It has recently been rumored across a variety of social media sites — most notably TikTok — that the Selective Service System, also known as the “draft,” is to be amended this very year.
In 2021, a defense bill contained a measure to expand Selective Service to include women. Although not included in the final bill, it was originally met with bipartisan support from a 35-25 majority in the House Armed Services Committee.
The reasoning behind such extensive support can be attributed to revolutionary counter-draft protests during the 1970s, whereupon groundbreaking social movements changed the fabric of societal norms altogether. The results of these protests are apparent: Manned operations are being replaced with safer technologies, such as drones and precise artillery; women have been added alongside men in ground combat units; and, generally speaking, the United States military has evolved to incorporate safer and more inclusive functions.
Historically, the Selective Service System has been an outlier from this trend, as it embraces immutability in the face of systematic change. Advocates for this bill point out the irony regarding this trend: how change must be universal and leave no exceptions for outdated policies.
“This amendment clarifies women make up over 50% of the population, and not including them is not only a disservice to these women but to our nation as a whole,” said Pennsylvania Representative Chrissy Houlahan. “It ensures that the Selective Service System is able to provide the DOD [Department of Defense] with personnel and the skills it needs, including cyber, STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] and technical talent.”
Other House members in the majority hold similar beliefs to Representative Houlahan, being that warfare has progressed past that of traditional grounds. Instead of relying on the brute strength of ground-combat soldiers, the U.S holds a desire to defend itself in technological and scientific manners. Anybody, regardless of gender, could participate in this struggle.
“If we have a national emergency that makes us have to go back to the draft — we’re talking COVID on steroids, a cyber attack — we need everyone, man, woman, gay, straight, black, brown, and we need everybody on deck,” said Florida Republican Representative Michael Waltz, a former Army Green Beret. “It’s that bad.”
On the contrary, the minority argument relies on reinforcing gender fundamentalist arguments by connecting biological sex to social constructs.
“The reality is that if we are a country that actively chooses to forcibly conscript our daughters, we are past the point of salvation,” said Texas Representative Chip Roy.
Regardless of passionate discourse, this addition was kept out of the 2022 military budget due to closed-door House-Senate negotiations. Even so, the original rumors still pose a relevant, serious conversation to be had at the grassroots level.
“I cannot see any reasonable argument against subjecting all sexes and genders to the draft if applicable,” said Sabrina Hom, a philosophy professor and program coordinator for women’s studies at GC. “And I think that in an instance where a national draft was truly necessary, many young women would serve regardless of their draft status, as we see now in Ukraine.”
Hom is not alone in her opinion. However, some GC students feel as if a draft is not necessary at all.
“While I do believe in gender equality, I think it should be achieved by doing away with the draft entirely rather than subjecting everyone to such an immoral and outdated practice,” said Margo Mason, a sophomore Spanish major.
