I got my Selective Service registration card in the mail...

[wheresthemind]

I have been stalling to the last minute to register this damned thing...

My deadline is up tomorrow. I understand there are certain steps I should take now to further my case as a conscience objector later in life.

I have seen links on the boards before pointing people in the right direction, but now I cannot seem to find them.

Can someone tell me what I should do now during my registration to help me should I want CO status later in life?

[NYC]

1. Write "conscientious objector" across the top ot it.

If you plan to claim Conscientious Objector status, it is important to begin building a "paper trail" now.

Although registrants for the draft have no space on the registration form to indicate conscientious objection, you can write "conscientious objector" on the card, very visibly. Mail two copies, one to the Selective Service, and the other to yourself. Do not open the one you send to yourself. This way, you have a signed and dated affirmation of your beliefs.

You can also register as a Conscientious Objector at the NoDraftNoWay website. While this is not an official registration, it is one more way to begin building your paper trail.

There are many other ways to start documenting your claim: subscribing to anti-war publications, signing petitions, taking pictures of yourself at anti-war rallies, and getting active in local anti-war organizations are all good ways to do this. (Contact us at [e-mail] for contacts with local organizations.)

http://www.NoDraftNoWay.org
212-633-6646

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

2. Cool you found some information

Good luck :hi:

[TreasonousBastard]

3. Like the other guy said...

write "Conscientious Objector" on the card, but put it in the middle. The microfilm those cards and then throw them away, so anything written on the edge gets lost.

That, by itself, means little. You will have to, at some point, file forms to change your draft status. All it is ais part of the paper trail. Registering at any of the anti-draft sites, including www.nisbco.org, is also part of the paper trail, but not necessary. What will be necessary is a LOT of paperwork and affidavits from clergy, teachers, friends, and most importantly, supporters of the military who will attest to your pacifist beliefs. Active membership in Peace Churches, and/or actual work with pacifist organizations, preferably religious, helps, too. Even then, it's not guranteed.

There are several types of CO status, and it's not always all that it's cracked up to be. As a CO, you might well have to go in as a noncombatant-- usually as a medic on the front lines without being issued a weapon, or do alternative civilian service. And you have little or no choice in that service.

You can apply for all sorts of draft classifications and deferments when the time comes, although many of them won't apply to you. CO is just one of them.

The most common way to get out of the draft is medical-- Unfit for duty for physical or psychological reasons. There are several hundred physical and mental conditions that can get you out, and they don't look for most of them at the MEPS physical. MEPS doctors look for ways to get you IN. If you have one or more of the conditions, have plenty of documentation from private doctors. Start looking now for things wrong with you.

DO register, though. There is very little chance of a draft in the near future, and the penalties for not registering are immense. Thanks to the Solomon Amendments, you can't get into any Federal programs, jobs, loans, etc., if not registered. Many states have penalties for not registering, too.

If you don't send the card in now, it's no big deal. They don't hunt you down, and you have until age 28 to send it in unless you need those Federal or state programs. Like student loans. But, send it in anyway, because the later you send it in the more they can extend the age for you to be drafted, and they can push you to the top of the list.