Getting Her Draft Card

Emily looks down "I don't know... I can't... Can I think about it?"

The sergeant chuckles. "Well, not for long, since your call time is at thirteen hundred, that is, one o'clock. I know it's a lot to think about. Let me ask you, do you think you'd want to choose Tactile, or Visual?"

Emily says, "Visual, I guess... I don't want to be a..."

Sergeant Bell starts to say something, then stops. "Okay, Visual it is. Tell you what. You go off, think it over for an hour, get some lunch. I'll make up the paperwork. If you want to choose what happens to you, come back at 12:30 and I'll make sure it goes through before your draft call. Okay? Let me give you the Visual Branch brochure."

Emily takes the brochure and thanks the sergeant before leaving the room and then the building.

She steps into a Coffee Bean shop, thinking she'll get a tea. But inside the door, Emily sees a Corpswoman standing at a high table, reading her phone, and eating a chia-seed yogurt. At first Emily just notices her attractive appearance: brown hair in ringlets, tanned skin, and hourglass figure. But then she sees a captain's insignia on her necklace. Emily screws up her courage and goes up to her. "Excuse me, Captain..."

The captain looks up, says "Of course," and hands Emily a card from her handbag. It says, "Visual Entertainer / Capt. Julie M. Foster, J.D. / Photos and Videos: fosterjm4.ve.she.mil," and has a QR code and a full-length photo of the captain.

"No, Captain, sorry, I just wanted to ask... I have my draft call today," she says, and shows her the form.

Captain Foster looks at it. "Oh, yes, in just a few hours. Big day for you. What can I help you with?"

"I just wondered... I talked to a recruiter, but I thought maybe you could tell me what it's like to be in the Corps? And an officer? I don't think I've ever met a Corps officer before."

"Oh. Well, I think it's different for everybody. Originally, I was drafted at eighteen, and put into Visual, and of course the main thing everybody thinks about is the uniform. It's actually not as hard to get used to as people think. For the first six weeks, you're in basic training and you don't see anybody who's not in uniform, and by the end of that time you've almost forgotten what it's like to wear anything else.

"I tested well so I did my two years of active duty as a Girl Friday, working in headquarters at a couple of different bases. All the guys there were pretty used to Visual girls being around, so it wasn't a big deal. They'd stare, of course, but most of us who get into Visual have the kind of looks that get stares anyway, so it's not that big a difference. And the work was interesting, I learned a lot about how the military works and just about working in an office, which I hadn't done before.

"So active duty was actually the best part. The harder part was doing uniformed reserve -- going back to civilian life, but still being required to be in uniform. A lot of the guys in college weren't used to visual entertainers, and I had to deal with them. Speaking of which," she pauses and looks over at a young man who has been ogling her. "Hey, you want a card?" she asks him, and before waiting for an answer, takes another photo card and hands it to him.

"Er, thanks," says the man, a little disconcerted.

"Sure. Enjoy. You can keep looking if you want." Captain Foster turns back to Emily. "But I got used to it. I mean, most of the time, I wouldn't even have noticed that guy. Although people do ask for the cards. You'd be surprised at the people who ask. More women than you'd think, and old guys."

"Anyway, I finished college and wanted to go to law school, and the Corps has a program to help people do that, and I signed up. It's a good deal. I was made an officer when I passed the bar, since all lawyers are commissioned. I'm in my second year as a JAG now, and after my fourth year all my student loans will be forgiven. Then I can stay on as a JAG if I want, or go into civilian practice."

"Can you wear clothes after that?"

"Oh, no. The program requires a commitment of being in either active duty or uniformed reserve until entertainer retirement age, which is 45. So, I have a long time to go. But I don't mind entertaining the guys, and I don't know that I could have gone to law school otherwise."

"Doesn't it bother you to have them stare at you? Like you're a thing?"

"Let me tell you what my daddy told me, when I first got my own draft notice. He said that all men think of all women that way, all the time. Most men hide it, because it's rude, and the good ones also respect us for the other things we are. But they always do it. Even if you think he's not, he's always thinking about it, whether you're wearing a Corps uniform or a burqa. So, it doesn't bother me to have them stare, since I know that at the ones who aren't staring are just better at hiding it."

"Do they ever try to, you know, touch you? Grab you?"

