US men to be automatically registered for military draft pool

The US military has made a major change to its draft process in the backdrop of the Iran war.

From December, eligible men between the ages of 18 and 25 will be automatically registered into a military draft pool.

Last month, the White House appeared to refuse to rule out that a draft for the Iran war was an option.

However, the rule change, spearheaded by the Selective Service System, reads: ‘This statutory change transfers responsibility for registration from individual men to SSS through integration with federal data sources.’
The SS System keeps a database of all eligible Americans who could serve in the military, but the new rule change does not mean there is an active draft.

It’s been more than 50 years since America last had a draft, which sent thousands of young men to serve in Vietnam in the early 1970s.

The automatic registration of men into the draft is in a bid to ‘streamline the process’ to help with ‘workforce realignment’.

Men who fail to register for the draft face fines of up to $250,000, prison time and other consequences.

Could Trump bring back the draft?

Rather, Congress would have to amend the Military Selective Service Act to authorise the draft again.

The chances of the US bringing back a mandatory draft for a conflict are still highly unlikely, even as tensions grow amid the fragile ceasefire agreement with Iran this week.

Yet, while running for the White House in 2024, Trump vowed not to start a war, but to ‘stop wars’.

Some Trump voters told Metro they were outraged over what they fear could turn into another lengthy war.

What about the UK?

Since 1963, compulsory military service in Britain has been abolished.

Currently, the British Army totals a little more than 181,000 people, mostly made up of full-time service personnel and Gurkhas, who comprise 77.7%, and volunteer reserves (17.5%).

The UK has a rule that only those who are 16 -18 (with parental consent) and above can enlist in the British Army.

After that, the maximum age for regular soldiers is 35 years and six months, but Army Reservists can remain until they’re 42 years and six months.

Others praised military action, which, they say, ‘should have happened years ago’.
In late March, the US Army raised the maximum age to enlist in the Army from 35 to 42 to ‘align with Defence Department standards’.

Individuals up to 42 with or without prior military service can enlist in the Regular Army, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserves, according to Stars and Stripes.
The Army, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard now all allow those up to 42 years of age to enlist, except for the Navy (41) and Marines (28).

Soldiers who have had one conviction for marijuana will also now be allowed to join the army.

The decision was made to ‘better align’ service with the Department of Defence’s standards, an Army spokesman said.

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