US military registration now automatic for eligible men: Change sparks draft fear, White House has ‘options’

The US Government has made a major change to military draft registration, with all eligible men now to be registered automatically.

Eligible men aged 18 to 26 will now automatically be entered into the draft pool, potentially called upon if the US military proceeds with a draft recruitment.

The last time the US Government used a draft to select men for it’s military was in 1973 for the Vietnam war.

Automatic registration through the SSS (Selective Service System) was already in place in some states, however, after a recent move from the US Congress and signed off by US President Donald Trump, it is now becoming national.

“We are part of America’s National Defence Strategy, fostering deterrence through innovation and supporting the Department of War’s priority to maintain a formidable end-strength that provides America’s all-volunteer force with the overmatch necessary to deter, compete and win in the future,” the SSS website says.

The change comes into full effect from December 2026.

Will US Donald Trump implement a draft?

According to the White House, Mr Trump was not yet considering a draft, however, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US President “wisely keeps his options on the table,” back in March.

Since his first election to the presidency, Mr Trump says he has “rebuilt” the US military into the “most powerful military in the world”.

If Mr Trump used the registry for a draft, he would have a pool of all male US citizens and “every other male” in the country who are aged between 18 and 26.

That means green-card holders, refugees, asylum seekers or undocumented people, like those collected or detained by ICE, could be called up to serve.

Like in previous drafts, a lottery would be completed to call up men for the military.

The system used by the US would first select men from people who have or are turning 20 in the year of the draft. The lottery would then continue systematically my age in an order of 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 19 and then 18.

Across the last four drafts, the largest in US history, 16.3 million US men were called up. In World War I, 2.8 million were called up. The largest was for World War II, with 10.1 million men called to serve. In Korea and Vietnam, 1.5 million and 1.9 million were drafted respectively.

Could conscription happen in Australia?

In Australia, conscription has previously been in place, something that saw young men and boys put through compulsory training and military services.

The Governor General is responsible for making the authorisation for conscription, granted that Parliament has given approval.

According to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, “Over 800,000 Australian men registered for the National Service Scheme between 1965 and 1972. Of these, 63,000 were called up (conscripted) into Australia’s defence forces”.

Conscription in Australia last ended in 1972.