How To Beat The Draft Board/Claim2


 * Claim #2: Hardship (3-A)

A hardship claim means that there's one or more people out there who will be seriously adversely affected by you being drafted. Who? Almost anyone. Wife, child, parent, grandparent, and sibling are the official categories, but it can be applied to others (a sample case involves a niece and nephew). The support can include financial assistance, personal care, and companionship. Pretty broad, so you have lots of wiggle room there, so long as there are serious adverse effects: "more than the usual and customary grief and problems caused by the absence of a loved one". Furthermore, there cannot be a reasonable solution to the problem - a workaround that remedies the situation should you be drafted. Being the lone care provider for someone who cannot take care of themselves, with no other friends or relatives who could do the job and no money to pay for care, is a good example.

This claim is less subjective than CO, but still highly subjective. Witnesses can be very important here. Boards are somewhat less likely to be inherently hostile to a hardship claim than to a CO, but it won't help with the people who think that their job is to send as many people on to the military as possible. Written documentation can be critical to prove the claims that you're making; your word alone is unlikely to be good enough. Don't lie.

Summary: Having a non-hostile board is important, but sincerity and good documentation are critical.