Thursday, July 11, 2002

Decisions and the Draft

Views vary about mandatory military service.

By Marc K. Hébert
Points South Staff Writer

PINELLAS POINT-Two mothers don’t want to see their boys drafted into a war. One would allow him to go if he decided. Two other men in their 20s disagree about being drafted into the military. One would serve; the other would not. An older man remembers the benefits of military service for a cousin drafted to fight in Vietnam.

National leaders appear on television shows, such as "Hardball with Chris Matthews," discussing the possibility of the draft and increasing the military manpower if the United States attacks Iraq and other suspected terrorist countries. The Bush administration is in support of such a war and says the draft is unlikely. In Pinellas Point the reaction to the idea of a military draft is mixed.

The U.S. Department of Defense assures the public that there is no immediate need for the draft. President George W. Bush said in a White House briefing earlier this year that the American public should not be concerned with the possibility of a draft. He has the ability to call nearly one million reservists before considering a draft.

These reservists include Gershom Faulkner, 31, a legislative assistant for Pinellas Point’s representative in the Florida Legislature, Frank Peterman Jr. He fought as a Marine in Desert Storm and has been a reservist since 1994.

"I’ve heard civilians talk about a draft, but not anyone in the military." Faulkner adds that he would answer the call to serve if a draft were to happen, but says it is unlikely.

A military draft is a mandatory call to military service authorized by the president and Congress for men 18 to 25 years old. It takes 193 days from the "onset of the crisis" for the government to induct a man into the military under the draft, according to the Selective Service System Web site.

Congress enacted changes to the draft in 1971 during the Vietnam War that would differ from a draft held today. College students were once exempt from the draft until they graduated. Now they could only defer until the end of a semester, unless they are seniors and would be allowed to stay for the entire year

The draft "doesn’t work…it would work if we had troops there but once the troops are gone it would go back to normal," says Dan Primeau, 22, a college student. He does not want to be drafted. Natasha Sandman, 28, a social studies teacher, agrees. She looks to the reason for a draft and questions the motivation of those attacking the United States and its interests abroad.

"Terrorism is a tactic used to get across their message," she says.

"I’ll go…I like the military," says Barrington Evans, 21, a stock manager at Walgreens in the Skyway Plaza.

Evans served in the Air Force for two and half years, maintaining electrical systems in million-dollar airplanes. He leans back on the concrete wall outside the store as he puffs a cigarette, discussing what he would be fighting for against Iraq. "I would fight for my country, but it would be something about money."

Vickie Aldrich, 55, has two sons. One is 30; the other, 35. She says if there was a draft to fight against Iraq it would be a "fight against terror and to safeguard our homeland." Aldrich’s eyes widen and eyebrows arch as she discusses the possibility of her sons flying across an ocean to a desert land. "I sure wouldn’t want to see my boys go."

The Vietnam draft "was wonderful for my cousin," says Rick Peerboom, 55, a hair stylist at the Seville Square. He shifts his legs that end with sneakers, describing how his cousin lacked focus and direction in his life before joining the military.

Kathy Savage, 46, who works as a hairstylist with Peerboom, does not believe in the draft because she says that people who volunteer would do a better job than those who do not want to go.

"If I was in the service and some guy was made to cover my back, I wouldn’t want him there." She would prefer her 24-year-old son would not be drafted, but if he was then the ultimate decision lies with him.