User:KNNorm/Selective Service System

Lead
The Selective Service System (SSS) is an independent agency of the United States government that maintains a database of registered U.S. citizens and other U.S. residents potentially subject to military conscription (i.e., the draft). Although the U.S. military is currently an All-Volunteer Force, registration is still required for contingency planning and preparation for two types of draft: a general draft based on registration lists of people assigned male at birth, aged 18–25, and a special-skills draft based on professional licensing lists of workers in specified health care occupations. In the event of either type of draft, the Selective Service System would send out induction notices, adjudicate claims for deferments or exemptions, and assign draftees classified as conscientious objectors to alternative service work. All U.S. citizens assigned male at birth and immigrant non-citizens who are between the ages of 18 and 25 are required by law to have registered within 30 days of their 18th birthdays, and must notify the Selective Service within ten days of any changes to any of the information they provided on their registration cards, such as a change of address. The Selective Service System is a contingency mechanism for the possibility that conscription becomes necessary.

Registration with Selective Service may be required for various federal programs and benefits, including job training, federal employment, and naturalization.

The Selective Service System provides the names of all registrants to the Joint Advertising Marketing Research & Studies (JAMRS) program for inclusion in the JAMRS Consolidated Recruitment Database. The names are distributed to the Services for recruiting purposes on a quarterly basis.

Regulations are codified at Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter XVI.

Who must register
Under current law, all U.S. citizens assigned male at birth, between 18 and 25 (inclusive) years of age, are required to register within 30 days of their 18th birthdays. In addition, certain categories of non-U.S. citizen biological men between 18 and 25 living in the United States must register, particularly permanent residents, refugees, asylum seekers, and illegal immigrants. Foreign men lawfully present in the United States who are non-immigrants, such as international students, visitors, and diplomats, are not required to register, so long as they remain in that status. If an alien's non-immigrant status lapses while he is in the United States and under the age of 26, he will be required to register. Failure to register as required is grounds for denying a petition for U.S. citizenship. Currently, citizens who are at least 17 years and 3 months old can pre-register so when they are eligible for registration, their information will automatically be added into the system.

In the current registration system, a person cannot indicate that they are a conscientious objector (CO) to war when registering, but they can make such a claim when being drafted. Some people 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. A number of private organizations have programs for conscientious objectors to file a written record stating their beliefs.

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" in case such a special-skills draft should be ordered by Congress. In response, the 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. The HCPDS plans include women and men age 20–54 in 57 job categories.

Until their 26th birthdays, registered biological men must notify Selective Service within 10 days of any changes to information regarding their status, such as name, current mailing address, permanent residence address, and "all information concerning his status... which the classifying authority mails him a request therefor".

Gender
Selective Service bases the registration requirement on sex assigned at birth rather than gender (Sex–gender distinction). According to the SSS, individuals who were assigned male at birth are required to register regardless of their current gender identity. This includes transgender women. People assigned female at birth who have transitioned, or are in the process of transitioning (transgender men), are not required to register. Individuals who identify as non-binary are required to register if they were assigned male at birth. U.S. citizens register for the SSS using their Social Security Number and the sex designation associated with that number. It is possible to change the sex associated with a Social Security Number (SSN), and the Social Security Administration (SSA) does not require medical or legal evidence of a sex designation to do so. However, despite some states now allowing an "X" designation on official identification, like birth certificates, the current SSN system is only designed for male or female designations. The SSA is looking into more diverse designation options for the future.

In February 2019, the biological-male-only military draft registry was ruled to be unconstitutional by a federal district judge in National Coalition for Men v. Selective Service System. Following the ruling, Selective Service System attorney Jacob Daniels told reporters: "Things continue here at Selective Service as they have in the past, which is men between the ages of 18 and 25 are required to register with Selective Service. And at this time, until we receive guidance from either the court or from Congress, women are not required to register for Selective Service." On 13 August 2020, the federal district judge's opinion was unanimously overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The Court held that biological-male-only military draft registration is constitutional on the basis that "only the Supreme Court may revise its precedent."

A congressionally mandated commission recommended in March 2020 that biological women should be eligible for the draft. In September 2021, the House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, which included an amendment that stated that "all Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 must register for selective service." This struck off the word "Male" which extended a potential draft to women; however, the amendment was removed before the National Defense Authorization Act was passed.

My plan for editing the Selective Service System Article
I found this page while looking through material Professor Strader gave me for my final paper. I imagine that a lot of young, transgender or non-binary people may go to this page to understand what they're supposed to do when they turn 18. If I can make the language more inclusive of them, and update it to more accurate information, I hope it helps even a few people navigate this scary system.

My plan is to replace "male" with "assigned male at birth" and other more inclusive/accurate language. I've already made one update in the Lead paragraph, the " male at birth " designation that is underlined.

I may also try to update some of the references and add better ones.