"Oh, Really?"
Posted on 06/07/2008 1:19:25 PM PDT by mondonico
I suppose you can't fault a candidate for not volunteering for the military, particularly in the late 1970s when Obama came of military age.
However, I do think it is important to know whether a male candidate for Commander-in-Chief registered for the draft. I remember doing it in 1981. Obama should have in 1979. I wonder if he did, given his foreign upbringing and foreign/lefty background.
Anyone know how to check this? The Selective Service website required birthdate and social security number.
Just check to see if he received student loans.
Um, are you sure there was a Selective Service website in 1981? I rather doubt it.
I had to register at the Post Office in 1981.
Or ‘80 or ‘82 . . . don’t feel like doing math at the moment.
Math . . . it’s so tiring.
“Um, are you sure there was a Selective Service website in 1981? I rather doubt it.”
Um, I didn’t say that. The website requires DoB and SS# to check someone’s registration TODAY.
Thanks anyway.
Typo: “required” should be “requires” with respect to the website (apparently, this has confused some people).
During my childhood in the 80s, all I ever heard about was the draft during the Viet Nam war, which my father fought in(he wasn’t drafted). When I turned 18 during the 90s, I never registered. Even though I really did consider joining the military when I graduated from high school, I didn’t want to serve under Clinton. I’m the first generation of my family not to serve in the military since the Civil War. I never thought the military to be a good fit for me. I’m not a morning person, I think independently, and I hate being yelled at.
My son had to register in 1997! So it’s something that is still going on and all males have to do.
You should still register. From the Selective Service site:
Registration is the law. A man who fails to register may, if prosecuted and convicted, face a fine of up to $250,000 and/or a prison term of up to five years.
Even if not tried, a man who fails to register with Selective Service before turning age 26 may find that some doors are permanently closed.
See also Men over the age of eligibility to register.
See also What Does Selective Service Provide for America.
blue triangle Register Now! - Register on-line.
STUDENT FINANCIAL AID
Men, born after December 31, 1959, who aren’t registered with Selective Service won’t qualify for Federal student loans or grant programs. This includes Pell Grants, College Work Study, Guaranteed Student/Plus Loans, and National Direct Student Loans.
CITIZENSHIP
The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) makes registration with Selective Service a condition for U.S. citizenship if the man first arrived in the U.S. before his 26th birthday.
FEDERAL JOB TRAINING
The Workforce Investment Act (formerly called the Job Training Partnership Act - JTPA) offers programs that can train young men for jobs in auto mechanics and other skills. This program is only open to those men who register with Selective Service. Only men born after December 31, 1959, are required to show proof of registration.
FEDERAL JOBS
A man must be registered to be eligible for jobs in the Executive Branch of the Federal government and the U.S. Postal Service. Proof of registration is required only for men born after December 31, 1959.
Some states have added additional penalties for those who fail to register. See State Legislation.
Selective Service wants young men to register. It does not want them to be prosecuted or denied benefits. If a draft is ever needed, it must be as fair as possible, and that fairness depends on having as many eligible men as possible registered. In the event of a draft, for every man who fails to register, another man would be required to take his place in service to his country.
http://www.sss.gov/FSbenefits.htm
Hope you’ll stay on top of this and follow through. I’d say the chances are good that he did but there’s always that 10% chance that he didn’t.
Sorry, your post said “required.” The past tense sounded like you were saying that’s what it required when you registered in ‘81.
My son who has served in the Navy, received a form to register in the last half of his senior year in high school.
I would assume Obama also received one. Doesn’t matter if we are embroiled in a war that would involve a draft. You still have to register.
That's the kind of moronic statement that people who haven't served tend to blurt out.
It comes from watching to many episodes of MASH.
“On March 25, 1975, Pres. Gerald Ford signed Proclamation 4360, Terminating Registration Procedures Under Military Selective Service Act, eliminating the registration requirement for all 18-25 year old male citizens. Then on July 2, 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed Proclamation 4771, Registration Under the Military Selective Service Act, retroactively re-establishing the Selective Service registration requirement for all 18-26 year old male citizens born on or after January 1, 1960. Only men born between March 29, 1957, and December 31, 1959, were completely exempt from Selective Service registration”
I fell in the later category.
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