Getting Her Draft Card

"Are you going now? I thought your call time wasn't till 1."

Emily looks around, at the boxes of books and papers, clothes and linens, and all the other things she had taken with her to college — all sealed and ready to be moved. "Yeah. I want to talk to someone before I'm actually called."

"If you have to stay, your cousin will come by and get your stuff, right?"

"Yeah. He'll call first."

"So, what's your cousin like? Is he cute?"

"Eew. He's 26 and pudgy. Sarah, if you want to come to my family reunions you can just ask."

"Ha. Hey, some of us can't be as picky as you." The difference between Emily and Sarah usually was an unstated truth in their friendship — Sarah was plump with square features, while Emily had a slim, but not flat figure, a cute oval face, and long, golden-blonde hair. Neither had been surprised when Sarah came back after her evaluation. Without saying so, they know Emily is much more likely to be inducted.

"Well, you can definitely do better than Tyler." Emily looks around one more time, and checks to make sure she has her wallet, phone and charger. "Hey, can you take a picture of me before I go? This might be the last one like this for a while."

Sarah smiled, said "Sure," takes Emily's phone and motions Emily against the wall. She takes a few snaps, and then says, "You know, they won't let you keep the jewelry with you. Are you sure you don't want to leave them?"

Emily reaches up and touches her small stud earrings. "Oh, I wasn't thinking." She takes them out, removes her thin gold chain from her neck, and places them all inside the closest box. "Thanks."

"Sure."

"Well, I'm out of here. Thanks again." Emily reaches to give Sarah a hug, and holds on a little longer than she expected.

"Hey, Em, don't worry. You're so strong. They might not take you, but if they do, I know you'll be able to get through it."

"Yeah," Emily says, smiling weakly. "Thanks again. Gotta go. See you... whenever, I guess."

"See you later," says Sarah. Emily walks out into the dorm hall and closes the door behind her.

Yesterday morning, Emily was still worried about her Econ 102 final. Now that she's taken it, school is the last thing on her mind. She's avoided thinking about today for weeks, but now she's having to face it.

She walks out of the dorm into the San Diego sun. The "May gray" fog hasn't come yet, and so it's warm as she walks over to the trolley stop. She had deliberately worn her oldest t-shirt and the shorts with the curry stain, and a pair of cheap flip-flops, thinking that if she has to give something up...

She gets on the trolley, takes a seat, and pulls out her notice one more time. "Selective Service System / Order to Report for Evaluation and Possible Induction. The President of the United States, to EMILY A. ANDERSEN. Greeting: Having reached the age of eighteen years and ten months, you are hereby ordered for evaluation and possible induction into the Uniformed Services of the United States, and to report to the Service Selection Center (Female), 880 Front Street, Fourth Floor, San Diego, CA, no later than Thursday , May 14, 2020, at 1:00 p.m."

Emily rereads it over and over again. She doesn't even notice the woman who sits on the seat across from her, until she hears her speak. "Got your draft notice, huh? Wow, I remember that. Seems like a long time ago now."

Emily looks up at the woman. She looks to be in her mid-thirties, busty with a Mediterranean complexion. She's wearing a pink blouse and black slacks. "Yeah. Did you end up in the Corps?"

"Yep. They put me in Tactile. Ended up doing six years active duty."

"Six years? I thought they only made you do two!"

"Oh, I re-enlisted for the last four. I had a choice -- go home and do four years of uniformed reserve, or stay in and get my choice of duty station, and when I was mustered out, a full ride at whatever school would take me. I never could have gone to USC otherwise."

"Oh. Did you have trouble getting a job, having been, um, ..."

"A 'tactile entertainer'? No — people were more interested in my degree and my internships, and later my work experience, than in what I did before school. Of course, I don't usually go around advertising it, but I'm not sorry I did it."

"I can't imagine, doing it with all those men..."

"You know, after a while, it starts to become a job like any other. You're trying to keep the customers satisfied, as they say. It was hardest, and yet best, at the beginning... My first assignment was enlisted duty at Bagram in Afghanistan, and we saw a lot of guys just before they got sent on missions. Those guys were stressed out and frightened, and we kept their minds off of their troubles. Too many of them never came back... I felt like showing them a good time was a pretty small sacrifice for my country, compared to what they did."

