Should The U.S. Draft Be Reinstated

1
Should The U.S. Draft Be Reinstated?

• Anthony Holly, Christina Jones, Nicole Lewis,
  Nicholas Wade

2
The U.S. DraftWhat exactly is it?

• The US Draft is when the government uses a
  lottery system to summon most men aged 18-25 to
  serve in the military
• Only occurs when the military needs more troops
  than they have with volunteers
• Has to be passed by congress and the president
• The military is currently all volunteer although
  most men are required to register for selective
  service within 30 days of their 18th birthday
• These men could all potentially have to serve in
  the military should the draft be reinstated

3
Historical Facts about the Draft

• U.S. Civil War (1862) white males 17 50 years
  of age
• 21 of the force used in this war was conscripted
• Enrollment Act of Conscription - March 3,1863
• Allowed a "commutation fee" - allowed wealthier
  and more influential citizens to buy their way
  out of service
• Allowed for men ages 20 45 to be drafted
• Commutation was later removed and new law allowed
  religious pacifists alternative ways to serve
  (1864)
• New York Draft Riots - July 11,1863
• Irish immigrants and African Americans competed
  for jobs
• Lincoln called for a Draft, and within hours,
  Irish immigrants began a riot in New York
• 1.5 million in damage and 20 100 were killed

4
Historical Facts about the Draft, cont.

• Selective Service Act of 1917
• Draft during World War I
• Drafted men ages 18 - 45
• Did not allow for any type of commutation or
  substitution
• Allowed conscientious objectors to have
  alternative duties
• Allowed for deferment for workers of industry and
  agriculture
• Selective Training and Service Act of 1940
• Draft during World War II
• Established the Selective Service as a branch of
  the government
• First time the US had used a draft during
  peacetime
• Draftees only had to serve one year of duty in
  the Western Hemisphere and U.S. territories
• After Pearl Harbor, restrictions were removed and
  men ages 18 38 (extended to age 45) were
  drafted
• From 1947 1948 the Draft was not used

5
Historical Facts about the Draft, cont.

• Draft was used consistently from 1948-1973 during
  times of both war and peace
• Active draft ended on July 1,1973
• 16,307,243 men were drafted by the selective
  service from the beginning of WWI in 1917 through
  the end of the Vietnam conflict
• 2,810,296 men were drafted for WWI
• 10,110,104 men were drafted for WWII
• 1,529,539 men were drafted for the Korean War
• 1,857,304 men were drafted for the Vietnam
  Conflict

6
Vietnam

• As the war progressed many career soldiers
  either rotated out, retired, or were killed
• Replaced with draftees whose leadership skills
  were questionable
• Military officials blamed the draft policy for
  the slim talent pool
• Many argue that if the Harvard's (educated
  middle class) had joined the fight then the
  military would have better leaders
• There were instances where draftees killed their
  officers

7
My Lai Massacre

• William Calley, an unemployed college dropout,
  graduated from Officers Candidate School and
  become a Lt.
• He commanded troops in Vietnam and on March 16,
  1968 he ordered the murder of 300 apparently
  unarmed civilians including women, children, and
  elderly
• The draft makes it hard to keep people with low
  intelligence and emotional condition from filling
  Officer roles

8
Changes Since Vietnam

• Men who were full time students used to be able
  to defer service until finished with school, now
  they could only defer until the end of their
  current semester or year in high school
• Local draft boards are required to have an
  accurate representation of the racial and ethnic
  makeup of their particular areas
• Draft boards no longer use the quota system,
  which made it difficult to ensure fairness within
  the system
• A lottery system is in place that would ensure
  that men would only spend the year in which they
  turn 20 in first priority for the draft
• If a man wanted to appeal his service in the
  military he is now guaranteed the right to speak
  to someone in person

9
Current Reinstatement Legislation

• S.89 and H.R. 163 introduced in 2003
• Liberal Sponsorship in Congress
• Liberals feel the Draft will stop senseless wars
• Opposing Liberals feel that since Bush was
  re-elected on November 2nd, the Draft will be
  reinstated for more wars, although he states he
  will not
• October 6, 2004 H.R. 163 overturned by a 402
  2 vote
• H.R. 487 introduced in 2003
• Eliminate possibility of any future Draft

10
The Current Draft Law

• What the law says
• Men between the ages of 18 and 25 are required to
  register for the selective service
• Failure to register can incur 250,000 in fines
  and up to five years in prison

11
Are there ways to get out of it?

• Postponement
• Student status
• Ministerial students
• Deferment
• Emergency/Health crisis on day to report -
  Reclassification
• Reservists - Reclassification
• Hardship
• Conscientious objection
• Exemption
• Surviving sons/brothers
• Ministers
• Elected officials
• Veterans (generally during peacetime)

