About one of every three American men turning 18 this year will fail to register with the Selective Service within 30 days of their birthdays, and therefore will be in technical violation of federal law.
The good news is the Department of Justice has not prosecuted a young man for late registration in recent memory. The bad news is that failure to register still carries consequences. Nonregistrants are barred from executive-branch employment and from receiving federal student loans or other kinds of aid for postsecondary education. Male immigrants who fail to register cannot become citizens.
The trend on draft registration has been downward, and enough to cause concern, since the Persian Gulf War. That is about to change thanks to new cooperation from the states, says Lewis C. Brodsky, deputy director of Selective Service.
Over the past two years, 25 states have passed laws linking Selective Service registration with applications for driver's licenses. Male applicants will be able to check a block or sign on a line to give their states permission to pass on to the Selective Service enough data to register them automatically.
As those state laws take effect, Brodsky said, the percentage of young men registered should climb steadily.
The act of registration was a more profound experience for earlier generations of Americans, given the real possibility of conscription. Today, the requirement surprises many youths. The last man drafted reported to boot camp in the summer of 1973. That year the military transitioned to an all-volunteer force. The Selective Service system moved into stand-by mode.
A few years later, President Gerald Ford ended draft registration altogether. Local draft boards were disbanded and most records destroyed.
In 1980, in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and Defense Department call-up exercises that suggest problems in mobilizing for a major war, President Jimmy Carter resumed draft registration. Since then, every man, 18 through 25, who is a citizen or resides in the United States must register with the Selective Service. By law, registration must occur within 30 days of turning 18, but there is no immediate penalty.
Registration reached a peak in 1991, when 97% of men age 18 through 25 were registered. The percentage fell about a point a year through 2000, hitting 87%. That is when the Selective Service began a campaign for greater cooperation from the states.
Compliance dropped, said Brodsky, "because we were further and further away from a crisis and from the last draft. Also, because our [Selective Service] budget was flat-lined, we couldn't do as much promotional information reminding men about the requirement."
In recent years, 65% to 70% of men register the year they turn 18. By age 25, about 99% are signed up. Those who have sought federal jobs or financial aid for education typically learn they are not registered and "can fix the problem within three minutes," Brodsky said. On-line registration is especially easy through the Selective Service web site: www.sss.gov/regist.htm/.
Trouble occurs only when a man turns 26 and becomes too old to register. After that, if he applies for student aid, a federal job, or citizenship, not only will he not qualify but he also cannot register and correct the oversight.
Exceptions are possible if non-- registrants show "by a preponderance of the evidence" that "failure to register was not willful or knowing on your part." But it is a huge hassle, Brodsky said, involving a lot of paperwork that includes the gathering of affidavits to prove no conscious attempt was made to shirk the registration obligation.
Every man is required to register, including those physically or mentally handicapped, if not institutionalized. If a draft were to occur, draft boards would determine eligibility to serve. Historically, only 50% of registrants qualify for induction after screening.
The law does not require women to register; in fact, it bans them from doing so. In 1981, the Supreme Court rejected a constitutional challenge to the gender restriction, ruling that Congress has broad powers to determine how to raise and support armies. During the 1994 executive branch review of registration, the Defense Department supported the ban on registering women, saying it made sense as long as women are barred from serving in frontline ground combat units.
"That was in '81," said Brodsky. "Who knows what would happen if it was challenged again. We live in different times. The percentage of women volunteering to serve is much greater."