I’ve only met the two other board members who were in training with me, and I didn’t get a feel for their political preferences. One of them was an older black gentleman, the other was a Chinese-born naturalized citizen.
Some of the folks in training were from other counties, and tended to be ex-military and male.
A more conservative board wouldn’t be out of line with prevailing attitudes in my area, btw. My county is home to the Quantico Marine Base.
Application of standards to the job we have to do has to be done free of political bias, and I think the folks I met could do this pretty well.
Can you explain this “concientious objector” thing to me? (I’m female, so as of a draft now, I wouldn’t be drafted anyway, but just in theory…)
I am against killing people. As in, I’m the sort of person who puts a bug outside rather than squashing it, and goes home in tears after a squirrel gets hit by a car. I believe that our foreign policy is wrong, war is bad, and killing people is not an acceptable way to solve world problems. I am, however, agnostic. Would I qualify for concientious objector status?
There are two classes of conscientious objector, 1-O and 1-A-O. A 1-O has an objection to combatant and noncombatant military service based on moral, ethical or religious beliefs, or a combination of such. The claimant must be sincere in these beliefs, and this objection to participation in war must not be confined to a particular war.
All of this holds true for a 1-A-O objector, except that his objection extends only to combatant military service. His moral precepts will allow him to serve as a medic, for example, or as a clerk.
Objections to war that are based primarily in political, sociological or philosophical views rather than the previously stated moral, ethical and religious beliefs are a basis for rejection of this application, as is any indication that the claimant is insincere or concerned solely with his own well-being.
It is not necessary for anti-war moral precepts to be religiously based. Agnostics and atheists can claim CO status if these views are held sincerely.
It should be noted that becoming a CO does not relieve you of obligations to your country. A provision of the law is that alternate service must be performed, and this was strictly enforced during WWII, at least. The alternate service will be organized to conform as closely as possible with the moral needs of the CO’s. If they aren’t willing to perform that service, they can be prosecuted.
About a year ago I went looking for information on who is on my local draft board. Though I’m a professional researcher, I was unable to find out who the local representatives are. The Selective Service certainly doesn’t make it easy.
Can women serve on draft boards even though they’re exempt as a class from conscription? If so why? Also would a male-to-female transexual (post op) be considered a women and thus exempt from the draft?
Women can obviously serve, since they can easily meet the requirements I listed above. A draft affects women as well, because of its effect on families and communities. It would be silly to bar women from this service just because they won’t be drafted.
Transexual issues will be dealt with at the MEPS, not by a local draft board, in all likelihood.
Given the staunchly conservative views you have expressed on other subjects in the past, I’m curious as to how closely you would scrutinize claims of conscientious objection. Do you think you’d put these claims under a bigger microscope than most others?
Thanks. Also I’ve heard that during the Vietnam era potential draftees weren’t allowed to have legal counsel present during the hearings, has this changed?
All claims of conscientious objection deserve scrutiny, don’t you think?
That said, I have no interest in forcing genuine conscientious objectors to serve, or to serve in a capacity where they’d be worse than useless. I’m a veteran myself, and that experience has taught me the necessity of depending on the guy next to you.
Conscientious objection has an actual meaning defined by law - it means objection to all war, not an unwillingness to fight in a conflict led by LBJ or Bush, for instance. Assessing these claims is part of our job, and I think I can do it quite well.
After all, it’s not like I have to agree with the guy across the table. I just have to decide whether he can serve.
I don’t know what procedures were then, but legal counsel as such isn’t permitted now. A registrant may have an advisor present, as well as three witnesses. The advisor may not also be a witness, and may not address the board directly.
Why are registrant denied legal counsel as such, and could a lawyer serve as an advisor if they didn’t directly addredd the board? Also what is the minimum age requirement to serve on a draft board? Is it higher than 26?
Age requirements for board service were listed above.
As for why lawyers aren’t permitted, please remember that this is an administrative meeting at the heart of it. It is not a matter for civil or criminal courts, since the registrant is in no legal trouble (at least, not with the board) and the legality and constitutionality of this system has been settled pretty well.
What has also been settled is the role of the Selective Service local boards, district appeals boards, and national appeals board to safeguard the rights of the registrant.
I believe a lawyer could be an advisor, and certainly a witness, but it would be in a far different role than that of legal counsel. Part of the job of a Selective Service local board is judging the sincerity of a CO claimant, and to do that we have to ask probing questions about faith, ethics, and personal morality. Most lawyers would think many of these questions off limits in most circumstances, yet they are wholly germane to this question.
I’m fully aware that this system can leave a young man feeling awfully alone before a board, with a large uncertainty before him. I’m mindful of that, and hope to mitigate it if I ever have to sit on an active board.
The minimum is only 18, so would male draft board members be considered officials defered by law (like elected officials) and be exempt from the draft?
Nowhere in my documentation does a local board member figure as an essential occupation exempt from the draft. And, as it is merely a part-time voluntary position, I’m certain uniformed or alternate service would take precedence.