@Dark UltraValia

I dunno if this helps, but sometimes I also feel that it's very hard to find any reason to keep going and it seems silly and pointless to try to think of one. But I find that when I'm focused on thinking about just dying and getting it over with, I become very much more tired, and detached as well, and get nothing done - while not being dead yet. So, I tell myself that the certainty I have that nobody needs to justify their existence or come up with a reason of any kind to live applies to me also; we live until we die. So, in the words of Dorothy Parker, 'You might as well live', with my own heavy emphasis on 'live'. And work on whatever you can do to become healthier, even if you can't manage to obtain things you might need to properly do so, and keep trying to think positive thoughts even when there never seems to be anything to look forward to. Easier said than done, I know, but there are always things to be grateful for that I still have.

And as long as you (like me) still have those boxes of books, you have a means of mental escape. And a wonderful community of compassionate thinkers here you might want to try communicating more with, on these threads. A place you're valued and welcome, with some of the best and most informative discussion going. I know I'm always happy to see your too-rare posts. These are things that help keep me going and are high on my 'grateful for' list; I have no idea whether this applies to you or not, but it's all I have to offer by way of comfort and support... that and some virtual hugs.

Nobody can ever completely understand another person or what they might be dealing with, but I suspect that many of the people here can come as close as anyone can. And we care.

Hang in there! Anything might happen, and that includes the possibility of positive change.

The fight might be never-ending, but we may gain better footing at any time.

Having thoughts on life and what the point of it might be.

Had to move after 30 years. Got a place where I now have to replace the phone lines because whoever was there before destroyed the NID and connector box. Might have to have Verizon come in to replace it if I can't find it myself.

Have a bunch of stuff in storage (mostly books because I used to be a voracious reader).

Trying to stay in touch with my St. Croix family for more updates. Not happy with the state of things there but what else could I expect from this oligarchic government.

Working on something called Statement of Ownership where the periodical publications in my area have to report their yearly numbers in order to retain periodical privileges.

Dealing with a right foot arch problem that only got worse during the traumatic move.

Finally, trying to find a reason to keep going since we're all going to die anyway.

Still. Good morning everyone.

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

. . . about the ancient trees. And the video of the hike through the snow to the hot spring was lovely. I remember the silence of the snow.

Good morning to all!

I am still not feeling well, but I am a great deal better than I was. Nothing left but a mild to moderate sinus headache. So, thankfully, I'm on the mend!

@detroitmechworks
but raggin' on the conservative rednecks who mostly served in the military. Of course they don't want to support MFA, they have medical care for life unlike the rest of us. We are not lessor citizens just because we didn't join the military.
Again, nothing against you personally DMW.

I mean of course the stuff they're gonna be testing on soldiers.

Because it always starts with soldiers. Nukes, Agent Orange, Gulf War Syndrome, PTSD, TBI, the list goes on and on. They used to give us cigarettes, but dumped the whiskey ration as "Immoral". Twice a day stand and salute, gives way to sporting events where everybody is expected to stand and salute...

Sorry, just raging. My daughter recently asked about the possibility of joining the military, and I gave her the same answer I always do. "Coast Guard only, and get everything in writing." Of course I also told her that recruiters are liars and that there are a million other ways to go to college, especially considering she's low income, a former foster child, and the daughter of a war veteran. Of course, she's my daughter, so probably will ignore that, so I'm trying to steer her in the right direction. I just hope she doesn't want to go down that path, especially because she mentioned health care as a reason, and with the current trends...

@detroitmechworks @detroitmechworks

Oh, yeah, first tested on the cannon-fodder, then on workers. Use 'em till they're useless, then toss 'em aside once used up. Psychopaths are like that.

I hope your daughter stays out of the military; if they're sending out 'National' Guard units, I'd think the Coast Guard would also be at risk. As it seems to to be, now that I look, especially with Dick Cheney running Pence and Trump now frothing at the fingers as he twits out extermination threat at whole countries and advertises lies to be used as excuses for illegal attacks on and invasions of sovereign nations,

http://www.nationalguard.mil/About-the-Guard/

After Operation Desert Storm, the National Guard saw its federal mission change, with more frequent call-ups in response to regional crises in Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo and the skies over Iraq. The Guard also expanded its scope of operations with peacekeeping rotations in the Sinai and the Balkans.

Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, tens of thousands of Guard members have mobilized into federal service to provide security at home and combat terrorism abroad. These men and women served in harm’s way during Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq (2003-2011) and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan (2002-present).

In the largest and swiftest response to a domestic disaster in history, the Guard deployed more than 50,000 troops in support of the Gulf States following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The National Guard continued to assist friends and neighbors as they endured multiple deployments overseas, and also trained to effectively respond to local contingencies and other emergencies.

The National Guard continues its historic dual mission, providing trained units to the states, territories and the District of Columbia and keeping itself equipped to protect life and property. The Guard also provides trained units to the nation equipped and ready to defend the United States and its interests all over the globe.

Finally found something current!

To possibly also be deployed against civil protesters? Emphasis mine.
https://federalnewsradio.com/army/2016/02/army-wants-guard-reserve-deplo...

Army wants more Guard, Reserve deployments in 2017
By Jared Serbu @jserbuWFED
February 29, 2016

Citing ongoing readiness strains within its active duty force, the Army is asking Congress for permission for a significant uptick in its use of National Guard and Army Reserve forces to handle missions in combatant commands throughout the world.

The service’s 2017 budget requests a near-doubling in the Army funding line that pays for involuntary mobilizations of selected reserve forces to conduct pre-planned missions for up to a year compared with the amount officials requested in 2016. Measured in “man-years,” the funding —referred to as 12304(b) — would jump from 1,008 in 2016 to 1,878 in 2017.

“We need more flexible access to the reserve component, specifically for emerging missions,” Gen. Daniel Allyn, the Army’s vice chief of staff, told the House Armed Services Committee Friday. “Where the stress is really starting to press down on our active formations is in meeting emerging requirements where we have time constraints that don’t let us prepare and deploy a reserve component unit to meet the requirement. So this gives us greater flexibility to leverage that great reserve component capacity for missions beyond just those that are funded through overseas contingency operations. For instance, Pacific Pathway exercises would be a perfect match, but we don’t have the funding authorizations.”

The Army would deploy the reserve forces to all six of DoD’s geographic combatant commands. In U.S. Southern Command, for instance, their missions would include hunting for terrorist cells in Central America and the Caribbean. In Africa they’d work on military training and education with regional governments. In Central Command and European Command, they would “support the international civil presence to prevent any violation of established treaties.”

The request for increased deployments of guardsmen and reservists comes amid growing concerns that the Army’s current plan to draw down its active component to 450,000 soldiers would put an unsustainable strain on its full-time force, considering the tempo at which it’s still operating around the world. The 12304(b) authority, created by Congress in 2002, lets the Army deploy up to 60,000 reservists for up to a year at a time without counting against statutory caps on its active force — as long as it’s adequately funded.

“From now through at least 2020, the primary limiting factor for us achieving full spectrum readiness is our personnel manning,” Allyn said. “The turbulence that we are undergoing as we reorganize our Army as a smaller, more capable force has created additional turbulence on top of that which is driven by our drawdown. And it is being borne by lower manning levels across our formations. During the war, we were able to man in our units above 100 percent in order to ensure they deployed as fully manned as possible. With a 10 percent non-ready force across the total force today, we cannot sustain that. So, manning is a critical limiting factor for us, and it is exacerbated by the growth in current operations demands for our Army.”

Allyn said the Army delivers about 46 percent of the military manpower the combatant commands request for preplanned operations each year plus 64 percent of the forces that are sent for unexpected needs — more than all the other military services combined. He said so far, the Army has largely been able to meet those requests, but at the expense of being able to quickly “surge” for potential contingency operations.

As one example of how the added call-ups of selected reservists would work, the Army would ease the strain on its active duty brigade combat teams by adding some National Guard brigades to their rotations. Active brigades are currently deployed one year for every 1.6 years they spend at home. As a matter of DoD policy, the goal for all active units is a “deployment to dwell” ratio of one-to-two.