"Not very often, but one of the things you'll learn in basic training is the best way to discourage that. Just being confident and upfront, letting them know you know what they're thinking, is enough to discourage most of it. Guys who want to touch you without your permission are usually mostly interested in feeling powerful and making you feel weak, and they imagine that someone who isn't wearing regular clothes is powerless. Once they see that showing yourself off makes you more powerful, not less, they usually slink away."

"Oh." Emily pauses. "And if you do want them to -- are boys still interested, when you're in the Corps?"

"Some do -- depends on the boy. You just need one who's okay with it. I'm engaged, actually, I just can't wear the ring since it's against regulations. Bill was a year ahead of me in law school; now he's a deputy district attorney. But he used to be in the navy and knows how the Corps works.

"Listen, I have to head back to the office now, but I hope this helped. I know it's scary being drafted, and it'll change your life. But at least for me, I'm glad it happened. I bet it'll be good for you, too. Good luck."

"Thanks, Captain. And thanks for the card, although I don't know if they'll let me keep it if I'm drafted."

Captain Foster grins, takes the card back, looks around, and hands it to a man behind her, who has been peeking through his newspaper. "There's a feedback section. Let me know what you think," she says to him, and she winks at Emily and leaves the coffee house.

Emily goes to the counter and orders her tea and a strawberry muffin. She opens up the Visual Branch brochure and looks through it. There's a list of Visual Branch occupational specialties, but also a lot of other information about the branch.

"Visual Branch improves morale and productivity of members of the U.S. armed forces and other Americans by the exhibition of incarnate beauty."

"Not every woman is cut out to be a member of Visual Branch. If you're selected, it means you are considered among the most attractive women in the nation."

"Studies show that after a period of adjustment, both men and women working in an environment with Corpswomen exhibiting themselves experience higher productivity than they would otherwise. Men have higher productivity because the sight of the Corpswomen increases morale and reduces stress, Other women have higher productivity because the distraction of male attention is placed elsewhere. Visual entertainers play an important role in keeping our armed forces and other institutions running well."

"Sharing the view of one's body by becoming a visual entertainer in the Corps is a patriotic, generous act, and members of the Corps are proud to make this sacrifice for our nation. Corps members share their beauty not only in person, but make photographs of themselves available so viewers can enjoy at their convenience."

Emily finishes her lunch and leaves the coffeehouse. She slowly walks back to the federal building, thinking about Captain Foster. An officer, a lawyer, engaged. That was the kind of life she wanted for herself. She never wanted to do it wearing just a necklace, but... especially if she's likely to be drafted anyway...

She can hardly believe what she's about to do. She finds herself back into the federal building, back in the SHE Corps recruitment office, and back in front of Sergeant Bell, signing a series of papers.

When the last paper is signed, Sergeant Bell says, "Okay. There's one final step. I'm sure that they'll OK you for Visual Branch, but I need to confirm that with a member of the selection panel."

The sergeant leads Emily out of the room and through a room of cubicles. Most are filled with Corpswomen, but Sergeant Bell leads her to one where a man in Marine uniform sits. "Lieutenant, Miss Andersen here has volunteered for Visual."

The lieutenant says, "Very good, sergeant. Miss Anderson, to assess your suitability for Visual Branch, I'll need you to disrobe."

Emily isn't expecting this. She looks at the sergeant, who nods at her. She swallows, pulls her feet out of her flip-flops, and then pulls off her shirt, shorts, and underwear, and puts them on a chair.

The lieutenant turns his chair toward Emily. At first she is mortified to be nude in front of him, but then she notices he is wearing two prosthetic legs and a prosthetic arm and stops thinking about herself. "Can you turn in a circle, miss?" he asks. Emily slowly turns, showing her whole body to him. "Yes, you definitely qualify. Good job, Sergeant." Sergeant Bell holds paper on a clipboard for him and he signs it with his left hand. "Emily Andersen. Sergeant, can you make a note? I'd like to get a link to the photos when they're made."

Emily is both repelled and flattered at the same time.

The sergeant says, "Thank you, Lieutenant," and writes down Emily's name for him. "Miss Andersen, welcome to the Corps. I'll put in all the paperwork to make sure Selective Service knows you've volunteered. Come with me." Emily picks up her clothes and starts to put them back on, but the sergeant says, "Don't bother with that," and she stops. Wearing nothing and carrying her clothes, she follows the sergeant away from the cubicles.