"Hmm. I guess so."

"Yeah. Of course, most of it wasn't like that -- except for that first year I wasn't stationed near active combat. And that last year before discharge I went to Hawaii and was detailed as a personal to a vice admiral, which was pretty sweet. Not a lot of work, and lots of perks."

Emily looks down again at her paper again. "I wonder what will happen to me."

"Well, you never know. You might not pass evaluation, or pull a high number. But I knew a lot of girls who got drafted and we all made it through and got to go home at the end. You couldn't say that about men who were drafted."

"Hmm."

The trolley pulls into the last stop at the downtown San Diego train station. The woman says "Well, gotta go. Good luck. I'm sure whatever happens, you'll be OK."

"Thanks."

They both get off the trolley, and the other woman walks away toward the center of town. Emily looks over at the concrete shed that is the train station. She notices a historical marker, commemorating the historic Santa Fe Depot. "In September 1964, the U.S.S. Antietam, berthed across San Diego Harbor at North Island Naval Air Station, was the target of the second biggest non-nuclear explosion in history. Shrapnel damaged many buildings in Coronado and San Diego, and destroyed the historic Santa Fe Depot, originally built in 1915 to serve the Panama-California Exposition."

Emily has a little time before her appointment. She walks west to the harbor and looks across the water at the Antietam Memorial on North Island. Of course, she's been over to the memorial before. There had been a visitor center, showing films: Vice President Lodge touring the site just after the attack, President Nixon's speech denouncing the North Vietnamese government, and Congress voting to declare war.

Both Emily's grandfathers had joined the military shortly after the explosion, eager to fight against those who made the first foreign attack on the American mainland since the War of 1812 (if one ignored a few insignificant Japanese potshots off the California coast). Although the attack was horrible, it brought Americans together in ways nothing else could, uniting the people in the fight against the North Vietnamese and Communism worldwide.

And later today, Emily is going to be a part of that fight... sort of. Maybe. She wonders what her grandfathers would think.

Emily checks the time on her phone and realizes it's time to go to her first appointment. She heads inland to the federal building and takes the stairs to the fourth floor. But instead of entering the door marked "Service Selection Center (Female)," she finds the office marked "Social Health and Entertainment Corps Recruitment," and heads inside.

Emily finds herself in a small waiting room, with a bench. There's a locked inner door with a telephone. Emily looks up the name of her recruiter and dials the number given for "SSgt. Tiffany Bell." Sergeant Bell answers and asks her to wait a few minutes.

Emily sits down, noticing the paper towel dispenser next to the bench. Looking around, she sees a number of posters, advertising the Corps. "Don't Hide Your Light — Let It Shine," reads one, with a photo of women in Corps uniform, and the Visual Branch insignia in the lower right corner. Another just has words — "If we do not lay out ourselves in the service of mankind whom should we serve? — Abigail Adams" — and the insignia for Tactile Branch.

But it is the smaller poster in front of her, labeled "SHE Corps Uniform and Grooming," that she can't turn away from. She's confronted with the reality she's been trying not to think about. Under the title, it reads, "The SHE Corps working uniform consists of the livery necklace with rank insignia, the branch insignia earrings, the handbag with badge display, and heeled sandals." In the center is a full-length photo of a woman in Corps uniform, standing with her arms behind her: wearing these things, and absolutely nothing else.

Around the edges, notes are printed, with lines leading to relevant places on the body of the woman in the photo.

"The livery necklace is a black acrylic velvet 'choker' style necklace, one inch wide. Embroidered on it are 'USA' on the wearer's right (in pink script capitals), and a U.S. flag on the wearer's left. Except for the lowest rank of private, Corpswomen wear a cameo carving of their rank insignia in the center of the necklace. The insignia is the same as that used by the U.S. Army, but is carved in relief, in pink (or, for some ranks, gold) on a black background. The carving is set in a vertical pointed oval. This shape, the vescia piscis, is the symbol of the Corps."

"Light facial makeup, including lip and eye color, is recommended to enhance the Corpswoman's appearance."

