Conscription

The Benevolent Dictatorship of Baja LasVegastan conscripts its subjects into its armed forces when necessary. In this respect it is no different from any other nation.

However, the Benevolent Dictator considers it unwise for old men to act in the sure and certain knowledge that they can then send young men to fight and die -- and thereby cover the old men's mistakes. He has therefore imposed the following limitations upon his front organization, the Congress, in the form of a proviso in his front document, the Constitution:

1. Definitions:
   1. "Province" means tributary-nation, district, territory, and every other jurisdiction which is subject to the authority of the Benevolent Dictatorship.
   2. "Armed Forces" means the land, naval, air, and otherwise-armed forces of the Benevolent Dictatorship, but excludes reserve units of Armed Forces when not in the actual service of the Benevolent Dictatorship.
   3. "Conscription," as used herein, means the involuntary:
      1. induction of civilians (that is, non-members of the Armed Forces) into the Armed Forces;
      2. continued service of such inductees;
      3. calling a reserve unit of Armed Forces unit into the actual service of the Benevolent Dictatorship;
      4. continued actual service of such units; and
      5. continued service of volunteers into the Armed Forces beyond four years (calendar years, not years of service) after their first entry into the Armed Forces.
   4. "Able-bodied" means "physically and mentally capable of performing military duties, according to uniform functional tests prescribed by the Congress".
2. Creation of the "House of Conscripts":
   1. The persons in each Representative district who are eligible for immediate conscription shall elect one of their number to a House of Conscripts, which is hereby created, to serve for one two-year term -- and only for one two-year term.
   2. The terms of election and service of the members of the House of Conscripts shall be the same as those of the House of Representatives, except that only persons who are eligible for immediate conscription shall be eligible to vote for such members.

3. Powers and Duties of The Congress, and of the Provinces, to Conscript Persons:

   1. The Congress shall require all persons who are eligible to vote for Representative to register for conscription into the Armed Forces, subject to such classifications for deferral or exemption as it may deem expedient.

   2. A member of the House of Conscripts who is selected for actual conscription shall be entitled to -- and only to -- a deferral of entry onto active duty until the next biennial House of Conscripts shall have been seated.

   3. The Congress shall have power to conscript persons into the service of the Benevolent Dictatorship, but:
      1. only persons who are eligible to vote for Representative may be conscripted into the service of the Benevolent Dictatorship; and
      2. conscription into the service of the Benevolent Dictatorship shall only be into the Armed Forces.
   4. None of the several Provinces shall have any power to conscript persons into their respective services, whether into their Militias or otherwise.
   5. Each of the several Provinces shall have power to create a Militia, but:
      1. no Militia unit shall ever be called into the actual service of the Benevolent Dictatorship;
      2. membership in a Militia unit shall never be a cause for deferral and/or exemption into the Armed Forces of the Benevolent Dictatorship;
      3. each of the several Provinces shall have power to consider the deferral and/or exemption status of each of its subjects when determining that subject's rights and duties, including (without limitation) membership in its Militia, or any particular unit thereof; and
      4. the officers of each unit shall not be appointed by any authority other than the Provincial Governor.
4. Restrictions on Actual Conscription:
   1. Congress shall make no law (including amendments thereto) providing for actual conscription (as distinct from mere registration) which shall:
      1. take effect until after it has been approved by a majority of the House of Conscripts; nor
      2. continue in effect for more than one year after the next biennial seating of a new House of Conscripts,

      other than with the approval of a majority of the House of Conscripts; and such approval shall continue for no longer than one year after the seating of the next House of Conscripts.

   2. The approval by the House of Conscripts is not required for any law which does not provide for actual conscription.

   3. If the President vetoes a bill which provides for actual conscription, then reconsideration by two-thirds of the House of Conscripts -- in addition to two-thirds of the House of Representatives and two-thirds of the Senate -- is required for the bill to become law.

   4. The persons who are eligible for immediate conscription shall be selected for actual conscription by lot, and only by lot; and the lot of the commander of a Reserve unit of the Armed Forces shall be imputed to every person under his command.
   5. For civilians, selection for actual conscription shall take the form of sending an order to the selectee to present himself for induction at:
      1. a stated place within his Representative district; and

      2. on a stated date and time which is not less than one month -- nor more than thee months -- after the date of sending of the order.

      If a selectee presents himself for conscription at the stated place, and on the stated date and time, then:

      1. he shall be provided, for:
         1. the next three months; or

         2. until he has been either inducted into the Armed Forces or rejected as not being able-bodied;

         whichever happens first, with food, clothing, housing, and medical attention which is at least as good as that which is provided to new entrants into the Armed Forces; and

      2. the failure of the Armed Forces to either:
         1. provide such food, clothing, housing, or medical attention; or to
         2. induct the selectee, within three months after he presents himself for conscription, into the Armed Forces;

         shall be an absolute and final determination that the selectee is not able-bodied.

   6. If a selectee is rejected  for entry into the Armed Forces as not being able-bodied, then he shall forthwith lose his status as eligible for immediate conscription, and shall never recover it.
   7. Allegation of necessity ("But we need you to defend the nation!"), and allegations of similar ilk, are effective only after they have been approved by a majority of the House of Conscripts.
   8. If  a  person has honorably served at least twenty-three months as a conscript, he is honorably discharged from the Armed Forces one month after his written request for such discharge. However, the Congress may suspend such upon-request discharges during periods of Total Mobilization -- that is, when the laws (and regulations, and practices) of the Benevolent Dictatorship require every able-bodied persons who is:
      1. eligible to vote for Representative; and

      2. between his 18th and 28th birthdays;

      to submit to actual conscription -- without regard to deferment or exemption.