1. Congress and the President Authorize a Draft
   A crisis occurs which requires more troops than the volunteer military can supply. Congress passes and the President signs legislation that starts a draft.
2. The Lottery
   A lottery based on birthdays determines the order in which registered men are called up by Selective Service. The first to be called, in a sequence determined by the lottery, will be men whose 20th birthday falls during that year, followed, if needed, by those aged 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25. 18-year-olds and those turning 19 would probably not be drafted.
3. All Parts of Selective Service Are Activated
   The Agency activates and orders its State Directors and Reserve Forces Officers to report for duty.
4. Physical, Mental, and Moral Evaluation of Registrants
   Registrants with low lottery numbers are ordered to report for a physical, mental, and moral evaluation at a Military Entrance Processing Station to determine whether they are fit for military service. Once he is notified of the results of the evaluation, a registrant will be given 10 days to file a claim for exemption, postponement, or deferment.
5. Local and Appeal Boards Activated and Induction Notices Sent
   Local and Appeal Boards will process registrant claims. Those who pass the military evaluation will receive induction orders. An inductee will have 10 days to report to a local Military Entrance Processing Station for induction.
6. First Draftees Are Inducted
   According to current plans, Selective Service must deliver the first inductees to the military within 193 days from the onset of a crisis.

II. Selective Service Lottery

If and when the Congress and the President reinstate a military draft, the Selective Service System would conduct a National Draft Lottery to determine the order in which young men would be drafted.

The lottery would establish the priority of call based on the birth dates of registrants. The first men drafted would be those turning age 20 during the calendar year of the lottery. For example, if a draft were held in 1998, those men born in 1978 would be considered first. If a young man turns 21 in the year of the draft, he would be in the second priority, in turning 22 he would be in the third priority, and so forth until the year in which he turns 26 at which time he is over the age of liability. Younger men would not be called in that year until men in the 20-25 age group are called.

Because of the enormous impact of this lottery, it would be conducted publicly, with full coverage by the media. Accredited observers from public interest groups will have full access to observe the proceedings.

To make the lottery as fair as possible, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed a unique random calendar and number selection program for Selective Service. Using this random selection method for birthdays, each day of the year is selected by computer in a random manner, and that date is placed in a capsule. The capsules are then loaded in a large drum on a random basis. By the same method, numbers from 1 to 365 (366 for men born in a leap year) are also selected in a random fashion, placed in capsules, and the capsules are placed into a second drum. The process, repeated a second time, results in two sets of drums. Official observers certify that the capsule-filling and drum-loading were conducted according to established procedures. This certification is secured to each drum; they are sealed and placed in secure storage. Should a lottery be conducted, one of the first actions would be an inspection of these stored drums and the selection of a set to be used in the lottery.

Here is how the lottery would work: One capsule is drawn from the drum containing birth dates January 1 through December 31. One capsule is then drawn from the drum containing the sequence numbers from 1 through 365 (366 if the draft will call men born during a leap year) and the date and number are paired to establish the sequence number for each birth date. This is done in full view of all observers, officials, and the media.

For example, if the date of August 4 is drawn first from the “date” drum, and the sequence number of 32 is drawn from the “numbers” drum at the same time, then those men turning 20 on August 4 would be ordered for induction processing only after men whose birthdays drew sequence numbers 1 through 31. The drawings continue until all 365 (or 366) birthdays of the year are paired with a sequence number.

After the lottery is completed and results certified, the sequence of call is transmitted to the Selective Service System’s Data Management Center. Almost immediately the first induction notices are prepared and sent via mailgram to men whose birth dates drew the lowest lottery numbers.

This system, based on random selection of birth dates, with the order of priority for reporting assigned in a scientifically random manner, is a fair and equitable method of calling men to serve.

III. Who Must Register

1. Non-Citizens
   Some non-citizens are required to register. Others are not. Noncitizens who are not required to register with Selective Service include men who are in the U.S. on student or visitor visas, and men who are part of a diplomatic or trade mission and their families. Almost all other male noncitizens are required to register, including illegal aliens, legal permanent residents, and refugees. The general rule is that if a male noncitizen takes up residency in the U.S. before his 26th birthday, he must register with Selective Service.
2. Dual Nationals
   Dual nationals of the U.S. and another country are required to register, regardless of where they live, because they are U.S. nationals.
3. Hospitalized Or Incarcerated Men
   Young men in hospitals, mental institutions or prisons do not have to register while they are committed. However, they must register within 30 days after being released if they have not yet reached their 26th birthday.
4. Disabled Men
   Disabled men who live at home must register with Selective Service if they can reasonably leave their homes and move about independently. A friend or relative may help a disabled man fill out the registration form if he can't do it himself. Men with disabilities that would disqualify them from military service still must register with Selective Service. Selective Service does not presently have authority to classify men, so even men with obvious handicaps must register now, and if needed, classifications would be determined later.
5. Full-Time Military Exempted From Requirement
   Young men serving in the military on full-time active duty do not have to register. Those attending the service academies do not have to register. If a young man leaves the military before turning 26, he must register.
6. National Guard And Reserves
   Members of the Reserve and National Guard not on full-time active duty must register.
7. Conscientious Objectors
   Men who would be classified as Conscientious Objectors if they were drafted must also register with Selective Service. If a draft begins and they are called, they would have the opportunity to file a claim for exemption from military service based upon their religious or moral objection to war.

