1. Selective Service System Chapter 9 Lesson 3 Military Career Opportunities

2. Selective Service System QUICK FACTS AND FIGURES Vision The Selective Service System will be an active partner in the national preparedness community that anticipates and responds to the changing needs of the Nation. Mission The statutory missions of Selective Service are to be prepared to provide trained and untrained personnel to the DoD in the event of a national emergency and to be prepared to implement an Alternative Service Program for registrants classified as conscientious objectors. Registration Compliance (Calendar Year 2012) Men 18 to 25 years old who have registered: 92 percent. Men 20 to 25 years old who have registered (draft eligible): 96 percent. Number of names and addresses on file for men 18 to 25 years old: Nearly 15 million.

3. Selective Service If you are a man ages 18 through 25 and living in the U.S., then you must register with Selective Service. It’s the law. According to law, a man must register with Selective Service within 30 days of his 18th birthday. Selective Service will accept late registrations but not after a man has reached age 26. You may be denied benefits or a job if you have not registered. You can register at any U.S. Post Office and do not need a social security number. When you do obtain a social security number, let Selective Service know. Even though the Secretary of Defense has decided to allow women in combat jobs, the law has not been changed to include this. Consequently, only men are currently required to register by law with Selective Service during ages 18 thru 25. Women still do not register. (January 24, 2013)

4. WHAT DOES SELECTIVE SERVICE PROVIDE FOR AMERICA? The Selective Service System and the registration requirement for America's young men provide our Nation with a structure and a system of guidelines which will provide the most prompt, efficient, and equitable draft possible, if the country should need it. America's leaders agree that despite the success of the All-Volunteer Force, registration with Selective Service must continue as a key component of national security strategy. "A Relatively Low-cost Insurance Policy," says President Clinton On May 18, 1994, President Clinton informed Congress that: "Maintaining the Selective Service System and draft registration provides a hedge against unforeseen threats and a relatively low cost "insurance policy" against our underestimating the maximum level of threat we expect our Armed Forces to face.... As fewer and fewer members of our society have direct military experience, it is increasingly important to maintain the link between the All-Volunteer Force and our society-at-large. The Armed Forces must also know that the general population stands behind them, committed to serve, should the preservation of our national security so require.“ "A Fair and Equitable Draft," says Mr. Perry Then Secretary of Defense, William J. Perry, recommended to Congress in August 1995 that the Selective Service be funded adequately. "This small, but important agency," he wrote, "should be maintained in its current state of readiness, and its peacetime registration program involving America's young men should be preserved to help ensure that any future draft, if needed, would be fair and equitable."