Students should be aware
of draft procedure
The New York Times’ Thomas Friedman recently stated: “If you think we don’t have enough troops in Iraq now — which we don’t — wait and see if the factions there start going at each other. America would have to bring back the draft to deploy enough troops to separate the parties. In short, we are at a dangerous moment in Iraq.”
I think you would be doing the University student body a service to begin a series on the Selective Service and what it means to them. When, or if, the Secretary of the Army asks for an increase in the size of the military, the draft will probably be close behind. Take special note of the rules around student status. It’s very limited, unlike the student deferments under the old draft system during the Vietnam war.
John Lawrence
retired University employee
medic, Vietnam conflict, 1969 draftee