"Corpswomen have flexibility in hair style, but hair must be neatly styled with a professional appearance. If hair is dyed, it must be a natural hair color."

"Corpswomen wear a set of cameo carvings as drop earrings. These show the insignia of their branch. These carvings are in black, on a pink vescia piscis."

"Other than the livery necklace and insignia earrings, no other jewelry may be worn. Any piercings other than those used for the insignia earrings must be allowed to close."

"Corpswomen must not have visible hair below the neck or on the face."

"The uniform handbag is black and has a clear area where an identification badge should be placed. This badge verifies that the Corpswoman is required to exhibit herself, and is important when this would otherwise be outlawed by the local jurisdiction."

"Corpswomen may not get tattoos. Women who already have tattoos may join but are ineligible for service in Visual Branch unless the tattoos are fully removed."

"For the sake of hygiene, Corpswomen should carry a seat cloth in their handbags and place it, or a paper towel, underneath them when seated."

"Corpswomen are reminded that the display of the body for the purpose of entertainment is a key part of the Corps' mission, and Corpswomen of all branches are expected to ensure that nothing unnecessarily impedes the body's visibility. Because a pleasing appearance is part of this mission, services and treatments to enhance appearance are provided by the Corps to Corpswomen. These include hair and nail styling, cosmetics, tattoo removal, and body hair removal (temporary and permanent)."

"Commercially available sandals may be worn, but straps should be black and no wider than 3/4 inch, and there should be no more than one strap over the front of the foot and one around the ankle. Heels of three to five inches are preferred, and mandatory in Visual Branch. The sole should be no thicker than 3/4 inch."

At the bottom are small photos of the optional beret and garrison cap, the name tag worn when Corpswomen are detailed to assist some army or navy units, the thermal stretch skinsuit worn in cold weather conditions ("must be removed immediately upon entering a heated area"), and the dress uniform worn by Corpswomen of advanced age or in other rare circumstances.

But Emily only has eyes for the woman in the center of the poster. Her eyes move between the woman's breasts and groin, completely exposed. Emily sees that the model's nipples are pink, and the inner lips of her vulva are just visible. She can't help picturing herself as the woman in the photo. Can she be — will she be required to be naked for the next six years, and show herself off to anyone and everyone?

The door opens. "Miss Andersen? I'm Sergeant Bell. Follow me."

Emily looks up to see a tall woman, about thirty, with dark skin and hair in tight braids close to the head. She is dressed like the woman in the photo. Emily tries to act as though she's in a locker room, where nudity is expected. She looks at the sergeant's face as she says "Yes, Sergeant." After the sergeant turns to lead her through the door, Emily can't help staring at the sergeant's bare buttocks as she follows her.

The sergeant leads her into a consultation room, with a few chairs and a glass table. She takes a seat behind the table and motions Emily to sit across from her. "So, Miss Andersen, we're used to women coming in to see what their options are before their draft call, but the same day is cutting it a bit short."

"Oh, well I had my last final yesterday, so this was my first chance to come down."

"I see. So, is there something specific you had in mind?"

"Um, well not really... I just wanted to find out what my choices are. I mean, no offense, but I don't really want to be naked everywhere for the next six years."

"Miss Andersen, Corpswomen are not naked. Naked would mean wearing nothing at all. This uniform" — she points to her necklace — "shows that I am a member of the Social Health and Entertainment Corps, one of the uniformed services of the United States, and appropriately attired for that role. I might be showing more skin than you are, but I am fully dressed."

"Yes, sergeant... I'm sorry."

"It's a common misunderstanding, Miss Andersen. This is the uniform of all Corpswomen, with very rare exceptions, and whether you volunteer or are drafted, this is what you'll wear. You should prepare yourself."

"I heard that sometimes women can enlist in the Army or Navy instead?"

"I wouldn't spend time hoping that. The armed services almost never accept women, since we can't serve in combat. There are a few special skills they are looking for — airplane piloting, cybersecurity — where they'll make an exception. But if you had those skills, you'd certainly have been approached by one of their recruiters by now. Unless you have, you're either going to draw a high number, or you're going into the Corps.

