Background
of Selective Service
For more than 50 years,
Selective Service and the registration requirement for
America's young men have served as a backup system to
provide manpower to the U.S. Armed Forces.
President Franklin Roosevelt
signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940
which created the country's first peacetime draft and
formally established the Selective Service System as
an independent Federal agency.
From 1948 until 1973,
during both peacetime and periods of conflict, men were
drafted to fill vacancies in the armed forces which
could not be filled through voluntary means.
In 1973, the draft ended
and the U.S. converted to an All-Volunteer military.
The registration requirement
was suspended in April 1975. It was resumed again in
1980 by President Carter in response to the Soviet invasion
of Afghanistan. Registration continues today as a hedge
against underestimating the number of servicemen needed
in a future crisis.
The obligation of a
man to register is imposed by the Military
Selective Service Act. The Act establishes
and governs the operations of the Selective Service
System.
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