Operating with permanent authorization under the Military Selective Service Act, and run by a Director who reports to the President of the United States, Selective Service System (SSS) is an independent federal agency responsible for being prepared to provide trained and untrained personnel to the Department of Defense should a national emergency arise. The draft was actually terminated in 1973, but the Selective Service System has continued to operate for 44 years.
The Selective Service System was created in 1917, during World War I, when Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which required the registration for military service of all men from the ages of 21 through 30. The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, passed by Congress during the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, mandated the first compulsory enlistment into U.S. military service during a time that the country was at peace. It also formally established the Selective Service System as an independent federal agency. Between 1948 and 1973, during times of war and peace, men were drafted for vacancies in the service that were not filled by volunteers. In 1973, during President Richard Nixon’s administration, the draft was ended, and the United States utilized an all-volunteer military, with the requirement to register suspended in April 1975, when President Gerald Ford signed the Terminating Registration Procedures Under Military Selective Service Act. In 1980, in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, President Jimmy Carter brought back the Selective Service registration requirement for male citizens, which currently remains in effect. As of 2015, 91% of men 18 to 25 have registered, and there are almost 17 million names and addresses on file for U.S. male citizens between the ages of 18 and 25.
Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Selective Service System operates a Data Management Center in Palatine, Illinois, and three regional offices, in North Chicago, Illinois; Smyrna, Georgia; and Denver, Colorado. It is responsible for:
- communicating selective service requirements to the American public;
- registering 18 to 25-year-old U.S. male citizens;
- managing the outgoing and incoming information on the men, so, in case of an emergency, a draft can be immediately resumed;
- being prepared to implement, if there is another draft, an Alternative Service Program for men classified as conscientious objectors, which would provide those individuals public service work assignments in the country, in lieu of military service.
Registration for the draft for 18- to 25-year-old men is currently mandatory, and refusing to register is against the law, except for a few exceptions, which include non-immigrant aliens on student, visitor, tourist, or diplomatic visas; men already on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces; and cadets and midshipmen in the Service Academies, and certain other U.S. military colleges. For all other men 18-25, if Congress and the President decide to reinstate a draft, a lottery drawing would be conducted to determine the order in which they would be called, with the first priority group consisting of those in the calendar year of their 20th birthday. A classification program would also go into effect, whereby registrants would be examined to determine suitability for military service, and would have ample time if they wanted to claim exemptions, deferments, or postponements. To be inducted, men would need to meet the physical, mental, and administrative standards established by the military services. Selective Service Reserve Forces Officers would also then be called to active duty, to establish State Headquarters and Area Offices at predetermined locations, and at the same time the civilian volunteer board members would be activated. Currently, when there is no draft, due to past difficulties with enforcing the registration requirement, the Selective Service System works in tandem with other government agencies in the implementation of varying methods of encouraging registration, which include requiring registration if a man between 18 and 25 wants to receive student financial aid or federal grants and loans.
From the Web Site of the Selective Service System
How the Draft Has Changed Since Vietnam
Military Selective Service Act, amended (pdf)
SSS Newsletter (pdf)
Workforce Plan 2008-2012 (pdf)
According to USAspending.gov, the Selective Service System has spent more than $18.9 million on more than 1,000 contractor transactions during the past decade. Services have ranged from ADPE system configuration ($2,775,944) and data collection ($2,098,317) to miscellaneous professional services ($1,614,804), training/curriculum development ($1,147,210) and food cooking/serving equipment ($782,221).