"You do have a choice. You can take your chance with the lottery, or you can volunteer. If you volunteer you can choose your branch, assuming you're qualified, and you will have some say in what kind of assignment you get and where you're stationed, although that depends on availability. If you are drafted, you won't have any say in any of those things. Do you know about the branches of the Corps?"

"Well, I know that Tactile means, er, having sex..."

"Yes. Corpswomen in the Tactile branch help satisfy the physical needs of men in the armed services. Before the Corps came into being, men used to patronize sex workers locally, wherever they were stationed. They ended up getting venereal and other diseases, or sometimes fathering unwanted children. The Corps was founded originally to give these men a safe, healthy alternative, where the women would be monitored for health and safety. Eventually these workers became the Tactile Branch, because they entertain men by touch. Medical Branch was founded originally as the branch where nurses would do that monitoring and treat any problems that might come up. Later, hairdressing and cosmetic treatments and services were added. Do you have any professional experience in medicine, cosmetics, or hairdressing?"

Emily shakes her head.

"Okay, Other than Leadership, which requires prior experience in the Corps, the other branch you can join is Visual. Visual entertainers are selected for their appearance. They are given regular jobs, usually working alongside members of the Army or other armed services, but in addition to their regular jobs, they are responsible for exhibiting their beauty to their coworkers, which reduces stress and raises morale.

"So, the way the lottery works is that you will be evaluated for your suitability for the Corps. This includes an evaluation of your appearance, as well as a determination as to your aptitude for the various Corps functions. This yields a score between 0 and 99. Then, a number is picked at random between 1 and 100, and if your score is the same or lower than the number, you're exempt from the draft. If your score is higher, you'll be inducted.

"What this means is that the better your appearance and other characteristics are, the more likely it is you'll be drafted. Now I don't know all about you and what your history is, but from what I can see you've got a good chance of getting a high score, and thus a high chance of being picked. if you are, you'll end up in Tactile or Visual, at whatever station the Corps has left after all the volunteers get their choices. If you volunteer, you get to make those choices. I know what I'd pick if I were you."

"You think I'm that likely to get drafted?"

"Miss Andersen, from what I can see, you are a very pretty girl. You don't have any disfiguring scars or skin conditions, anything like that?"

"Um, no..."

"Well, then I think the odds are very good you'd end up in Visual, at some station nobody wants, but it's hard to say."

"What kind of station? Iran?"

"Possibly, although as a Corpswoman you should be kept safe from combat. More likely a job nobody really wants, cafeteria server or something, in a place with weather too cold to be comfortable in the uniform but too warm for the snowsuit. It can be a pretty sad two years. Sometimes volunteers get stuck with a bad assignment at first, but usually they can at least transfer out after a few months.

"If you volunteer, you have a few choices. Now normally draftees serve two years in active duty, and then serve four years in the uniformed reserve. That means that you are able to live and work as a civilian, but are required to stay in uniform. You usually do the same as a volunteer, but you can choose whether you would rather be in Tactile or Visual, or Medical if you qualify. Once you finish the six-week basic training course, you can also put in a choice slip indicating your preferred part of the world to be stationed in.

"If you choose Tactile, you can opt for four years of active duty and no time in uniformed reserve. Some women prefer to have their obligation over sooner, and not have to wear the uniform among civilians.

"If you choose Visual, then your choice slip not only has your preferred location but your preference for assignment type. You would get to state a preference as the kind of job you would want. Now there's no guarantee that you'll get it, but we do our best to accommodate volunteers' preferences."

Emily thinks on this. "What kinds of jobs do Corpswomen do?"

"A lot of different things, although since part of their role is to display themselves, they're in roles that generally have interaction with many men during the workday. For example, many are servers in mess halls, or enlisted or officers' clubs. Others are aides, assisting headquarters staff. We also have entertainers in the more conventional sense -- dance troupes and bands -- although you'd have to show that you've got the appropriate skills for that. Some serve in civilian relations, working with local communities. I can give you a brochure with an explanation of the choices you can make on your choice slip.

"But if you let yourself be drafted, you get no choice of any of it. You'd be risking the next two years of your life on that lottery. If I were you, I'd want to choose for myself."