A question about the "skills draft"

[Reverend_Smitty]

Does anyone have a definitive list of the professions and/or degrees that a person has to have in order to be included in this skills/medical draft. Because I am currently in college and am in a major that I guess would best be classified as an allied health profession (athletic training) so my question is...Am I fucked or not?

[rocktivity]

1. I'd say that computers or health care would be the most critical skills

but if Bush's "critical skills" draft works anything like his "clear skies" initiative, don't be surprised if "breathing unassisted" becomes classified as a critical skill!

:headbang:
rocknation

[tedoll78]

2. Whaaa?

I'm 26, and in allied health also (x-ray technologist). I think we're both fucked.

I wonder if the "I'm gay" excuse will work? (I am.)
Or how about the "I've had cancer" card? (I have.)

This sucks. The stakes are sooooo high this year. :scared:

[Reverend_Smitty]

4. I'm not gay...

but if I'm facing a draft, I have a feeling I'm gonna find women really attractive all of the sudden...

Yep I'm almost 21, a year away from my degree in Athletic Training (and I swear if this god damn administration messes up my grad school plans) and I'd rather put my skills to use on athletes not soldiers

[TahitiNut]

12. They won't mess up your plans ...

... just their execution. :silly: (Take it from a former draftee.)

[mairceridwen]

10. no medical deferrments

a skills draft can be used to fulfill labor shortages throughout the entire government, not just the military, so no medical deferments, no conscientous objectors.

unless you are taking the chemo right now.

they'll take medical people up until age 44 or so.

that's what I hear.

[tedoll78]

15. Damn.

Nope. No chemo. It's been five years since I've needed any sort of medical care for it.

What about chronic bronchitis?

(Yeah.. I'm grasping at straws now..)

[Reverend_Smitty]

17. I get terrible Hay Feaver...

and when the pollen level is too high, forget about it!!!
:P

Allergies gotta be grounds for medical deferment...lol

[ElsewheresDaughter]

27. there are only 2 medical deferments 1 Athsma and 2 anyone who took Ritalin

after the age of 12

[MadProphetMargin]

22. How about the "screw you, I ain't going" card?

Mohommad Ali was the man.

[serryjw]

3. No definitive list BUT

any one with health training is going to be high on the list...I would think people whom are degreed and can practice would be ahead of you. Dr & RN's are f*cked!Do you have a clue any of the medical life saving procedures?

[Reverend_Smitty]

6. Nothing more than basic life saving techinques...

at a first responder/EMT level, however my specialties fall in rehabilitation (PT type stuff)...so at least I won't be on the front lines

[serryjw]

9. If you got drafted ....

they send you to Walter Reed!

[Reverend_Smitty]

11. That is precisely the reason why I don't want to go to PT school

I wanted to work with young healthy athletes. I don't want to be a PT because most of the people you encounter are either elderly or seriously injured...I find that to be incredibly depressing. Much like how I would find working at Walter Reed...these people *should* be young healthy athletes, but instead they are broken shells of their former selves. It's very sad...however I wouldn't mind being stateside

[serryjw]

13. Don't worry til you have to

I still think degreed Dr & Rn's are much higher than you. You probably havn't learned how to do a trachenomy? My guess is our VET hasn't either.

[Reverend_Smitty]

16. No tracheotomy here but...

I want to be informed about this possible draft so I can inform my friends, and they can tell their friends, and so on...hopefully they will make a choice for their future come November

[phylny]

21. My daughter, a young athlete

needed the services of a physical therapist after tearing her ACL. She went from being unable to walk to being able to continue to kick ass on the soccer field, all with the help of her therapist AND her athletic trainer. There was nothing depressing about the work she and her therapist did. What are you going to do when one of your athletes gets injured? Tell them it's too depressing to work with them? ;)

For this reason, she's considering being a physical therapist first, and then an athletic trainer.

[WLKjr]

5. I have a question to

does the critical skills include Computer Network Systems techies?

I graduate in June 2005 :(

[kestrel91316]

7. Veterinarian here, we will be in demand.........................

but I am 47 so I HOPE they won't want me. If they do I will not go. Period.

[mairceridwen]

8. my only skills

are teaching and writing oppositional feminist political criticism
and literary analysis.

I can work for the Department of Homeland Toni Morrison novels.

[gospelized]

14. i'm 25

and my degree is in art history. so unless someone on the battlefield needs to know what year van gogh died, i won't be much use.

plus i'm a lesbian so i'm not allowed anyways.

[izzie]

19. Now you could give talks on Jasper John and the flag culture.

Do not count your self out. You to could serve. Specially if you are in a community college. George loves those.

[mairceridwen]

23. you can push papers

while someone else shoots people

and you are allowed, you just can't talk about it


if it gets bad enough, they won't care about being gay, they'll stick gays, lesbians, and trans folk in offices all alone to make photocopies,

then they'll call themselves tolerant

[izzie]

18. With over 7000 wounded home now I am sure you will be needed

If Bush gets in you can be sure their will be a lot more for you to treat with a skill like that.

[in_cog_ni_to]

20. The MOST wanted professions...top 2

Linguists and Computers. DO NOT TELL THEM YOU ARE COMPUTER LITERATE and if you speak more than one language...DO NOT TELL THEM!

Just don't list anything on your SS form. Play dumb...literally.

[George W. Dunce]

24. Well that's great

My wife is an RN and I am in Information Technologies. Thanks.... we are just about to pay off our student loans to,wouldn't want to get blown up in Iraq and still owe the government some money.

[in_cog_ni_to]

25. Don't tell them!

Keep it to yourself! Tell your wife to say she's a stay at home mom or something. Just omit any and all professions that they would find useful! DON'T TELL THEM! You CAN refuse to serve too. Conscientious Objector.

Spread the word to EVERYONE you know that the Draft is coming in 2005 and it's for MEN AND WOMEN this time. You will change a lot of Bushbot's minds if they know THEY will have to serve. This is a draft that NO ONE can get out of. If you're 18-34 years old...you're screwed.

[nickinSTL]

28. How about German?

I'm sure that there are lots of German speakers in Iraq. And Iran.

(of course, just the fact that I'm able to learn foreign languages probably means they'll want to teach me Arabic. Or Farsi)

[LibDemAlways]

31. That's what I'm thinking, too.

Just play dumb and keep sending the form back blank. How can they assess your skills if you don't admit any.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

26. my 2 daughters age 24 & 31 will be drafted...ER & OR nurses and a son.....

thank God for family and friends in Canada

[GiovanniC]

29. How Do They Know?

Just curious. I know my way around a computer, and I am bi-lingual, but how will they know that? Searching college transcripts (I didn't learn my second language in college, and my major was/is PolySci), asking employers (I do technical work, but in an accounting department while putting myself through school), just asking you outright (I'll never tell)?

I mean, if they want to find these people, they have to have some method of locating these skilled personnel, right? So what is their method?

[Huckebein the Raven]

30. That little "Total Information Awareness" project

under John Poindexter (sp ?) that they tried to haul out a few years ago. Of course I don't believe for a second they got rid of it.