Wasn’t the war supposed to be almost over?
Automatic draft registration is going nationwide just as the White House refuses to rule out ground troops and officials brace for larger global conflict.
Wasn’t the war “almost over”? Then why do you need automatic military draft registration?
The last time a military draft was in effect in the United States was in February 1973, during the Vietnam War, the most unpopular war in the nation’s history. Around 1.9 million men were selected for military service between 1964 and 1973. For context, 2.8 million were drafted during World War I, and around 10.1 million were drafted during World War II.
Now, “young, eligible men” will be automatically registered for the military draft pool in the U.S. starting in December as part of a measure no one seems to have read in the defense policy bill Congress signed into law late last year.
According to the Selective Service System’s 2024 report, automatic registration is already in place in 46 states and territories. However, the SSS proposed a rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs late last month to implement the practice nationwide, according to CNN.
An educated guess would suggest the Trump administration already knew it wanted to be in a world-scale conflict for a long time, or at least until next year.
However, CNN says “the nationwide measure has no connection to the ongoing war with Iran and was passed with bipartisan support months before the current conflict with the country. But the Trump administration has declined to rule out the possibility of putting U.S. troops on the ground, and the war has led to renewed attention on the draft policy.”
That is, if you believe CNN.
On the other hand, according to The New York Times, government officials are bracing for what experts say are “potential confrontations with China or Russia” at a moment when military recruiting “has slumped.”
What happens now?
First, failing to comply with the draft is a felony, which carries various penalties. According to The New York Times, these include up to five years in prison and the inability to receive certain federal benefits, such as government loans.
The logical reasoning is simple: if you are not planning to wage war, you do not really need a larger army, do you? In fact, in decades past, a country used to be proud of not needing an army at all. However, these are quasi-unprecedented times, right?
This, however, does not mean young, able Americans will be drafted. This is just a preemptive move, “just in case.”
As the Times continues, during a March 8 interview on Fox News, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Mr. Trump “does not remove options off the table” when asked what she would tell mothers worried about the draft returning.
Leavitt also said at the time that sending ground troops into Iran was not part of the “current plan.” That was over a month ago, and before the U.S. president drew the world to the edge of its seat in a countdown to a possible nuclear conflict.
Others argue that “even if boots were to be put on the ground, it is very unlikely a draft would return. This is because America already has one of the largest militaries in the world, so currently it doesn’t need any soldiers who don’t already want to be there.”
While the president would be required to get approval from Congress to enact a military draft, which was last used during the Vietnam War in the early 1970s, this could be more about “money and ease.”
As reported by ABC News, in 2024, Representative Chrissy Houlahan noted that automatic registration “saves taxpayers significant money and makes it easier for these men to follow the law and register with the Selective Service.”
Does this change if you are an immigrant?
According to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, “Except as otherwise provided in this title, every male citizen of the United States, and every other male person residing in the United States, between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six, shall be automatically registered under this Act by the Director of the Selective Service System.”
So, in short, and as Michael Grothaus explained in his column for Fast Company, if you are a man in the United States aged 18 to 26, you will be automatically registered for the draft. And this does not just include U.S. citizens. The Selective Service System says that immigrants and dual-national U.S. citizens must register, along with other cohorts.
However, this is no different from what was already required. Currently, all men ages 18 to 26 must register for the draft. The new rules mean the registration will now be automatic across the country.