The Draft and CJ

[Guest trancepriest]

You know recruiting as seriously been falling off.. I say if the draft returns.. we all request to be placed in the same military unit or we all book tickets at the same time for Canada. ;D

PS... now that I think about it.. I really don't think I would like trusting clubbers with my life. The next party is in Tehran.

[Guest pod]

I'd be liable to get fragged.

[Guest slamminshaun]

If they ever have a draft because of the GOP, I'll become a liberal...

[Guest web_norah]

i'd move somewhere but NOT Canada

[Guest jbit]

Draft!!!!!

I'm on a one way flight to Costa Rica, surfboard in hand.

[Guest JMT]

i for one always look to see what a bar has on draft first.

[Guest swirlundergrounder]

Well since I dropped a few hits of acid in high school and the acid stays in your spinal cord forever, that makes me legally insane so I would not be eligable for the draft.....lol

[bornslippy22]

let me know when they start drafting diabetics....

[Guest DaGoose]

See you all in Cancun......

[Guest tiltmiami]

fuck it lets all of us move to cuba and make a revolution againts BUSHit

[BobbyTrendy]

I would join the military if there were a draft and I was eligible (age wise)... even as a female.

I'm sad to see so many wouldn't be willing to lay their lives down for our Great Country....

There's more to the military then just going to Iraq.... for all those troops that are in Iraq means there are less HERE on US soil to defend us against a terrorist attack/war.

[Guest saintjohn]

Well since I dropped a few hits of acid in high school and the acid stays in your spinal cord forever, that makes me legally insane so I would not be eligable for the draft.....lol

You think being "insane" disqualifies you from military service? Ever hear the song "Alice's Restaurant"?

Came to talk about the draft.

They got a building down New York City, it's called Whitehall Street,

where you walk in, you get injected, inspected, detected, infected,

neglected and selected. I went down to get my physical examination one

day, and I walked in, I sat down, got good and drunk the night before, so

I looked and felt my best when I went in that morning. `Cause I wanted to

look like the all-American kid from New York City, man I wanted, I wanted

to feel like the all-, I wanted to be the all American kid from New York,

and I walked in, sat down, I was hung down, brung down, hung up, and all

kinds o' mean nasty ugly things. And I waked in and sat down and they gave

me a piece of paper, said, "Kid, see the phsychiatrist, room 604."

And I went up there, I said, "Shrink, I want to kill. I mean, I wanna, I

wanna kill. Kill. I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and

guts and veins in my teeth. Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean kill, Kill,

KILL, KILL." And I started jumpin up and down yelling, "KILL, KILL," and

he started jumpin up and down with me and we was both jumping up and down

yelling, "KILL, KILL." And the sergeant came over, pinned a medal on me,

sent me down the hall, said, "You're our boy."

Didn't feel too good about it.

I know more than one paratrooper who dropped acid during training jumps. You'd be in good company.

[Guest saintjohn]

I would join the military if there were a draft and I was eligible (age wise)

Age-wise:

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Army, stung by recruiting shortfalls caused by the Iraq war, has raised the maximum age for new recruits for the part-time Army Reserve and National Guard by five years to 39, officials said today.

The Army said the move, a three-year experiment, will add about 22 million people to the pool of those eligible to serve, from about 60 million now. Physical standards will not be relaxed for older recruits, who the Army said were valued for their maturity and patriotism.

The Pentagon has relied heavily on part-time Army Reserve and Army National Guard soldiers summoned from civilian life to maintain troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan. Roughly 45 percent of U.S. troops currently deployed for those wars are reservists.

At home, the all-volunteer Army has labored to coax potential recruits to volunteer for the Guard and Reserve as well as for active-duty, and to persuade current soldiers to re-enlist when their volunteer commitment ends.

Maj. Elizabeth Robbins, an Army spokeswoman, said the maximum enlistment age for the regular Army will remain 34. While congressional action was not needed to raise the age for the Guard and Reserve, Robbins said, Congress must approve any change for the active-duty force.

"Raising the maximum age for non-prior service enlistment expands the recruiting pool, provides motivated individuals an opportunity to serve, and strengthens the readiness of Reserve units," the Army said in a statement.

Air Force Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said it was possible after the three-year test ends in September 2008 that the Pentagon may consider an enlistment age for Army reservists even older than 39.

