In December, the Army National Guard reported it had fallen short of its recruiting goals by 30 percent since Oct. 1. With 40 percent of the troops in Iraq being from the National Guard or Army Reserve, this decline has sparked talk of reinstating the draft.

President Bush has said he opposes a draft, and reinstatement would require action by him and Congress. Nonetheless, almost every U.S. male must register for the Selective Service within 30 days of turning 18.

Failure to do so can result in a $250,000 fine or a prison term of up to five years. There are other consequences: Men who have not registered are ineligible for federal student financial aid or federal employment.

Such requirements, along with the deployment of U.S. troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, lead many young men to think about a possible draft.

Y-Press recently asked five teens about their thoughts on the subject. Patrick Warner, 16, is a sophomore at Roncalli High School; David Barker, 16, a junior at Roncalli; T.J. Van Cleave, 15, a sophomore at Whiteland High School; Jake Shaffner, 18, a senior at Center Grove High School; and Gabriel Canada, 16, a junior at Perry Meridian High School. All were interviewed in January at a YMCA gathering at the Statehouse, where youths assume the roles of the press corps and government officials.

Opinions on the war

David: I want it to end soon, but I'm for the war. War's a natural human thing, and so whether we like people dying or not, it's gonna happen. We're fighting for a cause that the majority of the people believe in.

Patrick: I'm kind of for and against it in some respects. Everybody knows that Saddam Hussein was an evil dictator who was really terrorizing his own people. On the other hand, it seems like we should just like leave them alone or something because it's none of our business.

Gabe: We have to be more careful next time we say that the reason we're invading a country is for something and then we go and that reason doesn't exist. It's not like we can actually do anything about it at this point. We're there, and we have to fix what we've created. You can't bomb buildings and then not rebuild them.

Jake: I don't think we should (be there) when we don't even have the arms to supply the people we have over there now.

Use of troops

Gabe: I think they're probably gonna continue sending a lot of National Guard troops over. I think that's wrong. The purpose of the National Guard is to safeguard America, in America.

David: This is not necessarily an American war; this is still a worldwide problem. Iraq was a threat to the entire world, not just America. I think other countries should ship more troops there to equal the amount that countries like Great Britain have contributed to the war effort.

Patrick: It's really not that terrible of a situation over there. Like, we're not in a huge shortage of troops. I mean, it could be a lot worse than it is right now. I think a draft would be going way overboard.

Opinions on draft

David: I'm a firm believer in our military and needing people to be in our military, so I'd register in a heartbeat.

Gabe: If it's like we have to actually defend the country, it seems fair.

Jake: There's no fair thing about somebody saying, "Hey, you're going into the military."

Patrick: Personally, I do not like the draft. Sometimes I believe it's necessary, but it seems in today's age there are a lot more ways that we could avoid war than, say, years ago. So I mean, I don't think the draft should be a necessary part of our country.

T.J.: I think it should be by your choice.

Draft women?

T.J.: I don't think women should be (forced to) enlist. I think it should be their choice.

Jake: I think women make better pilots.

Gabe: I wouldn't want to see a woman in there unless they wanted to. I'm not like sexist or anything. I wouldn't want to see my daughter or my wife or someone like that go into something they wouldn't want to when I, as a male, could do it.

David: When I sign up to vote, I also have to sign up for the draft, but a woman does not. At an age where we push for equality for everyone, I think that it should also be so that they have to sign up. Even if they don't fight on the front line, they should still be able to be drafted in some way because I would have to put my life on the line, which I have no problem with.

Considering service?

Gabe: Just about every month we have a different branch of the service at Perry (Meridian). We've had the Marines, we've had the Army, the Air Force. The Air Force was probably the best. They had a climbing wall outside, which was pretty interesting, a more creative way of getting people involved, I guess. I've considered the Coast Guard. I prefer it to the fighting. I know that there's some active service involved, but mostly it's search and rescue and patrol ling the border.

Patrick: I've never really been approached by a person but have gotten many letters in the mail from the Marines and the Navy asking me to join the service. I really have not been interested in military service since, I don't know, maybe since a few years ago.

David: I've spoken at length with a Navy recruiter about the possibility of joining the Navy to be an interpreter.

T.J.: I plan on attending college to become a teacher.

Jake: I've applied to go into the Peace Corps. That is one way you can get out of the draft.

ASSISTANT EDITORS: Jordan Denari, 14; Rebecca Salois, 15.

REPORTERS: Daniel Morgan, 12; Jessika Officer, 12.

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Y-Press is a nonprofit news organization with offices in The Indianapolis Star building. Stories are researched, reported and written by teams of young people ages 10 to 18. For more information, call (317) 444-2010 or send an e-mail to ypress@in.net.

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