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Should The U.S. Draft Be

Reinstated?Anthony Holly, Christina Jones, Nicole Lewis, Nicholas Wade

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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

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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

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Historical Facts about the Draft, con’t. 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

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Historical Facts about the Draft, con’t. 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

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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

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My Lai Massacre William Calley, an unemployed college

dropout, graduated from Officer’s 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

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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

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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

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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

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Do we need a draft? Reservists

Stop-loss orders keeping people in

Exhausting the existing forces Drop in reserve forces

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Figure 1. Existing and Planned Active-Duty Force Levels (Thousands of personnel)

Service Authorized Strength, 9/03

Actual Strength, 9/03

Mobilized Reservists, 9/03

Request, 05

Army 480.0 499.3 127.5 482.4

Marines 175.0 177.8 11.1 175.0

Navy 375.7 382.2 3.5 368.1

Air Force 359.0 375.1 21.2 359.8

Source: Under Secretary of Defense David Chu, 11 February 2004.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

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” would likely be scrapped in the event of a draft (Pentagon Policy)

Resident Aliens and people with dual citizenships are required to register

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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

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Qualifying Beliefs Acceptable Beliefs

Religious Moral/Ethical

Not Acceptable Politics Expediency – interferes with school, job, or

family plans Self-Interest

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Alternative Service Those whose beliefs allow them to serve in the military,

in a noncombatant way, will serve in the Armed Forces Won’t 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

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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.

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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

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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

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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 Army’s 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 country’s 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/draft.htm http://www.sss.gov/ http://usconservatives.about.com/od/defensewar/i/

draft_2.htm http://www.civilwarhome.com/draftriots.htm http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/rcah/html/

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.pdf