diff --git a/support/bin/rtcds.in b/support/bin/rtcds.in
index 25cf2a8b7e006055453e5da5fcc2aef6995337ed..788091b5152794661f05010599c3c30868662db0 100755
--- a/support/bin/rtcds.in
+++ b/support/bin/rtcds.in
@@ -55,6 +55,10 @@ while (( "$#" )); do
             HELP_FLAG=0
             shift
             ;;
+        --force-start)
+            FORCE_START_FLAG=0
+            shift
+            ;;
         --*|-*)  # unknown flags
             log "Error: Unknown flag $1"
             exit 1
@@ -212,9 +216,7 @@ list_host_sys() {
 # returns 0 if $1 names a system that's designated to run
 #  on this host
 check_sys_in_host() {
-    echo "CHECK_MODEL_IN_HOST=$CHECK_MODEL_IN_HOST"
-    echo "force_start=$force_start"
-    if $CHECK_MODEL_IN_HOST && ! $force_start ; then
+    if $CHECK_MODEL_IN_HOST && ! [[ $FORCE_START_FLAG ]] ; then
   	local systems=`list_host_sys`
   	contains $1 $systems
     fi