Selective Service System

Anyone here registered with the Selective Service?

So, I was applying for a job online with the USPS and one of the questions asked if I was "A male born after December 31, 1959 in the USA and between ages of 18-26" and that it was necessary to be registered with the Selective Service. I'm 35 and don't ever recall having to register.

Apparently, not registering can withhold you from receiving federal student aid, federal training, and federal employment with executive branch and postal service. There's even fines and jail time if you fail to do so (if tried, that is). You can explain the circumstances why you are not a "member", in detail, and hope that they'll make an exception, blah, blah, blah...

I guess I can't work for the federal government then. Oh well. You know, for something that is so important as a male citizen of the US, you think they would've made it more aware 20 years ago.

you can check

https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfVerification.aspx

@lostrib:

The thing is, once you're past 26 it's no longer required. I'm pretty sure I never signed up for it. I mean the internet was pretty new when I was 18 and I'm sure this site wasn't up an running at the time. I just wish that they would've been more proactive in getting this known back in 97 if it's a requirement by law.

It's automated now.

Yeah you don't really hear it mentioned much these days and you think you would considering that it's still in force and even just yesterday I was checked to see if I had registered for it by a state worker. I guess I'm mainly aware of it as I graduated high school soon just a couple years after the service was reestablished in 1980 and there was a minor hullabaloo about it then as a lot of people felt it was a step towards certain forced drafting into the armed services.

@Lord_Daemon:

Do you know what its main purpose was, then, since there were no drafts post 1980?

It just seems odd to me that even though I'm 9 years past 26, that I would still be required to have registry in this program.

Well I mean you should be able to check if you don't remember. I think you used to just go to the post office to enroll

I guess I could. The application was asking me for a registry number of like 10 characters. I don't recall ever having anything like that in my possession.

@jasean79: It's just to speed up the process of military conscription if it became necessary so they don't have to go through the process of initiating a forced enrollment after the fact. It was a reaction to some then Soviet aggression and to my surprise has never gone away though they've never used it. I would suggest enrolling just because you never know when you may want to tap the state or government for some needed aid or services and you don't want anything as minor as not enrolling for blocking it. I don't really think they care about the details as you're also supposed to keep them updated on a change of address which is something I've never done. They just check to see if'n you're on the list and that's that.

I signed whatever that was years ago. I was told you wouldn't be eligible for things like student loans and whatnot if I didn't sign up. I mean I signed it but I was like "they're never going to draft me". Just sign it, if war does break out and you don't want to go run to Canada.

To be honest, I don't quite remember how it came to be I signed that. I don't remember if they dealt with that at school, if something came in the mail, or I actively sought that out myself. I think I got something in the mail that I filled out and returned.

I dunno, maybe you had certain conditions when you were younger where you weren't offered or told of the need to sign up for selective service. You should see about whether there were conditions that prevented you from receiving the necessary information to sign up, and that you can get a waver by signing up for it later.

Yeah. I was under the impression that you needed to when you registered to vote. Not that I would willingly obey a conscription if one was ever imposed again. . .

Wait. That what? I've never even heard of this...

I am registered but legally I am exempt because I was active duty military from the day I was 18 until I was 26. I was automatically registered shortly after I signed my contract.

The thing about the SSS is because of the amount of people who legitimately didn't know about it, many Generation X people can apply for an exemption due to ignorance of the program. Today,with the Internet, not so much.

Also, just because you registered doesn't mean that you will serve in the event of a draft. At its largest during World War 2 the Army was ten million strong and it is unlikely we would even come close to those numbers in modern times.

Also, there are so many things that you can do to make yourself ineligible that otherwise won't effect your life (depending on what your goals are) running to another country is unnecessary. Claiming to be transgendered or pretending to beat your wife and turning yourself in (Launtenberg Amendment) are two things that will keep willing volunteers out, for example.

I graduated HS just two years ago and my school never once mentioned selective service to anyone (over 2000 students, so it wasn't a tiny school in the middle of nowhere). Luckily my parents reminded me while I was 18, and I reminded my friend, too. Took 3 minutes to do online.

Like ad1x2 mentioned, it's very easy to be considered ineligible/exempt from service. I think having taken antidepressants (very common) is one reason.

When I turned 18 my dad gave me a form, kind of like a post card, and we mailed it out. How do people not know what the selective service is?

Rocks are heavy.

I thought .... this topic is discussing about racism...

Chances are that you registered for S.S. when you got your drivers license or state ID. It's a question that they should have asked you back then as there was an "optional" check box on the applications. Now, most states have laws that make you register when you get them. Those laws have been around for...oh...roughly 20 years or so depending on the state you live in. Before that, it was up to you to do so.

Lol...for those of us old enough to remember them, you used to see commercials telling us to register all the time. Kind of like this one:

Ah...good times...good times...

In case you guys missed it, I'm well outside the 26 age cap. Maybe I signed up for it, maybe I didn't. Seeing as how I never had a need for it, it didn't really bother me that much. It only appeared as I was applying online for a USPS job. No big deal, the USPS will probably be out of business in a couple of years anyway. I highly doubt that authorities will come knocking at my door pressing charges because I failed to sign up back in the day, too. The thread was made to see how many were aware of this requirement. I apparently, wasn't...until now.

oh neato I was already registered and here I was thinking I wasn't for all these years lol

Thanks for the link, mista :)

I thought you had to register in order to vote? i did that in High School.

I'm 34 and I signed up within a few days of my 18th birthday.

Of course my father was also in the military at the time so I had known about it a few years prior.

I was told all through high school that it was something that was required of me once I turned 18. Once I became of age, I registered to vote and then signed up for Selective Service. (signed up haha).

Even though I enjoyed my 4 years in the Air Force, I stand with you when it comes to my views on Selective Service.

That's been around much longer than 26 and below dude. How did you not know?

@magicalclick:

I don't know why this bothers you. Like I said, I may or may not have signed up. I just don't remember doing it. I'm well aware of all that I'm required to do as a citizen of the US otherwise. I pay my taxes, have reported for jury duty a few times, etc. In all of my life, I never was asked nor required to show any proof that I was signed up for selective service, so that's why I never gave it any thought until now. The worst thing that could possibly come of me not being a "member" is that I can't get financial aid, nor apply for a government job and I'm okay with that.