In the United States, adult males have to sign up for the Selective Service for the same reason even though we haven't had conscription since the Vietnam War in the late 1970s(?).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Service_System

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ksherlock 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

I don't know how it worked for anyone else, but I remember the selective service PSA ads when I was growing up -- (that's a manual emdash) If you don't sign up for selective service when you turn 18, you'll be celebrating your birthday at pound-me-in-the-ass federal prison. Or maybe you couldn't get a welfare check, college loan, or federal job. The details are a bit fuzzy.

Then a month or two before my 18th birthday, I got a postcard saying I had been auto-registered. It was a rather disappointing denouement.

	▲	akvadrako 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Most states default to registering you when you get a driver's license, but you can opt-out. Some are opt-in.

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MarsIronPI a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Can someone explain to me how the Selective Service is constitutional? I know Congress "shall have Power To... provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union", but that's only a call, not a legal requirement for anyone to answer the call. The argument seems untenable to me. Not to mention that it's a gross violation of individual freedom, and that if you can't get people to fight for their country then maybe there's something wrong with the country.

	▲	lazide a day ago \| parent [-]
		‘The constitution is not a suicide pact’ [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Constitution_is_not_a_suic...]. It’s the same reason there is a different legal system in the military than for everyone else. Sometimes, you need to round up all the men and start killing folks - or everyone else dies. Such is life. Making it easy to find them is a basic operational best practice.

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voisin 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

> Annual budget $31.3 million (FY 2024)

If it hasn’t been used in 50 years, is there some other use for the registry or the organization or why hasn’t this been cut yet?

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dogemaster2026 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

Under U.S. federal law, men ages 18–25 must register with the Selective Service System to be eligible for most federal jobs. Federal agencies enforce this under hiring rules in 5 U.S.C. § 3328.

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pyuser583 2 days ago | parent [-]

The wording is a bit strange - technically all men (18-25) must register. When I tried to register, I was told I couldn't because I was already registered.

The Selective Service auto-registers people from various data sources.

But this puts me in a weird spot: I've never actually registered. I am registered. But I did not register - which is the requirement.

There are Kafka-esque parts of the US government where this distinction could matter.

	▲	salawat a day ago \| parent [-]
		You did register, you just didn't realize you did. Time honored tradition in the U.S.

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fhdkweig 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Keeping it around just in case the US encounters an existential threat. You never know when it may happen.

	▲	hdgvhicv 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Probably July by this rate

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pyuser583 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

No other use for the registry.

Informally, it's put forward as one of the most successful government programs in history: it succeeds at all it's objective, comes in at or under budget, employs few people, and avoids the scope creep that kills other successful programs.

It's only shortcoming: it doesn't actually do anything.

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delecti 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Nobody wants to be the guy who got the nation caught with its pants down if conscription needs to come back in a hurry. The same reason the military budget always ratchets upwards.

	▲	wat10000 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Measured as a percentage of GDP (which I'd say is the most sensible way to measure it) the US's current military budget is lower than at any point since WWII aside from a few years between the end of the Cold War and 9/11.

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RandomLensman 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The Army of the United States has also not been used in over 50 years,but does that mean it couldn't be used again?

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t-3 2 days ago | parent [-]

Can I move to whichever dimension it is you live in?

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RandomLensman 2 days ago | parent [-]

? The United States Army is something different...

	▲	DANmode 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Struggling to see the relevance, but, thank you for teaching me this: The U.S. Army is the permanent, professional standing land force (Regular Army, Reserves, National Guard), while the Army of the United States (AUS) was a temporary, authorized component used primarily during major wars to rapidly expand forces through draftees and volunteers.

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2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

[deleted]