Fighting the Army

There's no official draft yet, but if this keeps up, there will be.
More than 2,000 former soldiers the Army has ordered back to military work have said "No."

Many of these former soldiers--some of whom have not trained, held a gun, or worn a uniform in years--object to being sent to Iraq and Afghanistan now, after they thought they were through with active duty. They are seeking exemptions, filing court cases, or simply failing to report for duty.

One of the soldiers, Rick Howell, said, "I consider myself a civilian. I've done my time. I've got a brand new baby and a wife, and I haven't touched the controls of an aircraft in seven years. I'm 47 years old. How could they be calling me? How could they even want me?"

Obviously, there are much larger questions to be answered in this situation (such as, why should ANYONE have to fight an unnecessary war in Iraq or Afghanistan?), but come on, 47 years old? And seven years out of training? What is the Army thinking?

Despite the looming threat of a draft, we wish all of these so-called Individual Ready Reservists success in their resistance to this insanity.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/16/national/16reserves.html?