Lt. Gen Joseph Anderson, the deputy chief of staff for operations and plans, said several Guard brigades are sufficiently trained to fulfill missions currently being handled by active forces, including the Minnesota National Guard’s 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team and the Idaho National Guard’s 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team.

“That’s our top two tier Guard BCTs. So how can we grab them and use them? We need Guard divisions and Guard BCTs to lessen our deployment-to-dwell,” he said. “The only way we’re going to do that, assuming that our emergent and our continuing requirements stay about the same is to use the National Guard.”

2 agencies detail workforce reductions, consolidations under gov’t reorganization

In its recently-released final report, the National Commission on the Future of the Army said Congress must do more to let the Army manage its active and reserve components as a total force, including by expanding the use of 12304(b) authority and paying for it.

“The impact of budgetary cuts has effectively limited the Army’s ability to provide Army National Guard and Army Reserve forces to meet Combatant Command requirements. Off-ramp decisions to avoid costs after scheduling Army National Guard units for deployment increased friction and, in some cases, raised suspicions between components that other motives were in play,” commissioners wrote. “The Total Force Policy must be resourced if it is going to be effective, and the absence of adequate 12304(b) funding will limit using Army National Guard and Army Reserve forces on missions for which they are ideally suited. Meanwhile, such cost avoidance decisions increase operational tempo for many Regular Army units that may not have sufficient home station dwell time.”

So they've also been 'grabbing' Coast Guards as 'the tip of the spear in a current combat theater of operations'. The language used sounds ominous to me.

This is several years old and on a Q & A, so dunno about current accuracy but (bolding mine):
https://www.quora.com/How-often-are-U-S-Coast-Guard-units-or-individuals...

How often are U.S. Coast Guard units or individuals sent abroad?

Forrest Alexander
Answered Jan 15, 2013
It depends on your definition of 'abroad.' Most larger Coast Guard cutters (Medium Endurance, High Endurance, and the new National Security Cutters, just to name a few) constantly go into international waters on patrols to conduct LE (law enforcement; counter narcotics, counter migrant, etc.) missions and the like.
In terms of going to waters off of another continent, besides North America or South America, not very often at all. Realize that the majority of Coast Guard missions are intended to be domestic and therefore almost all of the Coast Guard's resources are located and used within the borders and waters of the United States. That being said, there are many specialized units that comprise the new "Deployable Operations Group" (DOG), which was formed post-9/11 in order to create CG forces that could operate alongside the U.S. Navy in International Waters. One of the main ways that these forces (namely MSST, LEDET, and MSRT Teams) are used is on Navy destroyers and cruisers in places like the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean/Somali coast. The Navy has a lot more ships capable of going out to sea for months at a time than the Coast Guard does. However, international code provides that the U.S. Coast Guard is the only federal entity that can board an internationally flagged vessel in international waters. That means that when the Navy sees a suspicious vessel, they can hoist the Coast Guard Ensign and send a boarding team with CG/USN personnel to inspect the vessel. These teams that comprise the DOG are mainly used for conducting operations that insure maritime commerce in unstable waters. Most members of units in the DOG (PSUs, MSST, MSRT, LEDET, etc.) currently end up spending a good portion of their careers overseas.
However, if you are not a part of these units and are stationed at an afloat or shore unit you will not spend any (if a little) time in areas like Iraq, unless it is for humanitarian relief efforts, etc. Mainly cutters will deploy to places like the Arctic and Caribbean for missions and they might have an aviation detachment onboard. During the invasion of Iraq and after 9/11, several Coast Guard units, including cutters and a helicopter, were deployed to the Arabian Gulf in order to make sure that the maritime areas remained stable and so that commerce (oil) could safely pass through.
This answer is based on the current world situation.

(All emphasis mine)
http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,NI_Iraq_0803,00.html

What Was the Coast Guard Doing in Iraq?

By Vice Admiral James Hull, Commander Cari Thomas, and Lieutenant Commander Joe DiRenzo III, U.S. Coast Guard

Proceedings, August 2003

On 29 January 2003, General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, was asked, "The Coast Guard announced today [it is] sending eight cutters, 600 people, to the Persian Gulf, which I understand is the first time they have been dispatched to a combat zone since the Vietnam War. What's the thinking behind that, and what's their mission going to be?" General Myers answered, "For the Coast Guard, primarily for port and harbor and waterway security. That's what they do best."

