End the draft?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Lawmakers push for end to draft registration in US

WASHINGTON — Two lawmakers are waging a little-noticed campaign to abolish the Selective Service System, the independent federal agency that manages draft registration.

They say the millions of dollars the agency spends each year preparing for the possibility of a military draft is a waste of money.

Reps. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., say the Pentagon has no interest in returning to conscription due to the success of the all-volunteer force.

The Selective Service has a budget of $24 million and a full-time staff of 130. It maintains a database of about 17 million potential male draftees. In the event of a draft, the agency would mobilize as many as 11,000 volunteers to serve on local draft boards that would decide if exemptions or deferments to military service were warranted.

Men between the ages of 18 and 25 are required to register and can do so online or by mail. Those who fail to register with the Selective Service can be charged with a felony. The Justice Department hasn't prosecuted anyone for that offense since 1986.

There can be other consequences, though. Failing to register can mean the loss of financial aid for college, being refused employment with the federal government, and denied U.S. citizenship.

DeFazio says it makes no sense to threaten to penalize men who don't register when the odds of a draft are so remote.

"There is no one who wants this except `chicken hawk' members of Congress," DeFazio says, using a term to describe a person who pushes for the use of military power but never served in the armed forces.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20130225/US.Military.Draft.Women.Selective.Service/

Edited February 25, 2013 by The Patriot

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Listen up ladies! Uncle Sam might want you too

It is constitutional to register only men for a draft, the Supreme Court ruled more than three decades ago, because the reason for registration is to create a pool of potential combat troops should a national emergency demand a rapid increase in the size of the military. Women were excluded from serving in battlefield jobs, so there was no reason to register them for possible conscription into the armed forces, the court held.

Now that front-line infantry, armor, artillery and special operations jobs are open to female volunteers who can meet the physical requirements, it will be difficult for anyone to make a persuasive argument that women should continue to be exempt from registration, said Diane Mazur, a law professor at the University of Florida and a former Air Force officer.

"They're going to have to show that excluding women from the draft actually improves military readiness," Mazur said. "I just don't see how you can make that argument."

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20130225/US.Military.Draft.Women/

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

I think every person that holds a position that deals with the military should have served at least one full enlistment.

[Karee 4,191]

I think every person that holds a position that deals with the military should have served at least one full enlistment.

Not sure about Malaysia, but in Thailand it's a required 2 year service for every male. Of course there's ways around that if your family has connections. Kinda like the U.S.

I still think they should make everyone register. It's part of being ready. Not like it's a big deal. I think it took me 10 minutes at the post office back in 1986.

ETA:Personally, I think military service should be a requirement to run for president. I know that will never happen.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Karee

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

I remember registering at 18. That being said was I supposed to keep an up to date address, because I never did anything more with it after the initial registration.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Not sure about Malaysia, but in Thailand it's a required 2 year service for every male. Of course there's ways around that if your family has connections. Kinda like the U.S.

I still think they should make everyone register. It's part of being ready. Not like it's a big deal. I think it took me 10 minutes at the post office back in 1986.

ETA:Personally, I think military service should be a requirement to run for president. I know that will never happen.

I'm talking to my wife now, it's called National Service. 3 months mandatory attendance, but it's not boot camp, it's more like just training and getting a crash course in the military. Our son is in it right now, he left in the beginning of the month.