Page 6A
TV TIME
East Oregonian
Friday, December 2, 2016
White House announces support for women in military draft
WASHINGTON
(AP)
— The Obama adminis-
tration declared its support
Thursday for requiring
women to register for the
military draft, a symbolic but
signifi cant shift that refl ects
the U.S. military’s evolution
from a male-dominated force
to one seeking to incorporate
women at all levels.
President Barack Obama
has been considering whether
to adopt the position since last
December, when Defense
Secretary Ash Carter ordered
the military to open all jobs
to women, including the
most arduous combat posts.
Ned Price, a spokesman for
the White House’s National
Security
Council,
said
Obama believes women have
“proven their mettle.”
“As old barriers for
military service are being
removed, the administration
supports — as a logical next
step — women registering
for the Selective Service,”
Price said, using the formal
name for the military draft.
The White House empha-
sized that the administration
remains committed to an
all-volunteer military —
meaning women, like men,
wouldn’t be forced to serve
unless there were a national
emergency like a major
world war. Changing the
policy would require an act
of Congress, and there are no
signs that lawmakers plan to
move swiftly to alter the law.
Obama, who will leave
offi ce in less than two
months, has less leverage
over Congress and the
broader Washington agenda
than he did earlier in his
presidency. Like his embrace
of gay marriage in 2012,
Obama’s
announcement
appeared aimed more at
infl uencing the public debate
about women in the military
in the coming years than at
forcing an immediate policy
change.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Wildhorse Resort & Casino CEO Gary George talks
about the types of jobs the casino offers to a group of
Pendleton High School students during a career day
tour of the facilities Tuesday in Mission.
CAREERS: CTUIR
employs 1,645 people
Continued from 1A
“We want to grow the
people here and we want to
grow our rural network,”
Cayuse Technologies chief
of staff Preston Eagleheart
said.
Many Pendleton High
school students are interested
in new technology jobs,
Eastern Oregon Business
Source president Susan
Bower said. With the help
of Umatilla County and
Blue Mountain Community
College, Bower and her
consulting company are
launching the Schools to
Careers program for the
Pendleton School District.
As a part of the program,
Bower administered a survey
about what career fi elds
students were interested in.
Although responses ran
the gamut, Bower said the
three fi elds that trended the
strongest were healthcare,
veterinary science and tech-
nology.
The Schools to Careers
program was spurred by a
workforce study sponsored
by the county and BMCC,
which
surveyed
400
Umatilla County businesses
and showed their was high
demand for jobs like certifi ed
medical support, computer
systems support and value-
added agriculture technical
experts.
Area employers said
the biggest barrier to hiring
quality workers was fi nding
people with the necessary
work ethic, punctuality and
customer service.
Bower said that’s an issue
that can be remedied, and
she is making professional
conduct a part of the Schools
to Careers program.
Like much of the country,
Pendleton and Umatilla
County economy is seeing
the most growth in the
service sector, rather in more
traditional industries like
agriculture and manufac-
turing.
According to the Pend-
leton Chamber of Commerce,
nine of the ten top employers
in Pendleton are in the service
sector — whether that be in
government, health or retail.
These trends bear out
countywide as well.
An Oregon Department of
Employment study showed
the hotel and food service
industry grew by 12.5
percent over the past fi ve
years in Umatilla County. It
now comprises more than
12 percent of the county’s
private jobs.
No employer better
signifi es the shift toward the
service economy than the
“We want to
grow the peo-
ple here and
we want to
grow our rural
network.”
— Preston Eagleheart,
Cayuse Technologies
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation,
which includes Cayuse
Technologies, the tribal
government and Wildhorse
Resort and Casino.
While the fi rst two arms
employ plenty of people,
Wildhorse accounts for more
than half of the tribes’ 1,645
employees and would be
Pendleton’s largest employer
by itself.
After the Cayuse Technol-
ogies tour, the students took
a bus across the road. CEO
Gary George welcomed
them.
George, who was also
recently appointed to the
Pendleton School Board,
explained that the Wild-
horse’s reach extended past
its gambling and hotel oper-
ations and included Mission
Market, Arrowhead Travel
Plaza, a movie theater, golf
course, fi ve restaurants and
an RV park.
Additionally, Wildhorse
offi cials are also considering
plans to expand the hotel and
add a bowling alley, swim-
ming pool and event center.
Although
gambling
consumes the largest share
of the Wildhorse workforce,
more than a quarter of Wild-
horse employees worked in
administration.
George said a career-
track position at Wildhorse
paid between $70,000 and
$150,000 and covered areas
like marketing and informa-
tion technology.
Wildhorse’s mid-tier posi-
tions paid between $15-$30
per hour, although George
said the company sometimes
struggled with promoting
from within because of the
income derived from tips
from working the casino
fl oor or restaurants.
Wildhorse
employees
then led the students on a
behind-the-scenes tour of its
restaurants, hotel and movie
theater.
Given Wildhorse’s strong
presence in Pendleton’s
economy, many students
were likely getting a glimpse
into their future.
———
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
In this Sept. 22 fi le photo, Defense Secretary Ash
Carter testifi es on Capitol Hill in Washington.
The Defense Department
echoed Obama’s position,
fi rst reported by USA Today.
Pentagon press secretary
Peter Cook said that Carter
believes the inclusion of
women throughout the mili-
tary’s echelons has strength-
ened the military’s might.
“He thinks it makes sense
for women to register for
Selective Service, just as
men must,” Cook said.
Late last year, the
Pentagon ordered all military
jobs opened to women,
including about 220,000
jobs previously restricted
to men, including in special
operations forces. Carter and
other military leaders insisted
that the military wouldn’t
lower the physical standards
for those jobs to enable more
women to qualify.
Integrating women has
not been fast or easy. Earlier
this year the top Army and
Marine Corps generals told
senators it would take up to
three years to fully integrate
women into all combat jobs.
The military services have
started recruiting women for
those jobs and making neces-
sary changes to bathrooms
and other facilities. But some
of the services, such as the
Marine Corps, have predicted
or experienced challenges
identifying large numbers
of candidates who want to
serve in combat and meet the
physical requirements.
Under current law, women
can volunteer to serve in the
military, but aren’t required
to register for the draft. All
adult men must register
within 30 days of their 18th
birthday, and risk losing
eligibility for student aid, job
training and government jobs
if they fail to comply.
Signing up for the draft
entails registering with the
U.S. Selective Service, an
independent agency aimed at
ensuring a fair distribution of
military duties if the president
and Congress had to enact
a draft. The U.S. hasn’t had
a military draft since 1973,
during the Vietnam War era.
The new posture from the
Obama administration came
at an unusual time, just two
days after House and Senate
negotiators agreed to strip
a provision from the annual
defense policy bill that would
have required young women
to register.
The measure had roiled
social conservatives, who
decried it as another step
toward the blurring of
gender lines. But proponents
of including women in
the draft pool viewed the
requirement as a sensible
step toward gender equality.