U.S. Government Selective Service System form came today......

Sooo... just say you for fun that you are in your 40s, born after 1960 you didnt register ...and its way past your 26th birthday. Do you

A.) Let the Selective Service know about your oversight?

B.) Pretend you never saw this post?

C.) Try to find a way to register discreetly?

Just curious , because noone on ATS would fall into that demographic

I registered three days before my 18th birthday. I was excited and happy to do so. I knew it didn't make a difference since I was joining the Army anyway. You can't draft a volunteer. I wasn't out of the Army system until I was past the current draft age (in WWI it was 45).

Yes, it is the law to register. Just do it once and be done with it. You'll never hear of it again.

Originally posted by Speckle
Sooo... just say you for fun that you are in your 40s, born after 1960 you didnt register ...and its way past your 26th birthday. Do you

A.) Let the Selective Service know about your oversight?

B.) Pretend you never saw this post?

C.) Try to find a way to register discreetly?

Just curious , because noone on ATS would fall into that demographic

edit on 4-12-2012 by Speckle because: add

At that point i doubt they'd care.

Plus you'd be too old to be drafted.

reply to post by Speckle


If you became 18 between 1975 and 1980 you didn't have to register. Selective Service was suspended in those years.

Legally, you were supposed to, but there was no legal registration requirement. Kind of like saying you have to pay your taxes but you don't have to file.

I learned much more here then surfing the net. I knew I came to the right place, as usual...and to all our men & woman that have served & are currently serving, you have my utmost respect. I hope my sons views don't offend. He is still just an outdoor, hardworking 20 yr old, who is still a boy, well, I guess to me anyway. He's very shy and quiet and just wants to be left in peace, which is why he didnt react well to the letter. I don't want anyone to worry, I will make him fill it out, so he doesn't get in trouble...

reply to post by j.r.c.b.

Heck, I don't blame him. Especially considering he was..what? 8 when the towers fell? He's never known America when the Eagle faced the the Olive Branches. It's depressing to consider....

I'd just explain it this way. It's a civic duty..as campy as that sounds to that generation today, and a little price for living here. If it ever came to actually USING that list again, things have gone SO badly for America and Americans, I doubt he'd wait to be asked anyway. We'll be fighting in places like Atlantic City, San Diego and Seattle...not Iran or Afghanistan. Politically, no one is going to stand for it being activated again short of that, IMO.

Got one of these when I was 18, I'm 49 now...too Old, smart and too wise for them now. They want kids they can control.

Originally posted by Shdak
Got one of these when I was 18, I'm 49 now...too Old, smart and too wise for them now. They want kids they can control.

yes they do. i remember one blazing hot day at the rifle range on parris island.
the drill instructor said, you will be amazed at what a seventeen year old can do with a m-16.

I received mine when I was 18. I was a heavy on conspiracy theories since I was 15 too. Guess what I did?

Balled it up and threw it away.

I'm 21.

In college.

Working.

Sorry, but does your country ever make you feel like potential fodder for a potential war that really has nothing to do with you personally?

reply to post by Zcustosmorum


Absolutely not. Our Constitution has provisions for raising an army from the masses and the Selective Service is a component of it. For a number of years, until the turn of the last century, the states themselves could mandate participation in the state militias. Some even required the purchasing of rifles of a particular caliber

It seems like an odd thing if we only view it in a modern context, but it is part of something that goes back to the founding of our nation.

Yes it's normal, I received mine shortly after I graduated High School.

IMO he should fill it out and mail it, it takes just a couple of minutes and it can save him some problems further down the road

This whole "Selective Service" thing sounds like it's making it mandatory for people to essentially register for a draft (if it happens) preemptively. So, if a draft does actually happen, they will say to anyone trying to back out that they have already signed a legally binding document agreeing to it, whether those people agree with the reasons for the draft or not.

I think if it happened here, I'd be mailing it back to the Prime Minister personally and telling him where he could shove it!

reply to post by Britguy


That is exactly what it is. Americanism is a different culture and we have our quirks. We are a battle-borne culture, which does come across as psychotic at times, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I never actually registered for selective service, however I joined the navy at 17 and got out after 6 years. Wonder if I was supposed to register after I got out?

I wonder how much it costs taxpayers to administer a registry for a defunct draft system?

Nope. No waste there.

And imagine the poor fools who are tasked with chasing down those who do not register thereby committing a felony.

So stupid.

ETA: Looks like in 1997 it cost $30 million and then some. link

Kind of pricy to maintain a car that'll never be driven.

Here's one from this year with roughly the same numbers: link

Originally posted by GreenGlassDoor
reply to post by Zcustosmorum

 

Absolutely not. Our Constitution has provisions for raising an army from the masses and the Selective Service is a component of it. For a number of years, until the turn of the last century, the states themselves could mandate participation in the state militias. Some even required the purchasing of rifles of a particular caliber

It seems like an odd thing if we only view it in a modern context, but it is part of something that goes back to the founding of our nation.

I appreciate that, but times have changed, there is no real threat to the U.S. anymore and as far as I can see I have no idea how the government can justify the amount of money spent in arming themselves and drafting up kids. The only threat to the U.S. is the U.S. themselves

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
I understand you can slip through the cracks and just fail to register entirely .....but applying for a government job for life or some benefits could get very interesting if someone bothered to check that status.

They check it for financial aid for college too.

Originally posted by Britguy
This whole "Selective Service" thing sounds like it's making it mandatory for people to essentially register for a draft (if it happens) preemptively. So, if a draft does actually happen, they will say to anyone trying to back out that they have already signed a legally binding document agreeing to it, whether those people agree with the reasons for the draft or not.

That's exactly what it is.....
except you don't have to sign a "legally binding document" to be drafted. The law and consitution says you can be drafted. you don't have to agree at all, that's the whole point of a draft.


Seriously people....if a real war breaks out, would you want them wasting months, if not years, to establish a draft? That's stupid. I hate the army, yet I still understand strategy and it would be stupid of them to not have this set up.

Out of the millions who never bothered to register, there have been a handful of cases which went to court, and I don't think a single case has happened in the last 15 years or so.

It's a waste. Don't do it.