
People who don't register with the Selective Service face penalties. The draft itself would be administered by military reservists, despite the Selective Service being ostensibly a civilian agency.Ģ. The system also maintains a network of "draft boards." These are civilian groups who would be tasked with deciding if people get deferments or classifications like “conscientious objector” status in the case of a draft.

citizens or residents are required to register under this system, which collects information like the individual's address, Social Security Number, and email. The system allows the Department of Defense to rapidly increase the number of troops serving in the military if there aren’t enough volunteers. The Selective Service system exists to collect information about people in the United States who could be forced to join the military in the case of a draft. residents are required to register for the Selective Service. Tell Congress: End the Selective Service requirement for everyone!ġ. must end the Selective Service requirement for everyone. Instead of expanding registration, the U.S. This is the second year in a row that the Selective Service System expansion has come before Congress in this process.Įxpansion would be a step backward toward militarism that hurts us all.

However, in June 2022, the Senate Armed Services Committee proposed a defense bill that would expand the registration requirement-and associated penalties- to women.

AFSC was founded that same year to give conscientious objectors an alternative to military service as they faced the realities of a draft in World War I.ĪFSC opposes requiring anyone, regardless of gender, to register for the draft and to participate in systems of war. In 1917, the Selective Service Act created a system that authorized a draft and required all men of a certain age to register through the Selective Service System. With contributions from Center on Conscience & War