Emily start to ask, "Wha—" but the sergeant interrupts her.

"Before you embarrass yourself by asking, recruit, the lieutenant was hit by a home-made explosive device in Iran. Khuzestan. This is the kind of duty someone with those kinds of injuries can do." The sergeant looks down at her. "If you ever start feeling bad for yourself, if you ever feel that it's not fair to have to wear just a necklace and be shown off to everyone, remember Lieutenant Rossi and the sacrifice he made for our country. And he doesn't mind sharing his story with recruits, but just so you know, it's polite not to ask about things like that."

Emily, chastened, says nothing.

The sergeant leads her out through the waiting room and into the main hallway. Emily barely has time to register that she is naked in public before the sergeant leads her down the hall, past "Service Selection Center (Female)" and through a door marked "Social Health and Entertainment Corps Entrance Processing Center — Recruits."

The sergeant says, "Normally, recruit, we would send you home for a few days to settle your affairs, but because your draft call is today, you have to be inducted now. Thank you for volunteering. They'll be back from lunch in a few minutes and get you set up here. Good luck, recruit," she says, and leaves her.

She's at one end of a long room; as she looks down the length of it she can see work stations and tables on one side, and on the other a seating area, with rows of seats on risers. The room is mostly empty, although she can see a few Corpswomen working at their stations.

In the room, rope line dividers form a queue leading to a reception desk, although no one is waiting there at the moment. A sign says "Welcome to the S.H.E. Corps. inductees Disrobe and Wait Your Turn." Emily makes her way to the front where a another sign says "Will return at 1:00."

Emily waits a few minutes before a Corpswoman comes to the desk, takes down the sign, and introduces herself as Private Nguyen. She is short, with Asian features and black hair, and Emily can't help but notice her nipples, dark on her slim chest. Private Nguyen asks Emily her name and social security number and marks her as present on a computer. "Okay, recruit, you're down as having reported for duty." She hands Emily a purse. "This is your uniform purse. Anything that doesn't fit, or any clothes or jewelry, you have to discard or we can ship it home, at your expense."

Emily puts her wallet, phone, and charger in the purse, and gives her clothes to the Corpswoman to be discarded. She feels very naked with nothing but a purse.

"Thank you, recruit. Move on to the next station." Private Nguyen looks over at the seating area. "Hey, those guys are calling your name. Did you invite people to your induction?"

"What? No." Emily looks over at the seating and sees that a number of men have come to watch the inductions, including a group of five guys from her dorm. Instinctively she tries to cover her breasts and pubic area, but Private Nguyen snaps at her, "No covering! You're in the Corps now!" Emily slowly lowers her hands.

Self-consciously she takes a few steps over to them. "What are you doing here?" she hisses at them.

One, a chunky guy called Todd, says, "Sarah said that this was your call time, and we thought we'd come down and, um, show our appreciation. And support."

Another guy, a tall second-year named Allen, says, "You can't blame us for wanting to see you naked, if you're going to show everybody else. You're the most beautiful girl in the dorm." Coming from Allen, who had helped lead one of her study groups and had always been a gentleman before, it comes off as sincere.

Private Nguyen calls out to Emily, "That's enough, recruit — you shouldn't be talking to the audience. Go on over to the scale. Specialist Nuñez is waiting."

Emily moves on to a scale, where the specialist takes her height and weight. Specialist Nuñez is visibly pregnant, with engorged breasts and enlarged nipples, and a protruding navel. "What's it like, being pregnant in the Corps?" Emily asks.

"I think about the same as for anyone, except at least I don't have to worry about maternity clothes. Like anyone, my back hurts, I have to pee a lot. I'm ready for the baby to come out already. Four more weeks!"

The specialist has Emily sit on the edge of a medical exam table and fill out a medical history, while she gets Emily's vital signs and takes a blood sample. Finally, she hands Emily a specimen cup, gives her directions for collecting a urine sample, and tells her that PFC Williams will take her to the women's room.

A dark-skinned Corpswoman not much older than Emily, comes over. She is plump but not so much so that Emily can't see her cleft. She says with a smile, "Hi, recruit! I'm PFC Williams, but since I'll be doing your grooming and cosmetics today and will be pretty up in your business, maybe it's better if you call me Gloria. May I call you Emily?"

