Selective Service | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

During the Vietnam War, some men volunteered to go, while others were volunteered by their government. Whether they were enlistees or draftees, one thing they may have had in common was their experiences with the Selective Service system.

The Selective Service Act was enacted by Congress in 1948 to provide the United States with manpower should the country ever need to supplement active and reserve duty personnel. Under the direction of General Lewis B. Hershey, the Selective Service effectively and without interruption provided young men for America's military manpower needs from the end of the Korean War until the U.S. military involvement in Vietnam accelerated in 1965. Most of the 8,000 to 10,000 men who were drafted each month during this period went directly into the U.S. Army. Some 4,000 draft boards, in cities and towns across the country, processed young men who were required by law to register when they turned 18. The number of inductees was proportional to the number of men from each state already in the military.

In 1965, when America's involvement in Vietnam required even more manpower, the Selective Service stepped up its activities. It had a pool of nearly 27 million men to choose from. However, nearly 18 million managed to avoid the draft in one way or another, leaving only 9 million who were either drafted or enlisted. The method the Selective Service used to provide manpower for the war in Vietnam became as controversial as the war itself. Men who were able to afford college were given deferments, as were those working in defense related industries. Men who were married with children were also exempted. Others found that joining the Reserves or their state's National Guard would also provide a haven from conscription. As the war intensified, and draft calls ranged from 30,000 to 50,000 per month, critics charged the Selective Service was meeting the quota by drafting men from the lower educational and income brackets of American society. Unable to afford college or wield the clout necessary to gain entrance into the Reserves or the National Guard, these men seemed to be paying the price for their shortcomings by going to war. Although recommendations were made to close the loopholes that let so many men from the middle and upper classes escape military service, they were not incorporated into the Selective Service Extension Act of 1967. "Stop The Draft" rallies became as frequent as "Stop The War" rallies, and frequently were one in the same.

When Richard Nixon became President in 1969, he initiated Vietnamization, bringing home U.S. troops and putting South Vietnamese soldiers in their place. The gradual reduction of U.S. ground forces also meant less demand for draftees, and in November and December of that year the draft calls were canceled by presidential order. That was followed by the removal of General Hershey as director of the Selective Service. His replacement, Curtis Tarr, was a civilian, and worked to end draft protests by ending most student deferments and introducing a lottery system to determine military eligibility. The lottery system operated within the remaining draft structure until December 1972 when Nixon ended all draft calls. In 1975 President Gerald Ford ended all remaining draft registration requirements. Young men were still required to register for military service when they turned 18, a law which is still in place today. The end of the draft ushered in a new era of the volunteer, professional army. Manpower needs and policy transformed the military through increased number of officers from minority groups and by the expansion of the combat roles of women.

The U.S. Government maintains records of American men ages eighteen through twenty-five in order to be able to rapidly expand the Armed Forces in case of a national emergency or war. An American man is required by U.S. law to register for the Selective Service within thirty days of his eighteenth birthday. Registration forms are available at Post Offices nationwide. Within ninety days of completing and mailing the form to the Selective Service System office, the registrant will receive acknowledgement with a copy of the registration record, which is proof of registration.

Registering does not mean that a person is going to be drafted or is volunteering for the Army because only the Congress and the President of the United States can order a draft to take place, an event that has not happened since 1973. A young man who fails to register may be fined up to $250,000, imprisoned for five years, or both. Registration is also a prerequisite for getting Federal job training; federal student loans, scholarships, and grants; and U.S. government jobs.

Rotc; Who Served in Vietnam?

Moss, George Donelson. Vietnam: An American Ordeal, 4th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002.

Olson, James, ed. Dictionary of the Vietnam War. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1987.

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