Recruiters say the Iraq war is making military service a harder sell, and the Army has added recruiters and financial incentives for enlistment.

The Army National Guard missed its recruiting goal for the 2004 fiscal year and trails its year-to-date 2005 targets. The Army Reserve missed January and February goals and is lagging its target for 2005. The regular Army missed its target for February and trails its annual goal.

"Obviously, this decision is being made partly in response to the personnel shortfalls caused by the war in Iraq," said defense analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute.

But he said U.S. life expectancy increased by 40 percent in the 20th century, adding, "The pressure of wartime has pushed the Army to make a change that may have been overdue anyway."

"Anecdotally, our recruiters have been telling us for years that we've had people who are otherwise qualified but over the age limit who have attempted to enlist," Robbins said. "There are physically fit, health-conscious individuals who can make a positive contribution to our national defense."

The Army said the policy applies to men and women, and older recruits must meet the same physical standards and pass the same medical examination as everyone else.

"Experience has shown that older recruits who can meet the physical demands of military service generally make excellent soldiers based on their maturity, motivation, loyalty and patriotism," the Army said.

Krenke said the the change was first considered last fall and approved by the Pentagon last week. She said the Marines, Navy and Air Force had not requested a similar change.

The Army Reserve is made up of federal soldiers who can be mobilized from civilian life for active duty. National Guard soldiers also serve under the control of state governors for roles like disaster relief in their home states.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3095522

[BobbyTrendy]

I thought it was 34 y/o for the army. I am still eligble age-wise then.

If I could do my life over again - I would have joined the Army at age 18.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

Oh well.

[Guest JMT]

a note from the selective service:

On October 5, 2004, the House of Representatives voted 402 - 2 to defeat H.R. 163, the bill cited as proof that the Selective Service was preparing to reinstate a military draft. The vote made official what has been a reality since January 7, 2003, when H.R. 163 was introduced despite nearly total opposition in Congress to restoring the draft. Without Congressional support, the draft cannot be reinstated. A similar bill languishes in the Senate.

Both President George W. Bush and Senator John F. Kerry have stated for the record that they oppose a draft. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld also has opposed the draft on numerous occasions.

http://www.sss.gov/

[Guest saintjohn]

I thought it was 34 y/o for the army.

It's still 34 for the regular Army, but 39 for the Reserves and National Guard.

I considered going back after September 11, but I was too old under the previous rule. Now I'm too old again. It's probably just as well - I have no desire to go through basic training again (and the drill instructors wouldn't miss me, either).

Just last week, I had lunch with a friend who's seriously considering enlisting (for the first time) at age 38. He's already talked to a recruiter, and he says if his girlfriend doesn't stop nagging him about getting married, he's signing up for Unlce Sam's weight-loss program.

[rbs]

Been there, done that....If my country needs me again, give me my Tomohawks and just point them out.

For the rest who would flee, you should be ashamed of yourselves... :'(

[Guest saintjohn]

I thought RBS was Navy.

[Guest JMT]

a note from the selective service:

On October 5, 2004, the House of Representatives voted 402 - 2 to defeat H.R. 163, the bill cited as proof that the Selective Service was preparing to reinstate a military draft. The vote made official what has been a reality since January 7, 2003, when H.R. 163 was introduced despite nearly total opposition in Congress to restoring the draft. Without Congressional support, the draft cannot be reinstated. A similar bill languishes in the Senate.

Both President George W. Bush and Senator John F. Kerry have stated for the record that they oppose a draft. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld also has opposed the draft on numerous occasions.

http://www.sss.gov/

Doesn't matter if they oppose the draft... when we may be placed in a situation where we NEED the draft. If hostilities break out over Taiwan... then we're tied into that conflict... A conventional war against China... hmmm... Draft. The point is that our current leadership as placed us in a situation where there is no room to maneuver in case of major hostilities.

"without congressional support, the draft cannot be reinstated."

all due respect to your crystal ball, i dont see it happening, barring a direct attack on the US, after the mess iraq has caused.

[rbs]

Were you in the Air Country Club?

I was, like Saint John just said, in the Navy-Submarine Force. And during time of war, I got all missles and torpedo's ready for launch as well as push the button. 8)