Operating with permanent authorization under the Military Selective Service Act, and run by a Director who reports to the President of the United States, Selective Service System (SSS) is an independent Federal agency responsible for being prepared to provide trained and un-trained personnel to the Department of Defense should a national emergency arise. The draft was actually terminated in 1973, but the Selective Service System had continued to operate for 25 years.
The Selective Service System was created in 1917, during World War I, when Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which required the registration for military service of all men from the ages of 21 through 30. The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, passed by Congress during the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, mandated the first compulsory enlistment into U.S. military service during a time that the country was at peace. It also formally established the Selective Service System as an independent federal agency. Between 1948 and 1973, during times of war and peace, men were drafted for vacancies in the service that were not filled by volunteers. In 1973, during President Richard Nixon’s administration, the draft was ended, and the United States utilized an all-volunteer military, with the requirement to register suspended in April 1975, when President Gerald Ford signed the Terminating Registration Procedures Under Military Selective Service Act. In 1980, in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, President Jimmy Carter brought back the Selective Service registration requirement for male citizens, which currently remains in effect. As of 2007, 91 percent of men 18 to 25 have registered, and there are more than 14 million names and addresses on file for U.S. male citizens between the ages of 18 and 25.
Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Selective Service System operates a Data Management Center in Palatine, Illinois, and three regional offices, in North Chicago, Illinois; Smyrna, Georgia; and Denver, Colorado. It is responsible for:
· communicating selective service requirements to the American public;
· registering 18 to 25-year-old U.S. male citizens;
· managing the outgoing and incoming information on the men, so, in case of an emergency, a draft can be immediately resumed;
· being prepared to implement, if there is another draft, an Alternative Service Program for men classified as conscientious objectors, which would provide those individuals public service work assignments in the country, in lieu of military service.
Registration for the draft for 18-25 year-old men is currently mandatory, and refusing to register is against the law, except for a few exceptions, which include non-immigrant aliens on student, visitor, tourist, or diplomatic visas; men already on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces; and cadets and midshipmen in the Service Academies, and certain other U.S. military colleges. For all other men 18-25, if Congress and the President decide to reinstate a draft, a lottery drawing would be conducted to determine the order in which they would be called, with the first priority group consisting of those in the calendar year of their 20th birthday. A classification program would also go into effect, whereby registrants would be examined to determine suitability for military service, and would have ample time if they wanted to claim exemptions, deferments, or postponements. To be inducted, men would need to meet the physical, mental, and administrative standards established by the military services. Selective Service Reserve Forces Officers would also then be called to active duty, to establish State Headquarters and Area Offices at predetermined locations, and at the same time the civilian volunteer board members would be activated. Currently, when there is no draft, due to past difficulties with enforcing the registration requirement, the Selective Service System works in tandem with other government agencies in the implementation of varying methods of encouraging registration, which include requiring registration if a man between 18 and 25 wants to receive student financial aid, or Federal grants and loans.
From the Website of the Selective Service System
Selective Service Number Online Verification
Top 10 Contractors 2000-2008
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Advanced Information Services Inc.
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$922,902
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Widmeyer Communications, Inc.
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$778,098
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Government of the United States
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$626,691
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U.S. Department of Interior
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$588,378
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General Services Administration
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$570,669
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U.S. Postal Service
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$451,369
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Xerox Corporation
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$421,940
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Adams-Brown Services, Inc.
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$348,000
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Dell Inc.
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$293,146
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Leon Snead & Co Pc
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$267,824
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Bringing Back the Draft
Although the idea of bringing back the draft is extremely unpopular, over the years various politicians and others have suggested reinstating the draft as a way to have a more equitable representation of Americans in the service, as well as to deter politicians from launching wars. In 2003 and again in 2006, Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY) introduced bills that would have reinstated the draft, but neither one passed. There have also been calls for women to be added to the mandatory registration list, or to close the SSS altogether, as well as complaints that the law is unconstitutional.
Selective Service debate continues: Which serves U.S. better: All-volunteer armed forces or the draft?
(by Jon Dougherty, WorldNetDaily)
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Founded: 1917
Annual Budget: $22 million
Employees: 136 full-time, as well as 56 State Directors, who work for the agency 12 days a year; around 200 Reserve Force Officers, who serve approximately 36 days per year; and about 9,500 civilian volunteer board members. (2008)
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Selective Service System (SSS)
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Chatfield, William
Director
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A native of Texas, William A. Chatfield attended Union College in Schenectady, New York, majoring in Political Science and Criminal Justice, and continued his studies at American University. He served as an intelligence analyst in the U.S. Marine Corps and then, from 1978 through 1979, he was Doorkeeper of the U.S. House of Representatives. Between 1981 and 1987 Chatfield held the following positions in the Reagan administration: Staff member of the Deputy Undersecretary for Policy at the Department of Defense; Regional Director of the Civil Aeronautics Board; Special Assistant to the Director, Office of Personnel Management; Assistant to the Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission; Special Assistant for Congressional Liason in the Department of the Interior; and Staff Advisor to the Commissioner at the Interstate Commerce Commission.
In 1987 he became a “government affairs consultant” (lobbyist), and two years later he and former Congressman Tom Kindness (R-Ohio) established Kindness & Chatfield Associates, a lobbying firm.
Chatfield also served for many years as an Officer in the Marine Corp Reserves, and was a black belt martial arts instructor.
President Bush nominated Chatfield to be director of the Selective Service System in August 2003, however his confirmation was held up by Senator John McCain and he finally took over the position November 29, 2004.
Official Bio
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