Selective Service System: Difference between revisions

| World War I || September 1917 – November 1918 || align=right | 2,810,296

| Korean War || June 1950 – June 1953 || align=right | 1,529,539

| Vietnam War || August 1964 – February 1973 || align=right | 1,857,304

The [[Military Selective Service Act|Selective Service Act of 1948]], enacted in June of that year, created a new and separate system, the basis for the modern system.<ref name=US_v_Groupp>{{cite court |litigants = United States v. Groupp |vol = 459 |reporter = F.2d |opinion = 178 |pinpoint = at para 4 |court = [[United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit|1st Cir.]] |date = 26 April 1972 |url = http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/459/459.F2d.178.71-1351.html |quote = }}</ref> All men 18 years and older had to register with the Selective Service. All men between the ages of 18 and 25 were eligible to be drafted for a service requirement of 21 months. This was followed by a commitment for either 12 consecutive months of active service or 36 consecutive months of service in the reserves, with a statutory term of military service set at a minimum of five years total. Conscripts could volunteer for military service in the regular United States Army for a term of four years or the Organized Reserves for a term of six years. Due to deep postwar budget cuts, only 100,000 conscripts were chosen in 1948. In 1950, the number of conscripts was greatly increased to meet the demands of the Korean War (1950–1953).{{cn|date=September 2022}}

President [[John F. Kennedy]] set up {{Executive Order|11119}} (signed on September 10, 1963), granting an exemption from conscription for married men between the ages of 19 and 26. His vice president and later successor as president, Lyndon B. Johnson, later rescinded the exemption for married men without children by {{Executive Order|11241}} (signed on August 26, 1965 and going into effect on midnight of that date). However, married men with children or other dependents and men married before the executive order went into effect were still exempt. President [[Ronald Reagan]] revoked both of them with {{Executive Order|12553}} (signed on February 25, 1986).

In February 2019, a challenge to the Military Selective Service Act, which provides for the male-only draft, by the [[National Coalition for Men]], was deemed unconstitutional by Judge [[Gray H. Miller]] in the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas]]. [[National Coalition for Men v. Selective Service System|Miller's opinion]] was based on the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]]'s past argument in ''[[Rostker v. Goldberg]]'' (1981) which had found the male-only draft constitutional because the military then did not allow women to serve. As the Department of Defense has since lifted most restrictions on women in the military, Miller ruled that the justifications no longer apply, and thus the act requiring only men to register would now be considered unconstitutional under the [[Equal Protection Clause]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/24/us/military-draft-men-unconstitutional.html |title = Drafting Only Men for the Military Is Unconstitutional, Judge Rules |first = Tyler |last = Pager |date = 24 February 2019 |access-date = 25 February 2019 |work = The New York Times }}</ref> The government appealed this decision to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.<ref>{{cite web |last1 = Hasbrouck |first1 = Edward |title = Federal court declares current military draft registration requirement unconstitutional |url = https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002337.html |access-date = 31 December 2019 }}</ref> Oral arguments on the appeal were heard on March 3, 2020.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hasbrouck |first1=Edward |title=Appeals Court hears arguments on the Constitutionality of draft registration |url=https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002365.html |website=Resisters.info |access-date=13 March 2020}}</ref> The District Court decision was reversed by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.<ref name="hasbrouck.org">{{cite web |last1=Hasbrouck |first1=Edward |title=Court of Appeals overturns ruling that male-only draft registration requirement is unconstitutional |url=https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002378.html |website=Resisters.Info |access-date=23 January 2021}}</ref> A petition for review was declined by the U.S. Supreme Court.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Liptak|first=Adam|date=7 June 2021|title=Supreme Court Won't Hear Case on Limiting Military Draft to Men|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/07/us/supreme-court-draft.html|access-date=8 June 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

|10.||[[File:Selective Service System Director Alfred Rascon.GIF|100px]]||[[Alfred V. Rascon]]||May 24, 2001 – January 2, 2003||George W. Bush