Four decades since it last conscripted young men for warfare, the Department of Defense has allowed its system for a military draft to lapse and become unreliable in the event of an emergency.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reviewed the Pentagon’s Selective Service System and found it lacks sufficient personnel and resources to carry out a draft in a timely manner.

In fact, if the president and Congress decided to reinstate a draft, it would take the Defense Department more than nine months to induct men between the ages of 18 and 25 into the service.

The GAO also found that Defense officials have not even taken a close look at the department’s draft policies since 1994.

What they have done, according to the GAO report, is cut personnel for the Selective Service System over the last 15 years. It has 130 full-time civilian employees and 175 part-time reserve forces officers, and an annual budget of about $24 million.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:
Selective Service Not Equipped to Handle a Draft, Watchdog Finds (by Andrew Lapin, Government Executive)
DOD Should Reevaluate Requirements for the Selective Service System (Government Accountability Office) (pdf)