Immediately, questions followed about why the lead federal agency for maritime homeland security should remain a military expeditionary force, as part of a power projection strategy overseas. After all, the Coast Guard suffers from its own readiness issues and is embarked on a multiyear, multimillion-dollar strategy to address deficiencies and modernize much of its fleet. Why, in the face of our current homeland security threats, should the nation's primary maritime security force deploy overseas?

Because we are good at it. Even with the Coast Guard's recent move to the Department of Homeland Security, our authorities allow us to work at home, on the high seas, or in a foreign theater. We can speak the Joint Operation Planning and Execution System and Incident Command System. We still work with the Department of Defense, maritime industry officials of many countries, and a variety of law enforcement agencies, navies, and coast guards. General Myers revalidated one of the service's primary missions and reinforced our long commitment to national defense and expeditionary operations. Coast Guard contributions to a wide range of mission in support of in-theater combatant commanders align precisely with President George W. Bush's National Security Strategy, which includes defending, preserving, and extending the peace.

With forces that can play in both the home and away games, the Coast Guard remains equipped to participate in whatever portion of power projection the President decides to invoke.

Defending the Peace: Military Power

Defending the peace includes defeating global terrorism, preventing future attacks, and transforming our national security institutions to meet new challenges and opportunities. A 1995 memorandum of agreement between the Secretaries of Defense and Transportation identifies Coast Guard core capabilities applicable to the national defense role and provides the operational framework for interoperability. The components of the agreement include: port security and defense, maritime interception operations, coastal sea control operations, peacetime military engagement, and military environment response operations. The agreement, still valid today, states that the Coast Guard is "a branch of the Armed Forces at all times . . . required to maintain a state of readiness to function as a specialized service in the Navy in times of war." ...

...In recent years the Navy has been involved overseas in the visit, board, search, and seizure mission, particularly in the Persian Gulf since the end of Desert Storm. This effort recently was expanded to support detection and interception of al Qaeda and Taliban leaders attempting to flee Afghanistan and Pakistan. Coast Guard personnel provide the Navy with boarding expertise taken from extensive experience in combating drug and alien smugglers.

Law Enforcement Detachment 205, embarked in the USS Chinook (PC-9), located and secured a large Iraqi military equipment and weapons cache hidden in caves in southern Iraq. It is likely that members of the Republican Guard had prepositioned this equipment for future urban combat. Also in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the high-endurance cutter Boutwell's (WHEC-719) boarding teams worked with HMS Chatham and the Danish frigate Olsen Fischer to intercept and board suspected smugglers close to the Iraq-Iran border.

The cutter Dallas (WHEC-716), positioned off the west coast of Syria, intercepted fugitives from Saddam Hussein's regime who were attempting to flee by sea. She also provided force protection to Navy battle groups in the eastern Mediterranean. In a 13 April 2003 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rear Admiral John Stufflebeen said, "Whether they [Hussein regime] stay or whether they decide to go, we're going to work this part of the water hard to make sure that if they do go, we catch them." He referred to the Dallas as "the lead dog," sniffing around any ships moving through the eastern Mediterranean.

Military missions for the Coast Guard are an important part of the national strategy and an instrumental part of those forces that defend the peace. The National Fleet concept, signed in 1998 and revalidated in 2001, speaks directly to Coast Guard-Navy integration. It is a cornerstone document that reaffirms the service's expeditionary capability and the immediate need for a modernized fleet to replace ships such as the Dallas, commissioned in 1967. ...

...Worldwide, the Coast Guard receives more requests for engagement operations from combatant commanders than it could ever support. Like many navies of the world, we perform border security missions and fisheries and law enforcement duties, and there is a natural humanitarian link. Central Command, European Command, and Pacific Command all use a variety of Coast Guard platforms for worldwide engagement missions. Through these and other engagement opportunities, the Coast Guard builds on common interests to promote global security, all in the name of preserving peace.

