Friends, I am passing on this message that came to our old Yahoo groups
listserve, in case Friends are interested in submitting comments on this
proposed action.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Center on Conscience & War ccw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [langleyhill] <
langleyhill-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, Feb 20, 2018 at 6:18 PM
Subject: Selective Service Commission Hearings
To: langleyhill-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[image: Center on Conscience & War]
<http://salsa4.salsalabs..com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=bjX2VRjBv20xCnLSkBjal%2BjmM6TIozYh>
Dear Friends,
The Commission on Military, National, and Public Service will hold its
first public hearing this week in Harrisburg, PA:
Friday, February 23
11 AM to 1 PM
Harrisburg Community College
Midtown Trade and Technology Center
Midtown 2, Room 206
<https://maps.google.com/?q=Room+206%0D+1500+N+Third+St%0D+Harrisburg,+PA+17102&entry=gmail&source=g>
1500 N Third St
<https://maps.google.com/?q=Room+206%0D+1500+N+Third+St%0D+Harrisburg,+PA+17102&entry=gmail&source=g>
Harrisburg, PA 17102
<https://maps.google.com/?q=Room+206%0D+1500+N+Third+St%0D+Harrisburg,+PA+17102&entry=gmail&source=g>
More public hearings at other locations will follow. The Commission will
eventually be holding public hearings all across the country. CCW will
continue to send out information about those hearings as soon as we learn
about them.
Congress established the Commission as part of the compromise reached by
the Conference Committee during the 2017 NDAA (National Defense
Authorization Act) process.
The Senate version of the NDAA had included an amendment that called for
the registration of women with Selective Service beginning in January 2018.
The House version called for the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress
“the current and future need for a centralized registration system under
the Military Selective Service Act” by July 1, 2017. Both of those
provisions were dropped from the final bill, and Congress ultimately
established the commission with the mandate to consider the following:
(1) the need for a military selective service process, including a
continuing need for a mechanism to draft large numbers of replacement
combat troops;
(2) the means by which to foster a greater attitude and ethos of service
among United States youth, including an increased propensity for military
service;
(3) the feasibility of modifying the military selective service process to
obtain for military, national, and public service individuals with skills
for which the Nation has a critical need, without regard to age or gender;
and
(4) the feasibility of including in the military selective service process,
as so modified, an eligibility for one or more Federal benefits to
incentivize the necessary education, training, and service to fulfill such
critical needs.
The Commission is tasked to report its findings to Congress in 2020.
*It is important that they hear from us!*
Please consider *coming to this upcoming “listening session,*” if you are
in the Harrisburg PA area, or if a future one is taking place near your
home, and/or *please consider submitting written commen**ts* -- by April
19, 2018 -- through the Commission’s
<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=J%2F1xhZNDC%2Bd9ug1Ve0t2w9zHw8q4ehAo>
website
<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Xg8tK4fQc9OopeuDSsEHcdzHw8q4ehAo>
or
by email: national.commission.on.service.info@xxxxxxxx.
The Commission describes its mission as follows: “This commission will
listen to the public, learn from those who serve, and recommend to the
President, Congress, and the American people ideas to foster a greater
ethos of military, national, and public service to strengthen American
democracy.”
CCW staff member, Bill Galvin, attended the Commission's launch event in
Washington, DC in January, and observed that it seemed to be "a pep rally
for public service." That combined with their description of their mission
causes us concern that *they may not be planning to seriously consider the
important questions about Selective Service registration: *should it
continue, should women be required to register, and are there changes that
should be made to the Selective Service System, such as those CCW has long
advocated for, which would *protect the rights of conscientious objectors.*
*The Committee needs to hear from people of conscience* about our
objections to conscription.. They need to understand why some people of
conscience cannot cooperate with conscription, including, for some,
Selective Service Registration, which requires them to submit their name to
a list provided to the Department of Defense in support of war-making.
The Commission also needs to hear from people involved with church
voluntary service programs about how proposals for a mandatory national
service program will impact those programs.
The Commission’s website asks for comments addressing these questions:
Is a military draft or draft contingency still a necessary component of
U.S. national security?
Are modifications to the selective service system needed?
How can the United States increase participation in military, national, and
public service by individuals with skills critical to address the national
security and other public service needs of the nation?
What are the barriers to participation in military, national, or public
service?
Does service have inherent value, and, if so, what is it?
Is a mandatory service requirement for all Americans necessary, valuable,
and feasible?
How does the United States increase the propensity for Americans,
particularly young Americans, to serve?
You can submit your comments on their website *through April 19, 2018.*
http://www.inspire2serve.gov/content/share-your-thoughts
<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2BDYCSYnMaTVcpoCC08NlONzHw8q4ehAo>
You may also email comments:
national.commission.on.service.info@xxxxxxxx
or submit them by mail:
National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service, Attn: RFI
COMMENT—Docket 05-2018-01, 2530 Crystal Drive, Suite 1000, Room 1029
<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=LEwX4t0T9XVVMcygg41M6tzHw8q4ehAo>
Arlington,
VA 22202.
If you would be willing to share your comments with us, we would love to
hear why this is important to you!
Please call us (202-483-2220 <(202)%20483-2220>) or email us back if you
have any questions or would like any more information.
Thank you very much for your support of Rights of Conscience, in the name
of a lasting and just peace.
In Unity,
Bill, Jake, and Maria
------------------------------
*Center on Conscience & War *
1830 Connecticut Avenue NW
<https://maps.google.com/?q=1830+Connecticut+Avenue+NW+%0D+Washington,+DC+20009&entry=gmail&source=g>
Washington, DC 20009
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