Ways tonight courage military, national, and Public Service from all americans. This panel looks at whether women should be required to register for military draft and whether they should serve in combat rolls. The National Commission on military, national and Public Service hosted this event. Good morning, and welcome to the third public hearing on Selective Service on military, national and Public Service. The purpose of this hearing is to address an important question, should Selective Service registration be expanded to include all americans. In 2016, the commission was created amid a debate over whether the requirement for Selective Service registration should be extended to women after military combat roles were open to women in 2015. Congress charged us to answer two very important questions. First, does our country have a continuing need for a military selective system. If so, whether the Current System requires modifications. Second, how can we as a nation create an ethos of service and increase participation in military, national, and Public Service. The first question is the reason we are here this morning. The four hearings we are holding, two yesterday and two today, provide an opportunity to discuss the policy options the commission is considering with respect to the Selective Service system and a potential future draft. Yesterdays hearings focused on the Strategic Security environment and potential requirements for Selective Service and the nation to meet those needs, along with potential modeny indications to the modifications to the system that might be used to support National Mobilization beyond current levels of the all volunteer force. Our two hearings today will provide us the opportunity to discuss who should defend the nation in a potential future draft. Yesterdays hearings focused on the Strategic Security environment and potential requirements for Selective Service and the nation to meet those needs. Prof ir of philosophy and ethics at southern theological baptist seminary, marine corps veteran an writing. Ed hasbrook of registers. Info. Author of sex scandal, the drive to abolish male and female and committee on National Legislation. Thanks for joining us. Id like to turn to advice chair for military service deb what wada for opening statement. Thank you. As vice chair for military service i have the honor leading Selective Service, system and military service for the commission. When it comes to Selective Service, military service, we found a commonality. Very few understand either. We found Many Americans do not understand the requirement to register or the purpose of the Selective Service system. The Selective Service system exists and is active. Most register for Selective Service when they apply for drivers license or federal Financial Aid. Approximately 75 of men who register as a byproduct of state or federal requirement. Register is the law. If a man fails to register, there are ramifications such as not receiving federal Financial Aid or being able to attain a federal job. A court case this year all male draft registration is unconstitutional. In addition a federal court in new jersey is handling a second Court Case Involving women and Selective Service i should an opinion denying core parts of the governments motion to dismiss. In oscar versus goldberg, a male only registration will is justified because women are ineligible for combat roles. As we now know that has changed. It wont speed up the time line releasing the final report. However, the decision will make the work more important. Considering the need for the program in its current form, if any changes should be made or be established. Some of the policy options include expanding the registration to include women, identify individuals who possess Critical Skills the nation might need. Calls in times of emergency with existing data registration base and incorporating reasonable change to identify, evaluate and protect those who will not serve in the military. We look forward to hearing from panelists today on this important issue. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I yield. Thank you, debra. Before we begin, id like to remind everyone to silence Electronic Devices you might have and ill explain how we conduct todays hearing. The commissioners have received your written testimony and it will be entered into the official record. We ask you summarize the highlights of your testimony in the allotted five minutes. Before you will see our timing system. When the light turns yellow you have approximately one minute remaining and when it turns red, your time has expired. After all testimony is completed, we will move into questions from commissioner. Each commissioner will ask a question and receive a response. As commissioners know not reluctant to gavel them down if we run over five minutes. Depending on time, well proceed with one, maybe two rounds of questions. On completion of questions, we will provide opportunity for members of the public in attend sans to offer comments, either on the specific topic did or the commissions overarching mandate. These comments will be limited to two minutes. The light will turn yellow when you have 30 seconds remaining and red when time expires. Were ready to begin with the panelists testimony and id like to begin with dr. Coppen ger. Thank you. I appreciate the chance to speak. In 1969, a number of cadets gathered in front of the television in the dorm. We had already signed up. Wed been to fort sill for basics and Branch Schools in ft. Benning. There was vietnam lottery. Our interest was academic at that point but curious. Our found out i was 95, and they took 195. So