From Draft NOtices, April-June 2025
— Rick Jahnkow
During the last few years, the U.S. military has experienced significant difficulty meeting goals for new recruits. In Fiscal Year 2022, for example, the Army fell 25 percent short of its goal. The Air Force and Navy have experienced similar shortfalls in recent years. Adding to the problem for the Army is the fact that almost one-fourth of all new Army recruits are not completing their initial enlistment terms.
From Draft NOtices, April-June 2025
— Lauren Reyna Morales and Davíd Morales
In December 2024, we participated in the 14th International Conference on Education and Justice at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. This was our first time attending the gathering, which is often held in Honolulu and organized by Hawai‘i Scholars for Education and Social Justice, among others. The conference was open to the public and brought together students, educators, activists, and academics. Davíd learned about it through his doctoral work at Stanford’s Graduate School of Education, where he is completing a Ph.D. in Race, Inequality, and Language in Education. Lauren teaches middle school social studies in the Bay Area. Though currently based in the Bay, we serve on the boards of the Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities (YANO) and the Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (COMD), both based in our hometown of San Diego, California.
From Draft NOtices, April-June 2025
— Em Padilla
At the start of his second presidential term, Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” effectively banning Transgender military personnel. The signing came on the heels of Trump’s presidential campaign that demonized the Transgender community via television advertisements, social media posts, and inflammatory rhetoric on the campaign trail. Moreover, the Executive Order and its ensuing policy are an expansion of the work the Trump administration did during his first term between 2017 and 2021 to institute a ban on service by Transgender military personnel. The current political moment has established a dangerous precedent for Transgender people in the United States via anti-trans legislation, violent rhetoric, and political targeting. The banning of Transgender military members speaks to the broader implications of increased transphobic legislative and policy shifts over the last several years. The issues of the current trans military ban are reflective of the precarious conditions trans people have and continue to face in the civilian sector.
