Feds holding last national public hearing on draft registration in LA
By Edward Hasbrouck, resisters.info
The “National Commission on Military, National and Public Service” has announced that the final event in its year-long series of “informal” open-mike public hearings on whether registration for a military draft should be ended or extended will be at Cal State University, Los Angeles, on Thursday, September 20, 2018, from 2:30-5 p.m.
Note that the commission decided to start its hearing half an hour earlier than originally announced. It will now start at 2:30 PM (not 3:00 PM).
Thursday, September 20, 2018
2:30 PM – 5:00 PM PDT
California State University Los Angeles
Golden Eagle Ballroom 1 & 2
5151 State University Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90032
Following presentations by an invited panel, members of the public will get 2 minutes each to testify. This will probably be framed as an opportunity to ask questions of the panel, but members of the public can testify on any of the issues the Commission has been appointed to study.
“The public meeting will also include a service fair for the audience members to explore local, state, and national opportunities across military, national, and public service.”
This would appear to create a public forum, at which anti-war or counter-recruitment organizations could request space to provide information and literature about peace work as a form of service.
The Commission was appointed by the President and Congress to study and report on the draft, compulsory national service, and “the feasibility… of modifying the military selective service process in order to obtain for military, national, and public service individuals with skills (such as medical, dental, and nursing skills, language skills, cyber skills, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills) for which the Nation has a critical need, without regard to age or sex.”
It’s especially important for the Commission to hear from people of draft age, women, health care workers, and people with others of these skills.
Background
Background on this Commission and why it is holding these hearings, including information about earlier meetings of the Commission released in response to my Freedom Of Information Act request:
Podcast overview of what’s happening with the draft, and why:
Podcast: The Future of Draft Registration in the United States
Web form for short written submissions:
Longer written submissions can be sent to “info@inspire2serve.gov”, mentioning “Docket No. 05-2018-0” in the subject line of the e-mail message.
“Courage to Resist has helped individuals who have taken brave stands, has been an important bridge between anti-war soldiers and civilians, and has helped both publicize and build the critical component of soldier resistance in ending war.”
