Selective Service System
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Selective Service System is the means by which the United States administers military conscription. It entails registering all men between the ages of 18 and 25 with the system for the purpose of having information available about potential soldiers in the event of war.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Selective Service Act (40 Stat. 76) was passed by the Congress of the United States on 18 May 1917 creating the Selective Service System. The Act gave the President the power to draft men for military service.
The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 was passed by the Congress of the United States on September 16, 1940, becoming the first peacetime conscription in United States history.
The original Act was allowed to expire in 1947 because it was thought that a sufficient number of volunteers would enlist for the nation's defense. The number of volunteers was not enough, however, and a new draft act was passed in 1948. Between 1948 and 1967 several draft laws were enacted.
[edit] Current status
Though the United States abandoned conscription in 1973, the Selective Service System remains as a contingency, should the measure be reintroduced.
Under current law, all male US citizens are required to register with Selective Service within 30 days of their 18th birthday. Certain male aliens residing in the US, including those present illegally, are also required to register if they are between 18 and 25 years of age. "Willful" failure or refusal to present oneself for registration is against the law.
In 1980, a person who knew they were required to register who did not do so could face up to five years in jail or a fine up to $50,000 if convicted. The potential fine was later increased to $250,000. Despite these possible penalties, government records indicate that from 1980 through 1986 there were only 20 indictments,[1] of which 19 were instigated in part by self publicized and self reported non-registration. (As one of the elements of the offense, the government must prove that a violation of the Military Selective Service Act was knowing and willful. This is almost impossible unless the defendant has publicly stated that they knew they were required to register or report for induction, or unless they have been visited by the FBI, personally served with notice to register or report for induction, and given another chance to comply.) The last prosecution for nonregistration took place in January of 1986, after which many believed the government declined to continue prosecutions when it became apparent that the trials were themselves causing a decline in registration. By 1984, 13% of 18 year old men were not registering.[2]
As an alternative method of encouraging registration, federal legislators and most state legislators passed laws requiring that in order to receive financial aid, federal grants and loans, and certain government benefits, an individual had to be registered with Selective Service. Organized efforts to aid those losing benefits include Fund for Education and Training (FEAT)[3] and Student Aid Fund for Nonregistrants.[4]
In the current registration system one cannot indicate that they are a conscientious objector (CO) to war when registering, but one can make such a claim when being drafted. However, there are strict limitations to whether this claim exempts one from the draft. Some choose to write on the registration card I am a conscientious objector to war to document their conviction, even though the government will not have such a classification until there is a draft.[5]
Today, the most likely form of draft is a draft of health care workers.[6] In 1987, Congress ordered the Selective Service System to put in place a system capable of drafting "persons qualified for practice or employment in a health care occupation", if such a special-skills draft should be ordered by Congress. In response, Selective Service published plans for the "Health Care Personnel Delivery System " (HCPDS) in 1989, and has had them ready ever since. The concept underwent a preliminary field exercise in Fiscal Year 1998, followed by a more extensive nationwide readiness exercise in Fiscal Year 1999.[7] The HCPDS plans include women and men ages 20-54 in 57 different job categories.[8]
[edit] Legal Issues
Although the Selective Service System is authorized by the Selective Service Act, some argue the constitutionality of the act, claiming the law violates the Thirteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by providing for military conscription. Opponents of the law contend that the draft constitutes "involuntary servitude", under the amendment, which states:
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
This has not been supported by the courts; as the Supreme Court said in Butler v. Perry,[9] 240 U.S. 328 (1916):
This Amendment was adopted with reference to conditions existing since the foundation of our government, and the term 'involuntary servitude' was intended to cover those forms of compulsory labor akin to African slavery which, in practical operation, would tend to produce like undesirable results. It introduced no novel doctrine with respect of services always treated as exceptional, and certainly was not intended to interdict enforcement of those duties which individuals owe to the state, such as services in the army, militia, on the jury, etc.
[edit] Exemption of women
The issue of women being exempted was addressed and approved in 1981 by the United States Supreme Court in Rostker v. Goldberg, with the Court holding "The existence of the combat restrictions clearly indicates the basis for Congress' decision to exempt women from registration. The purpose of registration was to prepare for a draft of combat troops. Since women are excluded from combat, Congress concluded that they would not be needed in the event of a draft, and therefore decided not to register them."[10]
[edit] Structure and operation
The System is an independent agency within the Executive Branch of the Federal government of the United States.
A lottery is held in full view of the public, which is covered by the media. First, all days of the year are placed into a capsule at random. Second, the numbers 1-365 (1-366 for men born on a leap year) are placed into a second capsule. These two capsules are certified for procedure, sealed in a drum, and stored.
In the event of a draft, the drums are taken out of storage and inspected to make sure they have not been tampered with. The lottery then takes place, and each date is paired with a number at random. For example, if January 16 is picked from the "date" capsule and the number 59 picked from the "number" capsule, all men of age 20 born on January 16 will be required to report for conscription only after men with birthdays paired with numbers 1-58 are inducted. If all dates are used, the Selective Service will then conscript men at the age of 21, then 22, 23, 24, and 25. Men ages 18 and 19 are not likely to be inducted to the system. Once all dates are paired, the dates will be sent to Selective Service System's Data Management Center.
