[OnyxCougar]

Member how I wrote to my congressman? This is the reply from Senator John Edwards.....

Dear (OC):

Thank you for contacting me about the draft, or the Selective Service. I appreciate hearing from you.

Legal authority for the involuntary induction of men into the Armed Forces expired on July 1, 1973. New legislation would be required to reinstate an active draft. Currently, the Selective Service System operates on standby status. Young men are required to register with the System within 30 days before or after their 18th birthday. If the draft were to be reactivated, young men age 18 through 26 would be subject to induction (up to age 35 if deferred when initially called). Student deferments were drastically restricted by law after they caused so much controversy during the Vietnam War of 1964-1973. Graduate student deferments were in fact abolished early in the Vietnam War, in 1966. Under current law, undergraduates who were drafted would be allowed to finish an ongoing academic semester (or their senior year, if about to graduate), and would then have to report for induction. Married men would not be exempt from any actual draft.

At the present time, it appears unlikely that the U.S. will reinstate the draft to meet its manpower needs. The military is meeting its recruiting and retention goals at the present time, and it has a large pool of trained personnel in the reserves that it can draw on to augment its active forces.

Should legislation come before the Senate that would reinstate the draft, I would carefully consider the circumstances and ultimately make a choice that was based on the best interest of our nation's security. In the meantime, I welcome any thoughts you may have on the matter.

Again, thank you for your correspondence. Please keep in touch.

Yours sincerely,

John Edwards
United States Senate