It came to my attention during a recent news group discussion 
that the term "back door draft" is being used in the current 
election.  I also found out that people not completely familiar 
with today's U.S. military actually thought this was similar to 
the involuntary draft of the Viet Nam era.  This belief was not 
a result of political prejudice as I first thought, but rather 
simple lack of knowledge about how military service works.  I 
was able to respond with some useful information which appears 
in modified form below.

As background, I was myself in the volunteer military - I served 
as a Navy Officer on active duty for five years, and for a number 
of years thereafter as a reservist, during the final decade of 
the cold war.


The idea that there is a "back door draft" seems to stem from 
the belief that the members of today's military sign up for a 
contract beginning and ending on certain dates, and that the 
Bush administration is keeping them beyond the agreed end date 
in contravention of the contract.

While there is indeed a contract, that belief is not otherwise 
accurate.  The contract includes reserve provisions that are 
agreed to when one signs up.  These provisions are included in 
the contracts exactly for situations like the present, when the 
military might need additional forces for a limited period of 
time.

In my case, I went through school on an ROTC scholarship, and 
in exchange signed up for four years' active duty upon 
commissioning and graduation, followed by four years' reserve 
duty.  I could have been called up at any time during the latter 
four years, or kept on at the end of the first four years for an 
additional four years.  It was always impressed on us that we 
served "at the pleasure of the President" and that "the needs of 
the Navy" superseded any personal plans during this period.

Someone I know who has served more recently, as enlisted rather 
than as an officer, says:

  Everyone who joins the military is subject to a total 
  commitment of eight years.  Any amount of that eight years 
  not served on active duty or as part of the active reserves 
  is served in the inactive reserve.  Once you've finished your 
  eight years, you no longer have any commitment.  This is 
  common knowledge amongst all who join and is no big secret.

It sounds like the terms are still similar to what they were for 
me 20 years ago.

The bottom line is, there is no "back door draft" - it's a term 
made up by people totally out of touch with today's all 
volunteer military.  Reserve callups and stop loss extensions 
during one's reserve service are a possibility one agrees to 
when one volunteers.

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