Extending the Peace: Economic Power

Ensuring the unfettered flow of commerce, both import and export, is critical to most national economies. In Iraq, preserving oil resources for that nation's economic future was an important objective in extending the peace. Just 13 miles off the Iraqi coast, 39 Coast Guard reservists secured the Mina-al-Bakr offshore oil terminals in the opening phases of Operation Iraqi Freedom. More than a million barrels of oil a day flowed through this terminal before the war. The Coast Guard's action will help ensure continuation of the flow, a major source of income that will aid in the reconstitution of Iraq.

Placing navigation aids in approaches and harbors is important for the safe navigation of the ships that import and export goods. In a postconflict environment, the aids- to-navigation program is an essential military mission, which currently only the Coast Guard is able to perform. The Walnut demonstrated this expeditionary capability in support of Iraqi Freedom, maintaining the 41-mile navigable channel heading from Iraq's primary southern port, Umm Qasr, to the sea. Because of years of neglect, the buoys along this route were in a terrible state of repair or had been removed. The Walnut provided a well-marked channel for humanitarian aid arrivals, vital to coalition objectives. In all cases, establishing a well-maintained seaway provided greater safety and security for mariners transiting to these ports.

An Expeditionary Force Multiplier

The Coast Guard adds measurable value to the larger National Security Strategy goals, and its capabilities are an extraordinary force multiplier. From Operation Iraqi Freedom lessons learned, to historical data from ongoing maritime interdiction operations, to recent responses to large environmental defense operations, the Coast Guard's unique skill sets must be continually capitalized on and maintained.

We carefully assessed our expected demands when contemplating deploying 11 cutters and 4 port security units to the Gulf, and the Department of Homeland Security steadfastly supported the combatant commanders' request for Coast Guard expeditionary forces. The Coast Guard's participation had, and will continue to have, a significant impact on our nation's future.

Vice Admiral Hull is Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area. Commander Thomas is the executive assistant to the Atlantic Area Commander. Lieutenant Commander DiRenzo is the Atlantic Area's Anti-Terrorism Coordinator.

And, while everything I've found on this is several years old, it seems aimed at expansion of the military role the Coast Guard now engages in, the following being termed 'the tip of the spear'.

https://www.army.mil/article/101430

Tip of the spear: The U.S. Coast Guard's RAID in Afghanistan

By Lt. Cmdr. Kent G. Sieg, U.S. Coast Guard ReserveMay 2, 2013

The fact that the U.S. Coast Guard has a significant presence in Afghanistan is not well known, and yet it is quite true. Some of its members serve on what is certainly one of the Coast Guard's most inland assignments ever: the redeployment assistance and inspection detachment (RAID) that is spread throughout the landlocked nation.

RAID's activities have gained visibility, and its members have become an increasingly recognizable part of the war effort. The detachment has deployed to several countries in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, and the Coast Guard has maintained a continuous presence in theater since the first RAID forces arrived in September 2003.

ORGANIZATION

RAID falls administratively under the Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia, headquartered in Bahrain. Its command element resides at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, co-located with the headquarters of the Army's 595th Transportation Brigade, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC). RAID supports SDDC and is operationally controlled under its purview.

In Afghanistan, the detachment's 12 members fall under the tactical command of detachments of the 831st Transportation Battalion. These Coast Guardsmen have been stationed at Bagram Airfield, Kandahar Airfield, and Camp Leatherneck but have journeyed to forward bases all over the country.

Until December 2011, RAID was deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn, inspecting nearly 20 percent of all of the Army's containers, which held 2.2 million pieces of equipment being moved out of Iraq. The end of split combat support operations since early 2012 has greatly eased the accountability mission for this small but widely dispersed unit. ...

...RAID inspects containers regardless of whether they are transported through Pakistan or through longer routes in central Asia. On average, RAID inspects nearly 300 containers per month. Because fees for cargo held up in Arabian or Central and South Asian ports can cost $5,000 per day, RAID saves the Department of Defense (DOD) a considerable sum in transportation expenses and fees.

Through recertification and corrective fixes, RAID has also reduced the number of containers leased by the DOD. The reduction in leased containers resulted in fee savings of $500,000 in the last quarter of calendar year 2011, solely for the Iraq drawdown.

