Will Women Have To Register for the Draft in 2021?
In January 2013, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta ordered the armed services to lift the ban on women serving in combat roles in the military. The services were ordered to study the issue and develop an implementation plan by January 2016. In December 2015, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced that the military would be opening all “remaining occupations and positions to women,” with “no exceptions,” effective January 2016.
Yet, to this day, women are still not required to register for the draft. Could this change in 2021?
The draft ended in 1973, but in 1980, President Jimmy Carter reinstated the requirement that men must register with the Selective Service System.
According to the Selective Service System:
Selective Service registration is required by law as the first part of a fair and equitable system that, if authorized by the President and Congress, would rapidly provide personnel to the Department of Defense while at the same time providing for an Alternative Service Program for conscientious objectors. By registering, a young man remains eligible for jobs, Federal student aid, State-based student aid in 31 states, Federally-funded job training, and U.S. citizenship for immigrant men.
The Selective Service System and the registration requirement for America’s young men provide our Nation with a structure and a system of guidelines which will provide the most prompt, efficient, and equitable draft possible, if the country should need it. America’s leaders agree that despite the success of the All-Volunteer Force, registration with Selective Service must continue as a key component of national security strategy.
Why should any young man register for the draft? Again, according to the Selective Service System:
- Registration is the law.
- By registering all eligible men, Selective Service ensures a fair and equitable draft, if ever required.
- The Selective Service System is a relatively low-cost insurance policy for our nation.
- It’s a civic duty of every young man to comply with the law.
- By registering, a young man stays eligible for jobs, college loans and grants, job training, driver’s license in most states, and U.S. citizenship for immigrant men.
- Men who fail to register with Selective Service may be ineligible for opportunities that may be important to their future.
- The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) makes registration with Selective Service a condition for U.S. citizenship if the man first arrived in the U.S. before his 26th birthday.
- A man must be registered to be eligible for jobs in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government and the U.S. Postal Service.
- If re
Article from LewRockwell
