That’s right. The Selective Service System ensures “manpower to the armed forces in an emergency” through a draft. And when every man in this country turns 18, he gets a letter in the mail requiring him to register in the Selective Service System, a.k.a., the draft.
In the past, a draft was found necessary simply because a volunteer system didn't provide an adequate number of troops. Although the United States has not found itself in a war requiring a draft since Vietnam, this system is still in place, over 40 years later.
With the onset of the Civil War, America saw its first draft. This draft later faced some amending due to the number of men who paid others to fight in their place. By World War I, that loophole was fixed.
In 1917, Woodrow Wilson signed the Selective Service Act, enlisting over two million men ages 21 to 30 to support the Allies in Europe.
FDR signed the Selective Service and Training Act in 1940 and by 1973, the Selective Service System as we know today was in place. In fact, when Reagan ran for president in 1980, he promised to abolish the Selective Service System.
There have been changes made to the draft since Vietnam: then, a man could qualify to not be enlisted if he could prove that he was a full-time student, but now, a college student can have his induction postponed only to the end of the current semester.
So when a man gets his Selective Service registration in the mail, he has 30 days to return the registration. There’s no direct penalty if it is not returned by the age of 26, but hold onto it longer than that and a fine of up to $250,000 or a prison term of five years could ensue.
Other penalties come along before the age of 26. Students won’t qualify for any financial aid if they aren’t registered in the Selective Service System. No Pell Grants, College Work Study, etc. A man must also be registered to be eligible for work in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government and to work for the Postal Service.
In an article recently published in the Washington Post, a man in his 30’s was looking to go back to school and when he filled out his financial aid paperwork, the financial aid officer asked him if he registered for the Selective Service. He hadn’t even heard of the Selective Service System.
Rand Paul recently introduced a bill in memory of Muhammed Ali to end the Selective Service program. Ali refused to go to Vietnam when he was 25. Paul says that if a war is popular enough, there will be volunteers who will fight.
A system that could impose a draft on American men tomorrow should garner more attention. When I received my Selective Service registration, I had no idea that I would be expected to register for a potential draft once I turned 18.
This system needs to be done away with. The probability of being drafted in a future war should not be lurking in the back of the minds of young American men. And a Trump presidency, in all of his unpredictability, makes that fear even more real.
I’m not telling anyone not to register. If I were, I would also be eligible for a $250,000 fine or up to five years in prison.
The penalties for not registering are too high – the price of college nearly demands some financial aid. These sort of penalties is hurting men and disproportionately boys from low-income households, who often have several addresses before the age of 18. That being said, an 18-year-old may not even have the letter be mailed to his current address.
That, often low-income, the man then cannot go to college because he doesn't qualify for the financial aid he needs to attend, all because he didn’t register in the Selective Service System.
We are no longer lingering in a Cold War or on the brink of another World War. Europe has never seen this many consecutive years of peace and while the Middle East remains to be in upheaval, there is no conflict beckoning for a draft. It's time to follow Rand Paul's lead.
