Selective Service System (SSS) is an independent agency of the United States government whose purpose is to provide drafted men to the armed forces in an emergency. The agency also runs an alternative service program for men classified as conscientious objectors (see Conscientious objector ). Virtually all men of ages 18 through 25 are required by law to register with the Selective Service System.
In the event of an emergency requiring an increased military force, the SSS would conduct a draft using a list of names of registered men. Potential draftees would be evaluated at a military entrance processing station and classified based on the evaluation. Men classified 1-A would be available for induction. But they could file a claim with their local board for exemptions, deferments, and postponements from military service. The board would decide the outcome of each registrant’s case. A registrant could appeal the decision.
The SSS was established in 1940 to administer the draft needed during World War II (1939-1945). In 1973, the U.S. government ended the draft and began accepting only volunteers into the armed forces. Congress passed legislation in 1980 resuming the registration requirement for the draft.
In 2019, a federal judge ruled that the male-only requirement for the draft violated the Constitution. In 2020, the National Commission on Military, National and Public Service, a bipartisan congressional committee, advised Congress to pass legislation to open the draft to all individuals aged 18 to 25, regardless of sex.