IV. SURVIVING SONS

Contrary to popular belief, “only sons,” “the last son to carry the family name,” and “sole surviving sons” must register and they can be drafted. However, they may be entitled to a peacetime deferment if there is a military death in the immediate family.

Provisions regarding the survivors of veterans were written into Selective Service law after World War II. Details have varied over the years, but the basic premise remains the same; where a family member has been lost as a result of military service, the remaining family members should be protected insofar as possible.

It is important to keep in mind that the provisions are directly related to service-connected deaths. The mere fact that a man is the only child or only son does not qualify him for consideration-he must be the survivor of one who died as a result of military service.

The present law provides a peacetime exemption for anyone whose parent or sibling was killed in action, died in line of duty, or died later as a result of disease or injury incurred in line of duty while serving in the armed forces of the United States. Also included are those whose parent or sibling is in a captured or missing status as a result of service in the armed forces during any period of time. This is known as the “surviving son or brother” provision. A man does not have to be the only surviving son in order to qualify; if there are four sons in a family and one dies in the line of duty, the remaining three would qualify for surviving son or brother status under the present law.

The surviving son or brother provision is applicable only in peacetime. It does not apply in time of war or national emergency declared by the Congress.

V. Classifications

Currently, men are not classified.

Classification is the process of determining who is available for military service and who is deferred or exempted. Classifications are based on each individual registrant’s circumstances and beliefs. A classification program would go into effect when Congress and the President decide to resume a draft. Then, men who are qualified for induction would have the opportunity to file a claim for exemptions, deferments, and postponements from military service.

Here is a list of some, though not all, classifications and what they mean:

• 1-A - available immediately for military service.
• 1-O Conscientious Objector - conscientiously opposed to both types (combatant and non-combatant) of military training and service - fulfills his service obligation as a civilian alternative service worker.
• 1-A-O Conscientious Objector - conscientiously opposed to training and military service requiring the use of arms-fulfills his service obligation in a noncombatant position within the military.
• 2-D Ministerial Students - deferred from military service.
• 3-A Hardship Deferment - deferred from military service because service would cause hardship upon his family.
• 4-C Alien or Dual National - sometimes exempt from military service.
• 4-D Ministers of Religion - exempted from military service.
• Student Postponements - a college student may have his induction postponed until he finishes the current semester or, if a senior, the end of the academic year. A high school student may have his induction postponed until he graduates or until he reaches age 20.
• Appealing a Classification - A man may appeal his classification to a Selective Service Appeal Board.

VI. WOMEN AND THE DRAFT

Women are not required to register. Here’s why:

1. The Law Selective Service law as it's written now refers specifically to “male person” in stating who must register and who would be drafted. For women to be required to register with Selective Service, Congress would have to amend the law.
2. The Supreme Court The constitutionality of excluding women was tested in the courts. A Supreme Court decision in 1981, Rostker v. Goldberg, held that registering only men did not violate the due process clause of the Constitution.
3. Department of Defense At President Clinton's request, the Department of Defense reviewed this issue in 1994. DoD noted that America’s prior drafts were used to supply adequate numbers of Army ground combat troops. Because women are excluded by policy from front line combat positions, excluding them from the draft process remains justifiable in DoD’s view. Although no conclusions were reached, DoD recognized that policies regarding women need to be reviewed periodically because the role of women in the military continues to expand.

   The Selective Service System, if given the mission and additional funding, is capable of registering and drafting women with its existing infrastructure.

VII. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SELECTIVE SERVICE TODAY AND DURING VIETNAM

The Selective Service Agency has changed dramatically since the 1970s. A series of reforms during the latter part of the Vietnam conflict changed the way the draft operated. If a draft were held today it would be the most equitable draft in history:

1. If a draft were held today there would be fewer reasons to excuse a man from service. Before Congress reformed the draft in 1971, a man could qualify for a student deferment if he could show he was a full-time student making satisfactory progress in virtually any field of study. He could continue to go to school and be deferred from service until he was too old to be drafted. Under the new draft law, a college student could have his induction postponed only until the end of the current semester. A senior could be postponed until the end of the full academic year.
2. If a draft were held today, local boards would better represent the communities they serve. The changes in the new draft law made in 1971 included the provision that membership on the boards was required to be as representative as possible of the racial and ethnic background of the area served by the board. Before 1971, state and local boards used a “quota system” under which they assigned a certain number of men to the draft. Because the boards determined who would be drafted, there were instances when personal relationships and favoritism played a part in deciding who would be drafted. Today, the Uniform National Call ensures that men will be treated the same, no matter which board they are assigned to.
3. A draft held today would use a lottery to determine the order of call. Before the lottery was implemented in the latter part of the Vietnam conflict, there was no system in place to determine order of call besides the fact that men between the ages of 18 and 26 were vulnerable to being drafted. This lack of a system resulted in uncertainty for the potential draftees during the entire time they were within the draft-eligible age group. All throughout a young man’s early 20s he did not know if he would be drafted. A draft held today would use a lottery system under which a man would spend only one year in first priority for the draft-either the calendar year he turned 20 or the year his deferment ended, whichever came first. If he was not drafted in his first priority year, he dropped into second priority. In this way he would be spared the uncertainty of waiting until his 26th birthday to be certain he would not be drafted.
4. If a draft were held today, a registrant would be guaranteed a personal appearance before his board if he wanted to appeal his classification. Before 1971, a draftee was not guaranteed this right, and so some decisions about whether a man would be drafted were made based on paperwork. Today, if a man wanted to appeal to his Local Board for an exemption or deferment, he could speak to them directly.