THE PENTAGON IS QUIETLY MOVING TO FILL DRAFT BOARD VACANCIES NATIONWIDE. WHILE OFFICIALS SAY THERE'S NO CAUSE TO WORRY, SOME EXPERTS AREN'T SO SURE

Dave Lindorff, Salon.com
November 3, 2003

Nov. 3, 2003 | The community draft boards that became notorious for sending reluctant young men off to Vietnam have languished since the early 1970s, their membership ebbing and their purpose all but lost when the draft was ended. But a few weeks ago, on an obscure federal Web site devoted to the war on terrorism, the Bush administration quietly began a public campaign to bring the draft boards back to life.

"Serve Your Community and the Nation," the announcement urges. "If a military draft becomes necessary, approximately 2,000 Local and Appeal Boards throughout America would decide which young men ... receive deferments, postponements or exemptions from military service."