Penalties for Failure to Register for the Draft

Men who do not register could be prosecuted and, if convicted, fined up to $250,000 and/or serve up to five years in prison. In addition, men who fail to register with Selective Service before turning age 26, even if not prosecuted, will become ineligible for:

• Student Financial Aid – including Pell Grants, College Work Study, Guaranteed Student/Plus Loans, and National Direct Student Loans.
• U.S. Citizenship – if the man first arrived in the U.S. before his 26th birthday.
• Federal Job Training – The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) offers programs that can train young men for jobs in auto mechanics and other skills. This program is only open to those men who register with Selective Service.
• Federal Jobs – men born after December 31, 1959, must be registered to be eligible for jobs in the Executive Branch of the Federal government and the U.S. Postal Service.

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/all-about-the-draft-3332963

Some qualifications are required by all five services:

• You must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien.
• You must be at least 17 years old.
• You must have a high school diploma.
• You must pass a physical medical exam.

Only men are required to register with the Selective Service for the military draft when they reach eighteen years of age. No women are required or permitted to do so.

There has been no actual drafting of men since 1973. It has been an all volunteer military since that time; forty-five years and counting.

This leaves me with two questions. Why do we still have to have young men register? And if we do have to have them register and we are all equal, why don’t women have to register? This is a fairness and gender equality issue.

Once a government policy is set in motion it goes on forever and assures job security and pensions for federal government employees.