Saipan and the draft

Iraq and Saipan aren’t close, but they are conceptually related, as anyone in Company E, or their family members, can readily attest. Meanwhile, rumors about a draft have started circulating everywhere under the U.S. flag; a lot of such discussion is just political rhetoric, of course, but the fact remains that Uncle Sam is leaning heavily on the reserves, and it’s not a bottomless well of personnel.

My email has some draft questions and comments. A lot of Tribune readers happen to know that I served a tour of duty as a U.S. naval officer, though the most heroic thing I ever did was find 35 cents of spare change in the Coke machine once. One question that I’ve been asked: Would a draft reach all the way out to Saipan?

That’s nothing my Navy days qualify me to answer, but armed with my 35 cents and what’s left of my wits, I do indeed believe that there is a Selective Service representative of some sort in Saipan. That’s not a full time post, it’s a citizen volunteer gig, at least insofar as I know. So: Yes, it would make sense to conclude that the Commonwealth would be part of a draft, if indeed, there ever was to be a draft. Which, in turn, would mean that men between 18 to 26 in the CNMI are required to have registered with the Selective Service. That’s federal law.

But this merely raises another question that I can’t answer: Would the CNMI’s alien workers be subject to conscription?

Yikes! Ponder that one. After all, the draft is not just limited to U.S. citizens.

Now, what the heck the Army would do with, say, some garment worker from China who doesn’t speak English and has never driven a car, is a mighty interesting issue. The Filipinos, on the other hand, are typically well-educated in English; better, in fact, than many Americans are, and what’s more, Filipinos have a longstanding tradition of success in the U.S. military…but on the other, other hand, I can’t envision one group of alien workers being subject to the draft while others aren’t.

Or, heck, how many alien workers in the CNMI would voluntarily enlist if it held the prospect of getting residency in the U.S.?

Meanwhile, would any future draft be a co-ed, equal opportunity proposition that applies to women as well as men? If there is a draft, I’m all for that. That’s the only take I have on the whole thing, as a matter of fact. With equal rights must come equal responsibilities.

Beyond that, however, I must confess that I don’t care one way or the other about the draft. I read about it sometimes because my friends email me articles and their comments, and I’ve tried to care and have an opinion, but my only opinion is that if I’m ever recalled back to active duty, I’d need some liposuction to fit back into my uniform. Actually, I miss the Navy sometimes. If they wanted guys like me back in, I’d consider it. Chasing money in the civilian world was a demeaning transition, I recall.

Do I think there’s going to be a draft? No, I don’t, at least not under current circumstances. People, especially young men, will respond to advertising and bonuses, and I would think that recruiting tools like those would be sufficient to keep things chugging along. I read some hysterical news report that said the National Guard had fallen short of its recruiting goals, but the shortfall was, in actuality, very small, so it doesn’t follow that any shortfall is going to automatically mean that people are conscripted.

But note my disclaimer, I said “current circumstances.” Circumstances do have a way of changing.

(Ed Stephens, Jr. is an economist and columnist for the Saipan Tribune. Ed4Saipan@yahoo.com)