US men set to be automatically registered for military draft
The United States government is planning to automatically register all eligible men aged 18 to 25 into a military draft pool.
This comes under a proposed rule change, which would come into effect in December if successfully approved.
From December, eligible men between the ages of 18 and 25 will be automatically registered into a military draft pool, as Donald Trump's war on Iran continues.
It comes after the White House previously refused to rule out drafting men into the military, as the Iran war proceeds despite a two week ceasefire.
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The Selective Service System is the brains behind the suggestion, and the new rule reads: "This statutory change transfers responsibility for registration from individual men to SSS through integration with federal data sources."
This would mean there is a database kept of all eligible Americans who could be called upon to serve in the military.
However, the new rule change does not mean there is an active draft coming.
As the war in Iran has reached a temporary ceasefire for two weeks while Trump and Tehran work on a deal, it is hoped that further military involvement would not be needed.
There hasn't been a military draft in the US for more than 50 years.
The last one saw young men being drafted to serve in Vietnam.
The government says the proposed rule change would ‘streamline the process’ of getting men into the military.
If the draft were to be brought back, men who fail to register could be fined up to a whopping $250,000 or face prison time and other consequences.
Congress would need to vote to agree to amend the Military Selective Service Act in order to authorise the draft again.
It follows the decision in March to raise the maximum age to enlist in the army from 35 to 42.
This decision was made in order to ‘align with Defence Department standards’.
Individuals aged between 35 and 42 with no prior military experience can now register for the Regular Army, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserves.
The Navy will accept up until 41, while the Marines has stayed lower at 28.
Another restriction was lifted, meaning that wannabe soldiers who hold a single conviction for marijuana possession and use will also now be allowed to sign up.
The decision to automatically register has not gone down well online.
One commenter on X wrote: "You should be automatically drafted if you voted for Trump. No age or sex restrictions. You voted for him, you go to war. Simple."
Others asked if Trump's children would be included: "Is Barron Trump, the younger son of Donald Trump, registering for the military too because he’s 20 years old now. He should be first in line."
One reassured people: "This is less about activating a draft and more about the government auto-pulling data from existing records to register every 18-25 guy.
"Still quietly normalizes the idea that your info is always one policy tweak away from the draft pool," they added.
The news follows Donald Trump being savagely mocked online as 'TACO Trump', standing for Trump Always Chickens Out, after his threats to Iran failed to materialise.
Even talk show host Jimmy Kimmel joined in, blasting the president for his inflammatory posts on his Truth Social account.
Topics: US News, Donald Trump, Iran
Jen Thomas