Emily smiles despite herself and says "Sure." She follows Gloria to the women's room. Emily has a brief moment of hope that the restroom will provide a respite from being on display, but when she gets there she sees there are no partitions: someone using a toilet is visible to anyone coming in. And Gloria comes in with her. "Ok, Emily, first collect your sample, then I'll do what I need to do in here. Don't worry about me, I do this all day long."

Emily, self-conscious, squats over a toilet and pees, collecting some in the cup. When she goes to wipe, Gloria says "Don't bother, I'm going to have to clean you up anyway." Gloria has Emily stand with her legs apart and uses disposable wipes to clean the areas around Emily's vulva and anus. "Almost nobody keeps themselves clean to Corps standards before they join. One thing you'll learn in basic is good ways of keeping yourself clean enough for people to look at."

Gloria throws the wipes in the trash before both women wash their hands and go back to the exam table. "Okay, Emily, I'm going to make sure you're presentable." She checks Emily's ears. "Your piercings look fine, so we're just going to brush out your hair, do a quick shave and some simple makeup, just to get you ready for your entry photos. Once you get to basic training they'll work with you on a complete hair and skin routine, okay?" Emily nods.

Gloria has Emily stand, facing the men in the audience, while Gloria goes over her back with her fingers "Don't forget to smile, they're here to be entertained," she says. Emily gives a wan smile at her schoolmates. Where Gloria feels hair on Emily's body, she first uses a clipper and then goes over the skin with a foil razor until it's smooth. Emily is a bit uncomfortable as Gloria feels her way down to her butt.

When Gloria is done with Emily's back and butt, she has Emily sit on the end of the table, facing the audience, and then lie back. Gloria pulls out stirrups from the bottom of the table and places Emily's legs in them, then pulls the stirrups wide, using velcro straps to secure the legs, saying "These are just to make sure you don't flinch. You can pull out of them if you need to." She then pulls our arm boards and spreads and secures Emily's arms similarly. Emily is now spreadeagled, her vulva and anus completely open to the audience's view. "Oh, you're a crowd pleaser," says Gloria, and looking down Emily can see that in addition to her five schoolmates, several groups of other men have come to take a close look at what we're no longer Emily's private parts. "Keep smiling!" reminds Gloria.

Emily tries to smile as Gloria does her work, removing hair from Emily's face, arms, armpits, stomach, sides, legs and feet before finally working on the hair on her pubic mound and around her anus. She's never had this kind of work done before at all, much less in front of a whole group of men. After what seems like forever, Gloria finishes her shaving, decides Emily's body doesn't need concealer, releases Emily's legs and arms, and has her sit up on the table. She takes a few minutes to brush out Emily's hair, then proceeds to make up Emily's face, subtle except for bright red lip color. When she's done, she shows Emily her face in the mirror, and Emily nods.

"Okay, Emily. That's it from me. You'll wait here until Major Goldblum comes." Gloria thinks to herself for a minute and then she pulls out the stirrups again. "The guys seemed to like it, so let's have your legs up again."

Emily is dismayed. "Do I have to? Everybody can see! There were like twenty guys before."

"Oh, girl, letting everybody see everything is what you are here for. And that's not so bad. I spent two years in Tactile before getting trained for this gig, so believe me, it's a lot easier having twenty guys look at it than having twenty guys stick their dick in it. Now hop up." Gloria indicates the stirrups.

Emily reluctantly puts her legs in the stirrups, and Gloria straps them in and opens them wide. "Good girl. Now remember to smile and I'll be sure Major Goldblum knows you're ready." Emily hears Gloria walk away.

Emily's purse is out of reach, so she can't see the time on her phone. She spends some time practicing smiling at the audience, but it's not very comfortable to bend her neck enough to see them. She ends up just staring at the ceiling. She doesn't know how long she stays there on display — fifteen minutes? Half an hour? — before Major Goldblum comes.

Major Goldblum turns out to be a nurse practitioner and he oldest Corpswoman Emily's seen, fit but middle-aged. "I'm going to have to talk to PFC Williams, she shouldn't have left you like this," she says. "Well, let me go ahead and do the pelvic exam." She examines Emily, inserting a speculum and pressing on her. She asks, "You're not using any birth control now, right?"