Could someone explain to me what this is. I’ve heard about it, but nobody has ever really explained it to me. I’d really rather hear it from a normal person than off a website, which would probably be loaded with shit anyway, but I’m just wondering, because I also keep hearing that by law you have to sign up, and I’m not really down with that shit, so if someone could set me straight it’d be great.
WOWLONGSENTENCEKTHX.
I think it is the new name for the draft.
Read god damnit. And no, it is not the new name for the draft.
They are in charge of the draft basically. Those are the people you give your info to when you turn 18.
You’ll be getting some mail from the government when you turn eighteen. It tells you where to go to register for selective service (the draft, if there ever is one). You’ll have about two weeks after that to go to the website and register.
Well, what happens after 2 weeks?
They begin trying to contact you in more forcable fashions. If you dont register, its a federal offense, i believe.
Uh, nothing, unless selective service randomly decides to look up your name and see if you’ve registered. Then I think you go to jail. If you want to vote, or receive any kind of service from the government later in life, you have to register.
If you haven’t registered, you can’t get any city, state, or federal jobs. You might actually get hired, but after it came back that you weren’t registered, you’d get fired.
Oh, Well, that’s a bummer. Ok, so Selective Services is in charge of the Draft. So by signing up for Selective Service, I am basically throwing my name into the blender for a draft?
Yes.
I think you can also get into the Selective Service system when you get a driver’s license or register to vote (not sure about that one) within 6 months of your 18th birthday. Also, from my experiences, you’re not applicable for any kind of aid in college if you do not give proof of SS registration.
Actually, the website is pretty straightforward and not full of shit. I was reading it about a week or so ago.
One thing you may want to know (and that I’m not sure if you’ve noticed) is that Georgia and many other states have laws enacted linking license application and SSS registration. Basically, in applying for a license, permit, or ID, there’s also a consent statement for also registering with SSS by the law. You may want to check on it, though, but depending upon your situation I think you could already be set.
edit - dammit, 984.
You’ll get the card when you are about 17 1/2 actually and you have 7 months or so to send it back or register on the website. It’s really nothing to worry about, I think all you need is your full name and social security number. Nothing to worry about really.
It is beest to sign-up 2 weeks after turning 18, but it won’t hurt you if you register after that (I registered like 6 or 7 months late). You do however have to register before turning 25 or 26 I believe or you lose any government benefits, such as financial aid for college or something. Selective Serivce is in charge of handling the draft, but don’t worry about it. Even if you are disabled or have some problem that definitely exlcudes you from serving, such as not being able to walk for instance, you stll have to register. It is linked to your driver’s licenses in some states I think. They tried to link it to voting, but that just encouraged people not to vote.
Vicki is right, the webstie is about as straight forward as you can get.
Also, expect the military to contact you soon after, if not at the same time as you get the information for SS. A Selective Service Card is very handy when you are trying to get a job and it requires 4-6 forms of ID. My advice when dealing with recruiters, even if you are interested(which i doubt you are), is to give them a prompt “NO” or they will bug the dogshit out of you. “have you made up your mind yet ?” It took me about 7 months to get them to stop calling me, and even had a guy from the navy stop by my house. Unless, you know… you like being bugged all the time. Your call.
I think the punishment for not getting an SS card is about 20 years in the pen. If you still dont get it when you get out, another 20 years. Some view this as a breach of freedom, i dont, but ya know, some do, and to each his own.
There is no card anymore. Plus, if there is a draft, you don’t deal with recruiters. There is no contact from anyone after registering with selective service. You just register and that is it.
Uh, yes, there still is a card. I have it in my wallet, and I just registered back in December.
They didn’t send me one.
I have a card too somewhere. I had to send a faxed copy of it to all of the colleges I applied to because they said I wasn’t on record with the SS even though I had been in the system for about 10 months.