12
Who must register?

• Most, but not all, male U.S. citizens and
  resident aliens living in the United States, ages
  18-25 are required to register with the Selective
  Service
• US Government's Who Must Register Chart
• State Compliance Statistics

13
Political Examples

• George W. Bush used political and financial
  influence to dodge the Vietnam Draft and enlist
  in the U.S. National Guard
• John Kerry chose to enlist in the Army
• William Clinton dodged the Draft and used
  political ties to enlist in an ROTC program

14
Women and the Draft

• Current law does not consider women in the Draft
• In 1981, Rostker v. Goldberg upheld that only men
  needed to register Upheld that the Due Process
  Clause of the Constitution was followed
• In 1994, the Department of Defense stated that
  since the Draft is used for Army ground troops
  and women cannot be on the front line the Draft
  remains justifiable

15
Do we need a draft?

• Reservists
• Stop-loss orders keeping people in
• Exhausting the existing forces
• Drop in reserve forces

16
Figure 1. Existing and Planned Active-Duty Force
Levels (Thousands of personnel)
Source Under Secretary of Defense David Chu, 11
February 2004.
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Minorities and the Draft

• How they are affected
• Draft calls for proportionate ethnic
  representation from localities that it pulls from
• Dont ask, dont tell would likely be scrapped
  in the event of a draft (Pentagon Policy)
• Resident Aliens and people with dual citizenships
  are required to register

18
Conscientious Objectors

• A conscientious objector is anyone who is opposed
  to serving in the armed forces and/or bearing
  arms on the grounds of moral or religious
  principals.
• If selected for military service the CO is
  required to appear before the local board to
  explain his beliefs
• How he arrived at these beliefs
• Their influence on how he lives his life

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Conscientious Objectors

• The CO must provide evidence to back up his claim
  with
• Written documentation
• Personal appearances
• After the evidence is presented the Local Board
  can grant or deny CO status
• The decision can be appealed to a Selective
  Service District Appeal Board
• If again CO status is rejected, but not by a
  unanimous vote it can be appealed to the National
  Appeal Board

20
Qualifying Beliefs

• Acceptable Beliefs
• Religious
• Moral/Ethical
• Not Acceptable
• Politics
• Expediency interferes with school, job, or
  family plans
• Self-Interest

21
Alternative Service

• Those whose beliefs allow them to serve in the
  military, in a noncombatant way, will serve in
  the Armed Forces
• Wont be assigned training or duties that include
  using weapons
• If their beliefs oppose any kind of military
  service then they are assigned to Alternative
  Service duties
• The job must make a meaningful contribution to
  the maintenance of national health, safety, and
  interest of the citizens
• Time spent in this service must equal the time
  spent by others serving in the Armed Forces
• Typically 24 months

22
Medical Personnel Draft

• There is a plan ready in case of a national
  crisis
• The Health Care Personnel Delivery System (HCPDS)
• A special draft that targets only Medical
  Personnel
• Surgeons, doctors, dentists, nurses, paramedics,
  medical technicians, etc.

23
HCPDS Legislation

• Plan not designed for peacetime implementation
• Only occur in the wake of a national crisis
• Congress and the President would have to approve
  the plan and pass the legislation
• Unless specifically stated, this draft would
  include women
• Health care workers ages 20-45 would have to
  register

24
Special Skills Draft

• First steps being taken in creating a Special
  Skills draft
• Computer experts
• Foreign language specialists
• The plan resembles the HCPDS draft in that once
  it is created then Congress and the President
  would have to pass legislation before the draft
  could happen

25
Arguments For the Draft

• Some Liberals in Congress feel that the Draft
  would supply the armed forces with a broad
  mixture of soldiers which would lead to limits on
  future wars
• The current armed forces situation favors
  accepting the poor and minorities -- a Draft
  would balance this disproportion

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Arguments Opposing the Draft

• The U.S. Army already has a large enough
  volunteer base and keeps enough soldiers on
  active duty
• The U.S. military is the most powerful military
  large scale conflicts are a thing of the past
• Volunteers are more motivated leading to a
  better, more unified Army
• The current Armys racial makeup is very close to
  the current U.S. citizen makeup

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What We Feel

• Our opinion on the question of Should the Draft
  be reinstated? is
• We are not in favor of reinstating the draft
• We feel that the volunteer army is sufficient
  enough for our countrys needs
• We feel that the volunteer army is more united
  and motivated because they choose to be there and
  therefore it is more effective

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References

• http//usconservatives.about.com/od/defensewar/i/d
  raft.htm
• http//www.sss.gov/
• http//usconservatives.about.com/od/defensewar/i/d
  raft_2.htm
• http//www.civilwarhome.com/draftriots.htm
• http//college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/rcah/h
  tml/ah_019500_conscription.htm
• http//www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-04-13
  -vietnam-iraq-cover_x.htm
• http//www.carlisle.army.mil/ssi/pdffiles/00367.pd
  f