The cost savings in Iraq are being replicated in Afghanistan. With a similar cycle of redeployment underway, the small RAID element stationed in Afghanistan has remained busy. RAID members inspected more than 7,000 containers on the ground in Afghanistan during 2012. ...

...BEING A RAID MEMBER

Coast Guardsmen from RAID have been to all corners of the current theater of operations. It often proves easier for RAID members to travel to sites than to have the containers brought to a centralized location for inspection. Because their services are needed at so many bases, RAID members are in constant motion.

RAID personnel frequently journey to outlying forward and contingency operating bases around Afghanistan. Air travel is preferable for reasons of personal security, but occasionally RAID members join land convoys moving between posts. As a result, RAID members collectively log an average of 35,000 miles in travel per year. This trekking has not been without dangers; they have been exposed to direct and indirect fire in various locations.

Withstanding the comparatively spartan and arduous conditions of Army and Marine Corps field life is by all measures a novel experience for RAID members. They live in freight containers, tents, or B-huts and periodically have to run for the bunkers during mortar attacks. ...

...To prepare for deployment, the RAID teams undergo extensive training. Members first attend preparatory weapons and force protection training at a contracted facility in Moyock, N.C. Then they report to Fort Dix, N.J., for a month of intensive combat training and theater orientation conducted by experienced Soldiers. There they are also exposed to the Army's very different way of doing things. In the meantime, all personnel acquire Coast Guard inspector qualifications if they do not yet already possess them.

The shipmates arrive in theater first in Kuwait, where personnel conduct inspections at Camps Arifjan, Buehring, and Patriot under the aegis of the 595th Transportation Brigade. After this initial assignment, they rotate forward into what is still a hazardous combat zone.

In Afghanistan, RAID Coast Guardsmen are part of a small element doing a big job, and they do it well. Over the last decade, multiple RAID members have been selected as the Coast Guard's enlisted person of the year following the conclusion of their tours. RAID members also have received Army, Navy, and Marine Corps medals, including the Bronze Star. Furthermore, during their off-duty hours, RAID personnel have volunteered to assist in tending to wounded personnel in base hospital emergency rooms, spent time teaching English to local children, and staffed the United Service Organization's entertainment centers.

Through their status as RAID members, Coast Guardsmen operate in forward areas, notably far removed from any major body of water. These U.S. military personnel continue to successfully represent their branch by serving as its "tip of the spear" in a current combat theater of operations.

I had no idea, but your mention of the Coast Guard raised suspicions. Get her to look into what TPTB are up to and what's happening with the 'Disposables' in the military, including the Coast guards, and what they're doing to other people's countries, if you can.

Even if she winds up washing dishes for a living, at least her hands and conscience would be clean.

Edit: just to add to the 'grab' for the global corporate/military hegemony list, as going postal globally and attacking all of the countries on the corporate 'kill' list at once will require an awful lot of bodies - emphasis mine:

https://www.sss.gov/Registration/Women-And-Draft/Backgrounder-Women-and-...

Backgrounder: Women and the Draft

LATEST UPDATE: Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced on December 3, 2015, the Department of Defense will lift all gender-based restrictions on military service starting January 2016. In response, Armed Services Committee Chairmen, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), issued a joint statement on December 3, 2015, saying, “Congress has a 30-day period to review the implications of today’s decision. … and receiving the Department’s views on any changes to the Selective Service Act that may be required as a result of this decision.”

As of January 2016, there has been no decision to require females to register with Selective Service, or be subject to a future military draft. Selective Service continues to register only men, ages 18 through 25.

Prior to this latest update, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta announced on January 24, 2013, the end of the direct ground combat exclusion rule for female service members, following a unanimous recommendation by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Based on the American Forces Press Service’s news release, “Defense Department Expands Women’s Combat Role,” dated January 24, 2013, key statements are highlighted below:

The secretary announced that the service branches will continue to move forward with a plan to eliminate all unnecessary gender-based barriers to service. The change is intended to ensure that the best qualified and most capable service members, regardless of gender, are available to carry out the mission. Panetta added, “If members of our military can meet the qualifications for a job, then they should have the right to serve, regardless of creed, color, gender or sexual orientation.”

