The Selective Service Act

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Recommended: The role of women in the armed forces

In 1917, the Selective Service Act was created. Back then, there were very few women serving in the military. As of last year, there were about 214,000 active duty women serving in the United States Military (Women in the, 2012). The Selective Service Act is outdated. The Selective Service Act should be amended to allocate that women should have to sign up for selective service, just as men have too. Since the creation of the Selective Service Act of 1917, the role of a woman has evolved from the common role of a housewife, teacher or nurse. Now women have access to and are equally able to join many different career fields that were once gender based. The case Rostker v Goldberg 1981 debated whether or not women should be excluded from the Selective Service Act. Congress came to determine that “since women are excluded from combat roles in the Armed Forces, then they are not similarly situated for the purpose of the draft (Rostker, 1981)”. According to the Army Times in 2012, “The Army will start placing women in as many as 14,000 combat related jobs (Tan, 2012)”. So now, women are able to pursue combative careers in the military. Furthermore, women signing up for selective service will help increase the Armed Forces if the country is in need. According to Congress, “adequate armed strength must be achieved and maintained in order to insure the security of our nation (Selective Service, 2013)”. Having women on the draft will help to ensure that America will have enough members of the Armed Forces to be at war and to protect the home front. However, some say that the cost of allowing women to register is an issue. According to an estimated report created by The US General Accounting Agency, the funding for registering men in ... ... middle of paper ... ...vice registration to women." GAO Reports. 98.199 (1999): n. page. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. . Sherman, J. "Candidates differ on female draft." Pittsburg Post-Gazette. N.p., 13 Oct 2008. Web. 8 Dec 2013. . Tan, M.. "Women in combat: Army to open 14k jobs, 6 MOSs. ." Army Times. N.p., 02 May 2012. Web. 8 Dec 2013. . "Women And The Draft: The Constitutionality Of All-Male Registration." Harvard Law Review 94.2 (1980): 406. Academic Search Premier. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. "Women in the Military Statistics." Statistic Brain. N.p., 04 Apr 2012. Web. 8 Dec 2013. .

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