that was that. If someone said im number 120, if they just take the women in the dorms across campus, i wouldnt have to go. We would have thought that absurd and shameful. I dont know we knew the vander procedures speech. Had we done it we would Say Something like we hold our manhood cheap and consider ourselves cursed with women on the macon dealt. It was unthinkable. Four decades later Southern Baptist passed a resolution entitled on women register for the draft. Southern baptist largest protestant did he nomination with 37,000 churches and 15 million members. They appealed beginning whereas god created male and female with specific and complementary characteristics. There is overlap but a notion of men and women created differently. We also went on to say that we appreciate the Service Women in the military. I worked for and beside women at the office of chief of Public Affairs in the pentagon, whiches it was an excellent experience. We talked about differences, gender differences, survivability, lethality. The point is to maintain a fighting force and promote common defense and ensure National Security and its not to undertake social engineering i use this in class sometimes. Let me do a demonstration here. If i wanted this article on the right hand column, i can just do this and take it right along. No problem there. But say i want this along the bottom. So ill just im not doing this on purpose. It really does that. And it goes to the side. Now i can force it to go this way. I can go like this, slowly, creek, creek, creek. You can get the line you want if youre determined enough. But there is a grain to the newspaper. There is a grain to paper. And theres a grain to the created order. Theres a grain to nature, if you will. And at your own peril, you defy that. And i would suggest to you that drafting women, registering for the draft, is forcing things. And it goes contrary, i would say, to the order of nature. Thats what we have held as a denomination. Now, please dont think this is a narrowly Southern Baptist operation or, you know, conviction. As you go around the world, you find majority catholic countries, ireland, italy, orthodox countries, greece, romania, hindu, nepal, hindu thailand, muslim, saudi arabia, indonesia, turkey. Down the line, they dont draft women. So this isnt a narrowly parochial thing. They are picking up on something that we picked up on. And by the way, in historically atheistical france after the french revolution, its the france of kundersay and voltaire and russo and it goes on and on and on. These are serious atheist folks who have set the tone in france in many ways. They dont draft women either. So please understand, there are there are exceptions. Mozambique and north korea and norway has recently. There is a handful, but thats not the norm. And im suggesting that people are picking up on Something Different there. A couple weeks ago, we were at camp lejeune, and my son my eldest son retired as a marine officer. Served two tours in iraq. And he had the chance to Say Something. And he spoke some words of commendation to his mother. And he said, i thank my mother for teaching me discipline. I thought i had something to do with it, but apparently she was the one. And actually, he could have gone on to pick up on all the marine standards. In terms of justice and initiative and tact and the whole list of leadership qualities. So my wife did not serve in the military, but she served the military. And mothers do that. When i was working at ocar, chief of army reserve, i learned way back around world war i, they started giving small arms ammunition to the boy scouts. And i dont know how long that continued, whether it still continues. But the point was, guys were showing up for basic training without knowing what to do with a rifle. So at least you teach guys that we meet at boot camp how to hold one of these things. Mothers similarly teach the basics to prepare. So they are definitely serving in the military. Were not talking about consigning women to hearth and home. Were talking about those who would consign them away from hearth and home. Very quickly, let me just say, my daughter is here. Thank you for inviting me to washington. She lives very close. And she brought her four daughters. And so on you guys stand up real quick. This is totally out of line, i know. But tessa and agnes and ruth and dorothy. And lois. Let me say this. She was an intern at labor. She worked as an assistant at state. I mean, at justice. She was offered a job with the institute on Library Museums and library services. She was offered a job in Public Affairs at the white house. And she had a full ride in the Doctorate Program at georgetown in political philosophy. And she said, i want to be a mother. I want to raise these kids. I just want them to have the freedom not to be conscripted away from that, should they choose, as my daughter did. Im sorry for running over. Thats okay. Thank you, doctor. Thank you. Ms. Eden. Chairman heck and vice chairs and commissioners, thank you very much for the opportunity to speak on this important issue today. Were here today because congress did not do a commission on opening combat units to women. That policy decision was made by the obama administration, contrary to the precedent of congress having oversight over military policy. There was no on the record debate on the many negative consequences, both potential and realized, of that policy, including that it would expose americas daughters to being drafted for combat. Nor was there a vote for which our representatives could be held accountable. Drafting women includes the same damaging impacts as putting them