<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Lucida Sans’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Considering the secretary of defense ordered that all positions, including combat positions, be opened to women in the furtherance of gender equality, will 18-year-old women now have to register for the draft?</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">It’s unclear, but two military leaders and two congressmen recently advocated for a change in the Selective Service System law, which requires men to sign up for the draft at age 18.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">During questioning before the Senate Armed Services Committee in February, Gen. Robert Neller, Marine Corps commandant, and Gen. Mark Milley, Army chief of staff,</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">said that both men and women should have to register for the draft.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“I think that all eligible and qualified men and women should register for the draft,” Milley said. “Every American that is physically qualified should register for the draft,” said Neller.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Later that week two U.S. House members — Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont. — filed a bill to broaden the applica</span><span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">tion of the draft law. The bill, H.R. 4478, was referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel on March 4.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The measure, called the Draft America’s Daughters Act, would, the bill says, “amend the Military Selective Service Act to extend the registration and conscription requirements … currently applicable only to men between the ages of 18 and 26, to women between those ages to reflect the opening of Combat Arms Military Occupational Specialties to women.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Defense Secretary Ash Carter in December announced an end to male-only policies for ground combat positions, ordering the U.S. military to lift gender-based restrictions in January and open front-line jobs, including infantry, artillery and armor posts, to women.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The Army on Friday announced that 22 women would soon be commissioned as the service’s first female combat officers — 13 as second lieutenants in armor units and nine as infantry officers. And a Louisiana woman earlier this month became the first woman to enlist in the Army infantry.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">A brief history of conscription, from a Congressional Research Service report released April 11:</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyInfoBox">“The United States has used federal conscription at various times since the Civil War era, primarily in times of war, but also during peacetime in the aftermath of World War II. When first adopted in 1863, national conscription was a marked departure from the traditional military policy of the United States, which from the founding era had relied on a small standing force that could be augmented by state militias in times of conflict. Conscription into the armed forces of the United States was used just prior to, during, and immediately after World War (WW) II. Reinstated on June 24, 1948, it remained in force until June 30, 1973.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyInfoBox">“Following the adoption of the all-volunteer force (AVF) in 1973, authority to induct new draftees under the Military Selective Service Act ceased. Nevertheless, a standby draft mechanism still exists to furnish manpower above and beyond that provided by the active and reserve components of the Armed Forces in the case of a major military contingency. If the draft were reinstated, draftees would likely be required to fill all authorized positions to include casualty replacements, billets in understrength units, and new military units activated to expand the wartime force.”</span>

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<span style="font-weight: bold;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">Online:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">www.congress.gov; www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44452.pdf; www.sss.gov; www.army.mil.</span>

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