Draft? the US Army is shady – really shady

Draft? the US Army is shady – really shady

By Davey D.

Jamil Posey, 19 (right), has been ordered back to Iraq. His mother, Edrina Gibson-McEntire, has terminal cancer. They are mourning the death of Jamil’s baby brother, who was recently stabbed to death.

By now everyone has heard stories about a Back Door draft. To make sure the U.S. military is well staffed as it continues its war in Iraq, military leaders have done all sorts of shady things, including extending people’s stay of duty, refusing to let people retire, giving petty criminals a choice between jail time or joining the army and more recently calling people up and demanding they report to duty years after they’ve been honorably discharged.

In one instance, well known Hip Hop scribe Jeff Chang saw his cousin, David Miyasato, who lives in Hawaii, go through an agonizing situation when the U.S. Army attempted to force him back into service after he had been retired for 13 years. In addition, Miyasato had served a tour of duty during Desert Storm back in the early 90s.

He had served his time and was at home relaxing with his newborn child and eons away from the reality of war. However, because he was a skilled truck driver and truckers have been frequent targets of the Iraqi insurgence, the Army felt it necessary to order Miyasato back to the battle field. His report date was last month on Veterans’ Day.

For those who don’t know, if given a date to report to duty, even if a mistake is made, once you report you are at the beck and call of the military. So even if they are mistaken in calling you up to duty, once you show up, it’s their ball game until things are figured out.

Miyasato was lucky to have a cousin who is well connected in the media (Jeff Chang). He was also lucky to have a good lawyer. The subsequent attention he received resulted in a quick resolution to his situation, but not everyone is so lucky.

The latest casualty of this shadiness on the part of the U.S. military involves 19-year-old Bay Area native Jamil Posey. He attended the School of Social Justice in Oakland, which is known for its activism. Posey comes from a background where money and resources are scarce, and his neighborhood is really rough. Very few make it out, but he was one of the few who was determined.

He wanted to go to college, but like many of the folks around him, his financial situation would not allow him to do that. As a last resort, he signed up for the Army after a recruiter broke it down to him about all the benefits and advantages he would have.

His classmates who are hip to the game and underhanded recruiting tactics of the military, including a close friend named Michelle, tried in vain to persuade him not to join. According to her, Jamil really wanted to go to college and believed the promises of the military recruiters and wound up joining.

As soon as he signed the papers, the Army moved to have him graduate early and transfer out of the School of Social Justice. His friends speculate that the army did not want him to be around folks who would influence him or even use his situation to make a larger case about how those who live in poor communities are economically drafted.

It wasn’t too long after graduation that Posey was shipped off to Iraq, where he served for a year. He found himself having to come back to the Bay Area because it was discovered that his mother has terminal cancer. The Army gave him a few weeks to get his affairs in order. The other week his 18-month-old baby brother – note: I said 18 months, not years – was tragically stabbed to death. So now Posey has a mom who is dying and suddenly had to deal with his infant brother being killed.

One would think the Army would say to 19-year-old Mr. Posey, Stay at home, get yourself together and take care of your family. Unfortunately, the Army remained steadfast in its stance that Posey must continue serving and make his way back to the battle lines in Iraq.

When word got out about his situation, friends from the School of Social Justice began to kick up dust and alert people. This in turn prompted Army officials to raid Posey’s house and take away all forms of communication, including cell phones and computers. He had been ordered to keep quiet about his ordeal. It appears this is the new tactic being used by the military to do their dirt while non-military folks are kept in the dark.

The other day we had two of Jamil’s friends from the School of Social Justice, Jackie and Michele along with community activist George Galvez and former Vietnam vet and gang counselor Nane Alejandrez of Barrios Unidos come on our Hard Knock Radio Show to speak to this disturbing situation….

We are providing a direct link to the radio show so you can hear this unbelievable story for yourself. It will make you cry and get you pissed off as hell. People need to call their elected officials and demand that these sorts of tactics being used by our military be put to an end.

On another note, my question is where are all these so called Red State voters who are in full support of the war in Iraq? Why is the Army short of personnel? One would think that we would have a long waiting list of folks ready to go fight and show their support for this country and our current foreign policy. I guess talk is cheap in the end. We only have one Pat Tillman and a bunch of folks who like to cheer and in this case vote from the sidelines.