigma attached to these folk? When we (SA) had full conscription, most conscientious objectors were detained and spent two years doing menial tasks such as base maintenance, gardening and cleaning. Since they did not get to have a lot of contact with the civilian population, there were few problems there. However, the CO's were not very popular (to put it mildly) with the serving members.