A soon-to-be-released 255-page report from a congressionally mandated commission recommends that women, in addition to men, be subject to a United States military draft, should one be imposed. So reported Lara Seligman at Politico on Tuesday based on a review of the report that Politico obtained early. Seligman further relates that the “11-member commission’s final report, which was required by the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, was briefed to the Pentagon on Monday and will be presented to the White House and congressional staffers Tuesday.”
This report will likely add substantially to the already strong momentum in Congress behind requiring women to register with Selective Service and be subject to any future draft — the same requirements long imposed on American men.
In 2017, the Department of Defense expressed its support of extending such draft requirements to women. It did so via a report the Defense Department delivered to the US Senate and House of Representatives Armed Services Committees as required by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2017.
With the new report reinforcing the Defense Department’s earlier conclusion, be ready for Selective Service registration and draft requirements for women to be pushed strongly in the House and Senate. In 2016, such women draft requirements were included in the 2017 NDAA versions initially approved by the House Armed Services Committee and by the full Senate, though the final enacted legislation instead called for study of the matter by the Defense Department and the newly reporting commission.