The top five recipients of SSS contractor spending are:
1. Advanced Information Services Inc. $3,584,519
2. Government of the United States $3,084,304
3. United States Postal Service $1,786,359
4. Integrated Systems $1,228,323
5. Widmeyer Communications Inc. $706,850
The Selective Service System FY 2012 Performance Budget Justification (pdf) provides the following outline of expected agency expenses for this year:
Personnel compensation $15,626,000
Other services $2,972,000
Equipment $2,449,000
Communication, utilities, and miscellaneous charges $1,781,000
Rental payments to GSA $599,000
Printing and reproduction $472,000
Travel and transportation of persons $240,000
Rent, non-federal $214,000
Supplies and materials $144,000
Transportation of things $3,000
Total $24,500,000
Supreme Court Says Men Denied Federal Jobs for Failing to Register for the Draft Can’t Use Courts to Charge Sex Discrimination
Four men sued the federal government in 2011 claiming they were unfairly terminated from their government positions for not registering for the draft.
Their case was founded on the argument that the Selective Service System was sexist since women are not required to register after they turn 18.
Under current law, male citizens—but not females—must register with the Selective Service System within 30 days of their eighteenth birthday. Failure to do so is considered a crime punishable by fine and/or prison. Men may register belatedly up to the age of 26.
In 1987, Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-South Carolina) sponsored a successful bill that barred men who failed to register from working for any agency within the Executive branch of the government.
In the case of the lead plaintiff, Michael Elgin had worked for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for 11 years when a routine background check for a promotion in 2002 revealed that he had never complied with the Selective Service System. IRS officials did not want to fire Elgin, but were forced to do so five years later by the Office of Personnel Management.
Elgin and three other men—Aaron Lawson, Henry Tucker, and Christon Colby—filed suit in Massachusetts federal court Their lawyers pointed out that no American has been drafted since 1973, and that more than 200,000 women now serve in the U.S. military. Women are eligible for 80% of military job titles and now make up 15% of the armed forces.
They lost their case, but appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which disagreed with the lower court ruling and sent it back for reconsideration.
The case went before the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in Elgin v. Department of the Treasury in February 2012. In its 6-3 opinion delivered in June, the Supreme Court decided against the plaintiffs, declaring that federal employees can’t sue in the courts if they lose their jobs for not complying with a law, even if they claim that the statute in unconstitutional. Instead they must go through existing federal merit boards. The decision avoided the issue of the sexist nature of the draft.
Court Venues Limited for Draft Requirement Fight (by Barbara Leonard, Courthouse News)
Elgin et al v. Department of the Treasury et al (U.S. Supreme Court) (pdf)
Draft Registration Front and Center in Sex Discrimination Case (by David Wallechinsky, AllGov)
Although the idea of bringing back the draft is extremely unpopular, over the years various politicians and others have suggested reinstating the draft as a way to have a more equitable representation of Americans in the service, as well as to deter politicians from launching wars. In 2003, 2006, and again in 2011, Congressman Charles Rangel (D-New York) introduced bills that would have reinstated the draft, but none have passed. There have also been calls for women to be added to the mandatory registration list, or to close the SSS altogether, as well as complaints that the law is unconstitutional. In February 2011, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) proposed a House amendment to the spending bill that would end the SSS, but a voice vote of the membership killed it. At the same time, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colorado)—an Army and Marine Corps veteran—introduced a bill to abolish the agency, claiming that the draft of the early ’70s was inefficient compared to today’s volunteer force, which he described as professional and successful.
A Peaceful Call to Arms (by Paul Kane, New York Times)
Rangel’s Draft Idea Spurns Vital Debate (by Bassey Etim, University of Wisconsin Badger Herald)
Rangel introduces bill to reinstate draft: Rumsfeld says he sees no need for military draft (CNN)
Rangel says he will introduce bill to reinstate military draft (Associated Press)
The Return of the Draft: With the army desperate for recruits, should college students be packing their bags for Canada? (by Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone)
Students Debate a New Draft (by Michael Gaworecki, WireTap)
Selective Service debate continues: Which serves U.S. better: All-volunteer armed forces or the draft? (by Jon Dougherty, WorldNetDaily)
Why We Need Universal Service (by Rep. Charles Rangel, Huffington Post)
Coffman: It’s time to completely end the draft (by Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes)
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