in combat units. And while we always need men to fight for the nation, there is no military need to draft women. Moreover, such a policy would harm our ability to fight and win in a crisis, and would reap more harm than necessary on those fighting for us. Having equal rights as american citizens does not mean that everyone is required to do the same thing in military defense of the nation. That women who volunteer for military service can now be assigned to combat units doesnt make drafting them good policy. In 1971, the Supreme Court held that drafting men only was appropriate and constitutional, because, quote, congress was entitled in the exercise of its constitutional powers to focus on the question of military need rather than equity. The purpose of the draft today is the same as it was expressed by the senate in 1980, to induct combat replacements during a largescale National Emergency. It is not to fill desk jobs or support units. It is to replace the men who are dying by the thousands in the very front of the fight. At the front of the fight there is no push button war. Our combat units are still fighting house to house, rooftop to rooftop, and cave to cave. They are still fighting with their bare hands when the gun jams or the ammo runs out. And they are fighting cold sober against bloodthirsty savages who are often hopped up on methamphetamines, making them even more difficult to kill. Even if we change the scope of the draft to include military all military occupations, men would still be assigned the majority of highrisk jobs. If were approaching this from a standpoint of equity, that is unfair, as would be including anything less than 50 women and 50 men. But the draft, like the militarys mission, isnt about equal rights. It is solely about the needs of the military to win at war when everything is on the line. One aspect in particular makes drafting women a losing proposition with negative returns. The wide disparity in womens injury rates. Active duty military women average two to ten times the injuries compared to military men. These rates have been constant over decades, despite our advancements in training methods and medicine and nutrition. Here are three stats for you. A survey of one of the armys striker brigade combat teams that deployed to afghanistan in 2012 found that 58. 8 of women versus 21. 4 of men were injured. The american journal of Sports Medicine reported that, quote, risk of acl injury associated with military training is almost 10 times higher for women than for men. A sex blind study by the British Military found that women were injured seven times more often than men while training to the same standards. These are the stats on military women who maintain high Fitness Standards and physical training demands. How is it fair to draft women for combat replacements when these are the facts. And more importantly, how would this enhance our lethality against our enemies. Very fit women on military standards are injured at such higher rates, drafting civilian women would mean even higher turnover, diminish combat effectiveness, more casualties and fewer of both men and women coming home alive. It would hinder our ability to fight effectively and win in the kind of largescale war for which the draft is designed to provide. Physically qualifying equal numbers of women to military combat standards would also create a massive and expensive bureaucratic nightmare, just when we need to mobilize quickly. For at best about a 25 yield compared to 75 for men. Imagine sifting through millions of young women to find the tiny few who will qualify by minimal standards, yet still have up to ten times the potential injury rate. There is also a wide gap in physical performance between men and women, and this is true in every physically demanding sport, and just as consistently true in the military. There are some exceptionally athletic women, and we absolutely want them to volunteer for our military, but they are not the norm. The military must operate based on averages, not anomalies, because it must dependably produce a steady stream of combatready personnel. Inequality of risk is another critical factor in this debate. Women face greater hazards in combat zones than men do, even when they are not in combat roles. And there is no mitigating these risks. In addition to Health Concerns that men dont face, women are highervalue targets for capture, torture, rape and propaganda. We all know about Jessica Lynch and shoshana johnson, who were captured, held hostage and tortured early in the iraq war. In the fall of 2005, i was on daily convoys to the outskirts of fallujah top stand checkpoint duty with the marine corps infantry and our job was to frisk people for explosives. Our command warned us that the enemy was known to target women, and this was a lesson they had learned in blood a few months before. On june 23rd, a [ inaudible ] well, a convoy was attacked on june 23rd that was specifically targeting women. American women have always volunteered to serve during war time, and this commission would be welljustified in deciding that the little to no return on investment and much higher risk in damage would not be worth the administrative burden, nor the great expense in time, effort, personnel and taxpayer dollars. Drafting women would be expensive, inefficient and will not improve our military readiness and lethality in a national crisis. Thank you very much. This commission was formed because of two problems with Selective Service. First, that noncompliance has made draft registration unenforceable, and second, that the opening of combat assignments to women has made it unconstitutional. That lea