The secretary directed the military services to undertake an evaluation of all occupational performance standards to ensure they are up to date and gender-neutral. Specialty schools will be included in the evaluation, a senior defense official said. … the entire process is to be completed by January 1, 2016.

Once the policy is fully implemented, military occupations will be closed to women only by exception, and only if approved by the defense secretary, a senior defense official said.

The following is an abstract taken from a GAO Report to the Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee on Readiness, GAO / NSIAD-98-199. Appendix I of this GAO report is entitled, "Historical Perspectives on Women and the Draft." It provides an excellent chronological summary about this issue and nearly all of it is incorporated, verbatim, in this paper.

While women officers and enlisted personnel serve with distinction in the U.S. Armed Forces, women have never been subject to Selective Service registration or a military draft in America. Those women who served in the past and those who serve today in ever increasing numbers all volunteered for military service.

The U.S. came close to drafting women during World War II, when there was a shortage of military nurses. However, there was a surge of volunteerism and a draft of women nurses was not needed.

After America’s draft ended in 1973, the Selective Service System was maintained in a standby status, just in case a return to conscription became necessary during a crisis. After March 29, 1975, men no longer had to register and Selective Service was placed in "deep standby." But then, in 1980, President Carter reactivated the registration process for men in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and in reaction to reports that the standby Selective Service System might not meet wartime requirements for rapid manpower expansion of the active and reserve forces.

Although the specter of a future draft remained solely the concern of young men, discussions in Congress and the Administration about registering and conscripting women periodically took place. Section 811 of the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1980 (P.L. 96-107, Nov. 9, 1979) required the President to send to the Congress a plan for reforming the law providing for the registration and induction of persons for military service. The President sent his recommendations for Selective Service reform in a report dated Feb. 11, 1980. As noted above, the President requested reactivation of registration for men. But another recommendation to the Congress was that the act be amended to provide presidential authority to register, classify, and examine women for service in the Armed Forces. If granted, the President would exercise this authority when the Congress authorized the conscription of men. Although women would become part of the personnel inventory for the services to draw from, their use would be based on the needs and missions of the services. Department of Defense (DoD) policy, which was not to assign women to positions involving close combat, would continue. In response to these recommendations, the Congress agreed to reactivate registration, but declined to amend the act to permit the registration of women. In the legislative history for the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1981, the Senate Armed Services Committee report stated that the primary reason for not expanding registration to include women was DoD’s policy of not using women in combat. Additional reasons cited in the report included agreement by both civilian and military leadership that there was no military need to draft women and congressional concerns about the societal impact of the registration and possible induction of women.

The exclusion of women from the registration process was challenged in the courts. A lawsuit brought by several men resulted in a 1980 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania decision that the MSSA’s gender-based discrimination violated the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, and the District Court enjoined registration under the Act. Upon direct appeal, in the case of Rostker v. Goldberg, 453 U.S. 57 (1981), the Supreme Court reversed the District Court decision and upheld the constitutionality of the exclusion, ruling that there was no violation of the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment. The Supreme Court based its decision largely on DoD’s policy that excluded women from combat. The Court reasoned that since the purpose of registration was to create a pool of potential inductees for combat, males and females could be treated differently. The Court also noted its inclination to defer to Congress since draft registration requirements are enacted by Congress under its constitutional authority to raise armies and navies, and observed that Congress had in 1980 considered but rejected a proposal to expand registration to women.

In 1992, a Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces reexamined the issue of registration and conscription of women. In its November 1992 report, by a vote of 11 to 3, the Commission recommended that women not be required to register for or be subject to conscription. The Commission cited the 1981 Supreme Court decision in Rostker v. Goldberg upholding the exclusion of women from registration as the basis for its recommendation. The Commission also discussed enacting existing ground combat specialties exclusion policies into law to provide an additional barrier to the amendment of the MSSA to provide for the conscription of women. However, an appendix to its report suggested that public opinion was divided on the issue. The appendix, which included the results of a random telephone survey of 1,500 adults, showed that, in the event of a draft for a national emergency or threat of war (and assuming an ample pool of young men exists), 52 percent of respondents indicated women should be drafted, about 39 percent of respondents indicated women should not be drafted, and 10 percent responded they did not know.

