Selective Service System facts for kids
The Selective Service System is an independent agency of the United States government. It has information on those subject to the U.S. military draft. All male U.S. citizens and male immigrant non-citizens between ages 18 and 25 are required by law to register within 30 days of their 18th birthdays. They must also contact the Selective Service within ten days of any changes of any information they gave, like a change of address. Females, on the other hand, are not required to register.
Registration with Selective Service is also required for several federal programs and benefits, including job training, federal employment, naturalization, Pell grants and student loans.
On July 2, 1980, then-President Jimmy Carter signed Proclamation 4771 (Registration under the Military Selective Service Act). That was in response to the Soviet war in Afghanistan the previous year. It re-established the Selective Service registration requirement for all 18-to-26 year old men born on or after January 1, 1960.
The first registrations began on July 21, 1980 at various post offices across the United States, starting with men born in 1960. Men born in or after 1963 were required to register within 30 days of their 18th birthday.
On April 27, 2016, the Armed House Services Committee voted to add an amendment to extend the authority for draft registration to females. If the bill had passed, it would have authorized then-President Barack Obama to order young women as well as men to register with the Selective System.
Images for kids
-
World War I draft card. Lower left corner to be removed by men of African ancestry in order to keep the military segregated.
-
Selective service information available in a local post office in Boston, Massachusetts
