'Special skills draft' on drawing board

[R. A. Hettinga]

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 'Special skills draft' on drawing board
 Computer experts, foreign language specialists lead list of military's needs
 Eric Rosenberg, Hearst Newspapers
 Saturday, March 13, 2004
)2004 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback | FAQ



URL: sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/03/13/MNG905K1BC1.DTL

 Washington -- The government is taking the first steps toward a targeted
military draft of Americans with special skills in computers and foreign
languages.

 The Selective Service System has begun the process of creating the
procedures and policies to conduct such a targeted draft in case military
officials ask Congress to authorize it and the lawmakers agree to such a
request.

 Richard Flahavan, a spokesman for the Selective Service System, said
planning for a possible draft of linguists and computer experts had begun
last fall after Pentagon personnel officials said the military needed more
people with skills in those areas.

 "Talking to the manpower folks at the Department of Defense and others,
what came up was that nobody foresees a need for a large conventional draft
such as we had in Vietnam," Flahavan said. "But they thought that if we
have any kind of a draft, it will probably be a special skills draft."

 Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said he would not ask Congress to
authorize a draft, and officials at the Selective Service System, the
independent federal agency that would organize any conscription, stress
that the possibility of a so-called "special skills draft" is likely far
off.

 A targeted registration and draft is "is strictly in the planning stage,"
said Flahavan, adding that "the whole thing is driven by what appears to be
the more pressing and relevant need today" -- the deficit in language and
computer experts.

 "We want to gear up and make sure we are capable of providing (those types
of draftees) since that's the more likely need," the spokesman said, adding
that it could take about two years to "to have all the kinks worked out. "

 The agency already has in place a special system to register and draft
health care personnel ages 20 to 44 in more than 60 specialties if
necessary in a crisis. According to Flahavan, the agency will expand this
system to be able to rapidly register and draft computer specialists and
linguists, should the need ever arise. But he stressed that the agency had
received no request from the Pentagon to do so.

 The issue of a renewed draft has gained attention because of concerns that
U.S. military forces are over-extended. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
strikes, U.S. forces have fought two wars, established a major military
presence in Afghanistan and Iraq and are now taking on peacekeeping duties
in Haiti. But Congress, which would have to authorize a draft, has so far
shown no interest in renewing the draft.

 Legislation to reinstitute the draft, introduced by Rep. Charles Rangel,
D-N.Y., has minimal support with only 13 House lawmakers signing on as co-
sponsors. A corresponding bill in the Senate introduced by Sen. Fritz
Hollings, D-S.C., has no co-sponsors.

 The military draft ended in 1973 as the American commitment in Vietnam
waned, beginning the era of the all-volunteer force. Mandatory registration
for the draft was suspended in 1975 but resumed in 1980 by President Jimmy
Carter after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. About 13.5 million men, ages
18 to 25, are registered with the Selective Service.

 But the military has had particular difficulty attracting and retaining
language experts, especially people knowledgeable about Arabic and various
Afghan dialects.

 To address this need, the Army has a new pilot program underway to recruit
Arabic speakers into the service's Ready Reserves. The service has signed
up about 150 people into the training program.

 A Pentagon official familiar with personnel issues stressed that the armed
forces were against any form of conscription but acknowledged the
groundwork already underway at the Selective Service System.

 "We understand that Selective Service has been reviewing existing
organizational mission statements to confirm their relevance for the
future," the official said. "Some form of 'special skills' registration,
not draft, has been a part of its review."

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