[edit] Classifications
If a draft were held, local draft boards would classify registrants to determine whether they were exempt from military service. According to US Code Title 32, Chapter XVI, Sec. 1630.2, men would be sorted into the following categories:
| Class | Category |
|---|---|
| 1-A | Available for unrestricted military service. |
| 1-A-O | Conscientious objector available for noncombatant military service only. |
| 1-C | Member of the Armed Forces of the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the Public Health Service. |
| 1-D-D | Deferment for certain members of a reserve component or student taking military training. |
| 1-D-E | Exemption of certain members of a reserve component or student taking military training. |
| 1-H | Active Registrant (*All registrants currently in the database have this classification) |
| 1-O | Conscientious objector to all military service. A registrant must establish to the satisfaction of the board that his request for exemption from combatant and noncombatant military training and service in the Armed Forces is based upon moral, ethical or religious beliefs which play a significant role in his life and that his objection to participation in war is not confined to a particular war. |
| 1-O-S | Conscientious objector to all military service. |
| 1-W | Conscientious objector ordered to perform alternative service. |
| 2-D | Registrant deferred because of study preparing for the ministry. |
| 3-A | Registrant deferred because of hardship to dependents. |
| 3-A-S | Registrant deferred because of hardship to dependents (separated). |
| 4-A | Registrant who has completed military service. |
| 4-A-A | Registrant who has performed military service for a foreign nation. |
| 4-B | Official deferred by law. |
| 4-C | Alien or dual national. |
| 4-D | Minister of religion. |
| 4-F | Registrant not acceptable for military service. To be eligible for Class 4-F, a registrant must have been found not qualified for service in the Armed Forces by a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) under the established physical, mental, or moral standards. The standards of physical fitness that would be used in a future draft would come from AR 40-501. Openly gay men are not allowed to serve in the American military. |
| 4-G | Registrant exempted from service because of the death of his parent or sibling while serving in the Armed Forces or whose parent or sibling is in a captured or missing in action status. |
| 4-T | Treaty alien. |
| 4-W | Registrant who has completed alternative service in lieu of induction. |
[edit] Directors
| Director[11] | Tenure | Appointed by | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Clarence Addison Dykstra | 1940-10-15 - 1941-04-01 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| 2. | Lewis Blaine Hershey | 1941-07-31 - 1970-02-15 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Dee Ingold | 1970-02-15 - 1970-04-06 | (Acting) | |
| 3. | Dr. Curtis W. Tarr | 1970-04-06 - 1972-05-01 | Richard Nixon |
| Byron V. Pepitone | 1972-05-01 - 1973-04-01 | (Acting) | |
| 4. | Byron V. Pepitone | 1973-04-02 - 1977-07-31 | Richard Nixon |
| Robert E. Shuck | 1977-08-01 - 1979-11-25 | (Acting) | |
| 5. | Bernard D. Rostker | 1979-11-26 - 1981-07-31 | Jimmy Carter |
| Dr. James G. Bond | 1981-08-01 - 1981-10-30 | (Acting) | |
| 6. | Thomas K. Turnage | 1981-10-30 - 1986-10-23 | Ronald Reagan |
| Wilfred L. Ebel | 1986-10-24 - 1987-07-08 | (Acting) | |
| Jerry D. Jennings | 1987-07-09 - 1987-12-17 | (Acting) | |
| 7. | Samuel K. Lessey Jr. | 1987-12-18 - 1991-03-07 | Ronald Reagan |
| 8. | Robert W. Gambino | 1991-03-08 - 1994-01-31 | George H. W. Bush |
| G. Huntington Banister | 1994-02-01 - 1994-10-06 | (Acting) | |
| 9. | Gil Coronado | 1994-10-07 - 2001-05-23 | Bill Clinton |
| 10. | Alfred V. Rascon | 2001-05-24 - 2003-01-02 | George W. Bush |
| Lewis C. Brodsky | 2003-01-03 - 2004-04-28 | (Acting) | |
| Jack Martin | 2004-04-29 - 2004-10-28 | (Acting) | |
| 11. | William A. Chatfield | 2004-10-29 - | George W. Bush |
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Prosecutions of Draft Registration Resisters
- ^ Men and Women Who Dare to Say No.
- ^ Fund for Education and Training
- ^ Student Aid Fund for Nonregistrants
- ^ Brethren Witness, Peace and Justice, Conscientious Objection
- ^ Health Care Personnel Delivery System: Another Doctor Draft? (Wisconsin Medical Journal, 2004)
- ^ MedicalDraft.info
- ^ Health Care Personnel Delivery System regulations
- ^ Butler v. Perry
- ^ ROSTKER v. GOLDBERG, 453 U.S. 57 (1981)
- ^ Past Directors Of The Selective Service System
[edit] External links
- Official home page
- Information For Selective Service Registrants
- Prosecutions of draft registration resisters in the USA since 1980
- Resisters.info - information and resources about draft registration and draft resistance
- MedicalDraft.info - FAQ's about the medical draft ("Health Care Personnel Delivery System")
- A Perspective on the Selective Service System Military Draft During the Vietnam War - The Final Draft in U.S. History
