What is the Selective Service?

My 21 yr. old brother just went to sit with a financial aid official at a tech school he is interested in attending. She told him that he MUST register for the 鈥淪elective Service鈥?if he wishes to be considered for Financial Aid and if he does NOT want to be sued for one million dollars, imprisoned, etc.

On top of which, she had little to no information for him re what the Selective Service even is, exactly. What it entails, or what his responsibility would be if they called him for it. Is this some draft-esque thing?

Does anyone know about the Selective Service?

So I am very clear on this issue right in the body of this question: He has absolutely no interest in being part of the armed forces in any way. That will not change. And while there are various reasons for this, this is not a forum for sharing his personal feelings about this. I mention this note only as I can imagine the question I am asking being a hot topic for many people with their own agendas. Thx.

Sorry, it really does not matter that he has no interest in joining the armed forces. All men must register for the Selective Service when they turn 18. It provides a list of the names of men for the government to draw from if an emergency ever needed to result in a draft. This really shouldn't have come as a surprise to either your brother or your parents. It's nothing new and it's pretty much drilled into the heads of the guys in their Senior year of high school. It is not optional. If a man does not register, he could be prosecuted and fined up to $250,000 and/or be put in jail for up to five years. Registration is also a requirement to qualify for Federal student aid, job training benefits, and most Federal employment.


You can get more info at the selective service's website:

http://www.sss.gov/

Click on the FAQs

Regeristing for the draft

Type : Selective Service in your search bar and you can get many sites on it.

Registration for Selective Service is not optional, it is mandatory. In case their is a draft people are drafted based on their age and other characteristics. The law requires registration. Your brother could possibly go to jail for failure to register.

That said it is at this time very unlikely that we will have a draft, although it is possible.