The Selective Service System (SSS) is looking for board members to represent the local community.

The Selective Service Local Board is comprised of volunteers who, in the event of a draft, "would be mobilized to form the ‘backbone' of Selective Service," according to the agency's website (www.sss.gov). Local board members would decide who in the community would receive deferments, postponements or exemption from military service, and also would decide whether to grant or deny conscientious objector (CO) status to registrants who appear before the board.

In addition to the more than 2,000 local boards throughout the country, the SSS also has a District Appeal Board located in each state and a three-person National Appeal Board. The Selective Service Board Member program enlists more than 11,000 volunteers (men and women) who are trained in SSS regulations and procedures.

Those who wish to be considered for the local board position must:

• Be U.S. citizens

• Be at least 18 years old

• Not be a retired or active-duty member of the Armed Forces or any Reserve component or an employee of any law enforcement organization

• Be registered with the Selective Service (except those born from March 29, 1957 to Dec. 31, 1959)

• Live in the area in which the board has jurisdiction

• Not have been convicted of any criminal offense

• Be willing to fairly and uniformly apply Selective Service law, regulations and guidelines.

Board members will be appointed by the director of Selective Service in the name of the U.S. President. Volunteers will undergo an initial five-hour training session and then take part in annual training in which they will review sample cases.

Today's SSS

Males age 18 to 26 are required to register for the Selective Service. In the event of a draft, registrants with low lottery numbers will be ordered to report to a nearby Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) and undergo a physical, mental and moral evaluation. Once notified of their status, registrants have 10 days to file a claim for exemption, postponement or deferment.

Members of the Selective Service Local Board review cases individually and make a determination of an applicant's appeal. Registrants may appeal a local board's decision to the Selective Service District Appeal Board.

Women are not required to register for Selective Service. "Because women are excluded by policy from front line combat positions, excluding them from the draft process remains justifiable in DoD's view," according to the SSS website. However, "DoD recognize(s) that policies regarding women need to be reviewed periodically because the role of women in the military continues to expand. ...The Selective Service System, if given the mission and additional funding, is capable of registering and drafting women with its existing infrastructure."

Many associate the draft with the Vietnam conflict, when thousands of young American men were conscripted into service. However, "a series of reforms during the latter part of the Vietnam conflict changed the way the draft operated to make it more fair and equitable."

For instance, college students who are drafted can now have their induction postponed only until the end of the current semester (or academic year for seniors). Furthermore, a draft would use a "lottery system under which a man would spend only one year in first priority for the draft - either the calendar year he turned 20 or the year his deferment ended. Until he reached the age of 26, he would be "placed in a succeedingly lower priority group." Prior to this lottery system, men were classified "1A," which was age 18 1/2 through 25, with the oldest called first.

In addition, policies in place now have changed the previous "hardship to dependents" deferment. "Regardless of marital or parental status, men who will turn 20 years old during a year when a draft is in operation, and whose birthday draws a low lottery number, will probably receive a draft notice."

Men must register with the Selective Service within 30 days of their 18th birthday. Not registering can have a detrimental impact. For instance, students may be denied Federal financial aid, immigrants applying for citizenship could be at risk, and Federal employment or training could be in jeopardy.

For more information about becoming member of the Selective Service Local Board, visit www.sss.gov/FSbrdreq.htm or call Edward Medina at (720) 941-1670, extension 108.