Draft Board Members Sought in Wisconsin
by Lisa Ann Pierce, WAMM

WAMM member Florence Heist, of Bayfield, WI, mailed a copy of an article advertising the need for Selective Service board members in Wisconsin. They are seeking volunteers to serve on local draft boards should a draft become necessary.

The article reports that "prospective board members must be citizens of the United States, at least eighteen years old, not an employee of any law enforcement occupation, not an active or retired member of the Armed Forces, never convicted for any criminal offense, and, if men, registered for Selective Service." Qualified candidates then need to be recommended by the governor and appointed by the director of Selective Service. Twelve hours of initial training and four hours of annual training are required of each member once appointed. Board members may serve for up to 20 years.

Although a draft has not been initiated since the war in Vietnam, Selective Service has gone on registering young men and putting the infrastructure in place for a future draft. Since the late 1980s, penalties for nonregistrants have become more extreme. Participation in many federal government programs-including guaranteed student loans-is restricted to registrants and those not required to register (including all women).

Attempts to reduce or eliminate funding for the Selective Service program are moving closer to realization every year. However, in an era when unemployment and enlistment are low, it is difficult to predict how hard the Pentagon might fight for the means to conscript.

Florence Heist writes, "There is really only one reason for a military draft. It is an expansion of our current drug war in South America!"

"In The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia, author Alfred W. McCoy documents CIA involvement in drug trafficking and gun-running when the drug capital of the world was the Golden Triangle-where Laos, Burma, and Thailand meet. The current drug war is a repeat of the debacle which ended up being called Vietnam, the longest war in U.S. history and-until Desert Storm-our costliest war."

Perhaps draft boards are a good place for peace and justice activists, since they decide the fate of so many young men with regard to deferments, postponements, and exemptions from military conscription. If you live in Wisconsin and want to give it a try, contact Jason Maloney by e-mail at mun-sob@wi-arng.ngb.army.mil or by phone at 608-242-3578.