MLTF steering committee member James M. Branum will be teaching the first session of a three-class Draft Counselor training program on February 8, 2026. It will be held in person in Oklahoma City at Joy Mennonite Church, 504 NE 16th St, but will also be available for remote attendance via zoom.
More details below:
What if the U.S. reinstated a military draft?
How could you, your family, and your neighbors be impacted?
How can faith communities and community leaders help families prepare?
As a historical peace church, Joy Mennonite Church of Oklahoma City is preparing to host a three-part course to be ready.
Our plan is simple — we will be training and equipping draft counselors, that is ordinary people (teachers, youth leaders, parents, etc.), who can help potential draftees to exercise their rights to legally avoid being drafted.
Our first session, Draft Counseling 101 will take place on Sunday, February 8th from 1-3 p.m. It will happen in-person at Joy Mennonite Church, 504 NE 16th St in Oklahoma City and on Zoom, but will also be recorded for later viewing.
To register: https://bit.ly/OKCDraftCounseling101
In this 2-hour session, we will seek to answer the following questions:
- What would happen if a draft is called?
- Who could be drafted?
- How does the Selective Service System work? And how might it work in the future?
- What are the current exemptions from being drafted, and how could these exemptions be changed in the future?
- What is CO (conscientious objection)?
- How to prepare documentation to prove that one is entitled to a draft exemption, either on the grounds of CO or on other grounds?
- What are the legal and ethical boundaries that draft counselors should follow?
- What other resources are available for more complicated situations?
There will be no charge for this presentation, but we do encourage a donation of $20 for those who are able to, to assist us to continue our work in promoting the power of conscientious objection.
Our presenter: James M. Branum is an in Oklahoma City who has practiced in the area of military defense law since 2006. He is a past co-chair of the Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild and is the author of US Army AWOL: A Practice Guide and Formbook In his legal activism work over the years, James has worked with the GI RIghts Hotline, the Center on Conscience and War, Veterans for Peace, and About Face Veterans Against War. He also been engaged in Interfaith work for many years and is currently an active member of Temple B’nai Israel, The Spinoza Havurah, and Joy Mennonite Church.
