Selective Service System

[articx]

Do you think girls should also be required, like boys, to sign up for selective service?

[zahid26]

well I don't think so, because they dont have the man power to carryout a kind of job like this, but I dont think they should draft people determined by there sex but people which are capable and qualified.

[animikokala]

Personally, I believe selective service should be abolished.  However, as long as it exists, I believe women should have to sign up as well.  Women are citizens of the US like men.

[mom2taz]

Women join the military all the time, but they don't have to do heavy work, there are tons of office and support tasks that women can do to free up the men who can do the heavier work...don't see why men have to be the only one's signing up for selective service...women could too.
Not sure why there even is such a thing...if there is a need, they should be able to call anyone that could perform a duty, not just people who "sign up" for selective service.  even if someone is handicapped, they can still help.  There are many that have a disability that would love to be of service...someone in a wheelchair, for example, is just as capable of operating a computer or doing paperwork, answering phones, etc. Not all jobs in the military involves carrying a weapon and hiking with a back pack.

What about illegal aliens??  They are not signed up for selective service....but they live in this country..why shouldn't they be expected to help defend it as well???

[dell9031]

No.
The existence of the combat restrictions clearly indicates the basis for Congress' decision to exempt women from registration. The purpose of registration was to prepare for a draft of combat troops. Since women are excluded from combat, Congress concluded that they would not be needed in the event of a draft, and therefore decided not to register them.

At the request of President Bill Clinton, the Department of Defense reviewed the issue, but concluded that the exclusion remains justifiable in light of past draft results.

Nothing has changed since then.

May God have mercy on the souls of the enemy who invades our homeland filled with women. 
Ever see a mama grizzly react to a threat?  Keeping women home-front is our greatest weapon....

[jordandog]

May God have mercy on the souls of the enemy who invades our homeland filled with women. 
Ever see a mama grizzly react to a threat?  Keeping women home-front is our greatest weapon....

I love that statement! I don't know how some of us would fare as far as having to pull the trigger on another human, but considering the size of so many females now, they would probably be able to take down a tank coming at them without any weapons - those are the ones you would find me lurking behind.....

[gaylasue]

I, too, would like to see the selective service system abolished.  Seems like we do alright manning our military without it.  Someone who volunteers to do a job will be a better worker than one who is forced.

[sarabtrayior]

It's only for the use when something horrible happens, all should comply if necessary!

[wiersmak]

Yes.  If it supposed to be about equality, then women can be draft eligible just like men.

[Annella]

In Israel it's a mandatory 2 year military service for both men and women. That country makes sure all their citizens learn the strategy of combat. The majority of American women would have no problem taking up arms if the country faced battle on US soil, thing is, how many actually know how to handle a gun. However, there's always rolling pins, cast iron skillets, and high heels for weapons.

[footemama]

May God have mercy on the souls of the enemy who invades our homeland filled with women. 
Ever see a mama grizzly react to a threat?  Keeping women home-front is our greatest weapon....

I love that statement! I don't know how some of us would fare as far as having to pull the trigger on another human, but considering the size of so many females now, they would probably be able to take down a tank coming at them without any weapons - those are the ones you would find me lurking behind.....

Oh I don't know....I pity the poor fool who decides to invade my territory to hurt me or especially my child. I don't have a ton of experience with guns but I would be able to hit someone if they were in my house. I'm also stronger than I look and one solid swing with a baseball bat or a good frying pan would end with the coroner coming to collect them. A strong mommy instinct and adrenaline would overcome most objections I think. Just because we can think about consequences doesn't mean that we would think about consequences in a life or death situation (I mean an elderly woman attacked a mountain lion with a ballpoint pen to save her husband at a national park awhile back) If it's him or me, you had better believe that I'm going to be doing all I can to make sure that I'm the one that walks away. And to protect my child......I would fight to the death!

As for the original question I think that it is best kept the way it is. In general, men are more able both physically and psychologically to handle war. Not that there aren't PLENTY of exceptions! Also someone has to be at home to care for the elderly and the children. Plus there are things that women can do on the home front, prime example of this is WWII. Women did the majority of the manufacturing while the men were overseas.

[wiersmak]

"women are excluded from combat". 

That statement is no longer true.  Military women are flying missions, some combat, some support, in active combat zones.  They are on aircraft carriers and flying Apache Attack helicopters doing combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ive met a few. My last year in year in the military I was deployed to Iraq and doing security patrols, which had nothing to do with my actual career field.  Getting shot at sure felt like combat to me.

[mom2taz]

In Israel it's a mandatory 2 year military service for both men and women. That country makes sure all their citizens learn the strategy of combat. The majority of American women would have no problem taking up arms if the country faced battle on US soil, thing is, how many actually know how to handle a gun. However, there's always rolling pins, cast iron skillets, and high heels for weapons.

LOL!!!!  @ Annella

I know how to handle a gun...but if there isn't one handy, I'll take a ball bat, a golf club, rolling pin...whatever is handy...LOL