Posted on Oct 10, 2014
Should women be required to register with the Selective Service upon turning 18?
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Should women be required to register with the Selective Service upon turning 18?
Bonus: Why or why not?
Bonus: Why or why not?
Posted in these groups: 
Women in the Military
Selective Service (the Draft)
Women in the Military Selective Service (the Draft)
Posted 11 y ago
This is a duplicate discussion. Click below to see more on this topic.
With the fight for equality in the military and the recent decision by the Army to open combat arms MOS's to women in the Army, being so much in the news and discussion, do you think that women of the required Selective Service age group should be made to register as their male counterparts are?
Responses: 257
I said this in a previous response but ill say it again. If you want equality you have to take the good with the bad. That is what true equality is. I personally do not think women should be in every MOS. This is not to say we are not fully capable of succeeding in every MOS. We most certainly can. Just because we can do It doesn't mean we should. I guess my point is, if we want it... we have to take all of it.
There is a lot of talk about how women can do anything men can do. If that's the case, why are they not required to do the same things? Suddenly once that is brought up, the tone of the conversation changes.
Women's bodies are different, their strengths are different, etc. And I agree. And for that reason, women can't do "anything men can do." And men can't do anything women can do. There are things we do better, and we should focus on our strengths.
Having said that, registering with the selective service did not put me in a position to have to "go infantry" should I be called up. It merely added my name to the pool. Women should have to do the same thing.
Women's bodies are different, their strengths are different, etc. And I agree. And for that reason, women can't do "anything men can do." And men can't do anything women can do. There are things we do better, and we should focus on our strengths.
Having said that, registering with the selective service did not put me in a position to have to "go infantry" should I be called up. It merely added my name to the pool. Women should have to do the same thing.
SGT (Join to see)
It's scientifically proven that:
Women can endure more pain than males
Women can go longer without food--and sleep
Women are more flexible and smaller (able to get into smaller spaces)
Women have more Endurance (Men are faster but like the Cheetah, can't go as long)
Whenever this subject comes up about women and men and the age old argument that "Women just can't do the same things men can" I have to bring up these issues. Yes, you can carry more weight than I can in a 12 mile ruck, but you'll have to eat much more than I do....and if we come to a situation like, say, in Vietnam or Iraq where the enemy is hiding in an underground tunnel I'm much more suited to crawling through that tunnel than you. You can get to a point faster, but I can get to another point far past yours, while you're struggling to go on.
Instead of Focusing on our differences and using it as a reason to deny women combat positions, why aren't we USING those differences to make a stronger and more adaptable fighting force?
Women can endure more pain than males
Women can go longer without food--and sleep
Women are more flexible and smaller (able to get into smaller spaces)
Women have more Endurance (Men are faster but like the Cheetah, can't go as long)
Whenever this subject comes up about women and men and the age old argument that "Women just can't do the same things men can" I have to bring up these issues. Yes, you can carry more weight than I can in a 12 mile ruck, but you'll have to eat much more than I do....and if we come to a situation like, say, in Vietnam or Iraq where the enemy is hiding in an underground tunnel I'm much more suited to crawling through that tunnel than you. You can get to a point faster, but I can get to another point far past yours, while you're struggling to go on.
Instead of Focusing on our differences and using it as a reason to deny women combat positions, why aren't we USING those differences to make a stronger and more adaptable fighting force?
If they want equal pay for equal work/risk, then they need to be on the hook just like we are.
If we are going to open combat arms assignments to females, then yes, they should. The draft was intended as a method to bring in a lot of soldiers in a very short time. Most of those drafted soldiers would go into combat arms assignments, which is why females have been historically exempted.
SSgt Thomas A Tullis Jr
Males are told at age 18 "you must sign and file the Selective Service Card" to qualify for government jobs, government services, student loans etc. Females aren't required to file but THEY should.
LTC Paul Labrador
SSgt Thomas A Tullis Jr, again, the reason for SSS was for the draft. Women weren't drafted because they couldn't serve in combat arms (which is what the draft is essentially for). If we start allowing them into CA, then I agree that they should also be required to register.
SSgt Thomas A Tullis Jr
Very true LTC Paul Labrador. Since the military is moving toward including females in CA units then the requirement should be applied.
The Army and politicos want to keep pushing for gender equality, so why should I have to register and my sister would not? Either everyone is equally equal, or no one is. If that makes any sense.
Yes. Yes, "they" should. (I use 'they' since I have already signed the dotted line.)
If we are going to be and should be, a country where equality across the board is the name of the game, then women should be subject to the same requirements as the men. We are opening up combat arms MOSs/jobs to women that choose to join them, why should they then not be held to the same law as the men? Once a male turns 18 he is required by law to enroll in the Selective Service and if he does not, he is not eligible for Federal Education funds such as Pell Grants, as of today the same does not apply for females, kinda seems unequal to me.
SFC(P) (Join to see)
Selective Service needs to change. In a situation that we would need it, it would be useless because of the pace of events. In its place I would establish a branch immaterial, MOS immaterial basic training program, available to all citizens, where they can learn military fundamentals. That way, if and when the sit hits the fan, people will at least have an idea of what to do.
As the world changes, the "battlefield" is no longer just "over there." Every citizen should be required to serve their country, and should be trained in order to do so.
MSG (Join to see)
So, does this mean children should learn how to defend our nation as a war could very well be fought on home turf?
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But definitely, if we want it, we have to take the good with the bad!