In May 1994, President Clinton asked the Secretary of Defense to update its mobilization requirements for the Selective Service System and, as a part of the effort, "continues to review the arguments for and against continuing to exclude women from registration now that they can be assigned to combat roles other than ground combat." In its subsequent report, the DoD position remained "that the restriction of females from assignments below the brigade level whose primary mission is to engage in direct combat on the ground, provides justification from exempting women from registration (and a draft) as set forth in the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Rostker v. Goldberg (1981)." However, the report also recognized the vastly increased role being played by women in each of the Armed Services who, in Fiscal Year 1994, comprised 16 percent of recruits. "Because of this change in the makeup of the Armed Forces," the report observed, "much of the congressional debate which, in the court’s opinion, provided adequate congressional scrutiny of the issue...(in 1981) would be inappropriate today." While maintaining that it was not necessary to register or draft women, the DoD review concluded "the success of the military will increasingly depend upon the participation of women."

In 1998, at the request of U.S. Senator Charles Robb (D-VA), ranking minority member of the Subcommittee on Readiness, Senate Armed Services Committee, the General Accounting Office (GAO) addressed a variety of questions related to gender equity in the military. Included was a budget and resource examination of the impact of requiring women to register with Selective Service. The GAO report* did not address the pros and cons regarding the exclusion of women from ground combat positions or from the Selective Service registration requirement, nor did it make any policy recommendations. Instead, GAO simply described the DoD position that there is no need to register women as "being consistent with its policy of restricting women from direct ground combat."

(Compiled and edited by The Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, Selective Service System, December 2015.)

Between the reinstatement of the draft, the 'grabbing' of all domestic forces intended for defense of a country never in danger of invasion despite endless planned and enacted attacks on various resource-rich countries based on some such excuse and repeated attempts to double the pools of grunt bodies by including women in the draft, due to ambitious plans to take over everyone else by military force using what's already far and away the world's largest military, and plans to ensure that soldiers can function despite injuries and therefore potentially fight until death occurs, whether they notice that they're bleeding to death or not, I'd say never vote for evil or support it by volunteering to join it as one of the Expendables.

(Also added a line I'd thought I had in previous commentary.)

I mean of course the stuff they're gonna be testing on soldiers.

Because it always starts with soldiers. Nukes, Agent Orange, Gulf War Syndrome, PTSD, TBI, the list goes on and on. They used to give us cigarettes, but dumped the whiskey ration as "Immoral". Twice a day stand and salute, gives way to sporting events where everybody is expected to stand and salute...

Sorry, just raging. My daughter recently asked about the possibility of joining the military, and I gave her the same answer I always do. "Coast Guard only, and get everything in writing." Of course I also told her that recruiters are liars and that there are a million other ways to go to college, especially considering she's low income, a former foster child, and the daughter of a war veteran. Of course, she's my daughter, so probably will ignore that, so I'm trying to steer her in the right direction. I just hope she doesn't want to go down that path, especially because she mentioned health care as a reason, and with the current trends...

@dkmich @dkmich
to the mental health ... just saying I dealt with people who practiced the real juju.

Luckily my brain is creatively forgetful.

On Contact: Creative Forgetfulness with Eric Foner:
[video:https://youtu.be/lX0ar575Qq0]

Well, I am going to the beach and look at the water. It makes me fall asleep. Have a good day.

Not ready for videos of snow and cold. Will be here soon enough. The trees were really cool, and the new mind controlling helmet technology is scary.

We have one more hurrah at the place up north and then it gets shut off and closed up for the season. I can't imagine living here the entire winter. I understand the big lake adds to the number of gray winter days already abundant in Michigan.

We are all going to die anyway one way or another. Wouldn't it be nice if it was known if that was a good thing or a sad thing? There is an upside to being spiritual. It is hard to understand the need for suffering. So many people, so much pain. Good juju being sent everyone's way.