Alright, folks, here we go again—more antics from the Democrats trying to change the rules of our military draft. This time, they want to force our daughters, sisters, and wives to register with the Selective Service System. Haven’t we had enough of these pointless distractions?
The Senate, controlled by Democrats, and the Republican-led House of Representatives are working on versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2025. One gem in the Senate’s proposal includes amending the Military Selective Service Act to require eligible women to register for the draft. Seriously, it’s like they have nothing better to do.
Remember, folks, the last time we used the draft was 1973. Our military has been all-volunteer since then. Yet, every male in the U.S. still has to register when they turn 18. Now, they want our young women to do the same.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-R.I.) claims that including women in the draft shouldn’t be controversial. He even dragged in a 2015 recommendation from a supposedly nonpartisan panel led by then-Republican congressman Joe Heck, which suggested the same. Reed argues that in a future draft, we’d need the skills and courage of both men and women. Nice try, Reed. But this isn’t about equality; it’s about unnecessary government overreach.
Let’s get real. Many Senate Republicans are up in arms over this proposal, and rightly so. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, must be convinced by the arguments for including women in the draft. He thinks the proponents’ case “doesn’t carry the day.”
Now, women serving in combat roles isn’t precisely a shocking idea anymore. Thanks to then-Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, women have been able to take on any combat role they want since 2016. But there’s a vast difference between volunteering for a combat role and being forced into one through a draft. Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) hit the nail on the head when he said, “Right now, women can serve in any role they want to in the military, and that’s great, and that should be allowed. But it’s different to be able to do a selective service draft and say, ‘Now we’re going to be able to push you into combat; now we’re going to push you into other places.'”
And let’s remember, some lawmakers don’t think anyone should be drafted. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has been vocal about his opposition to the draft in general. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) echoed this sentiment, saying, “We have an all-volunteer military, and I think it’s time to acknowledge that we don’t need to draft anybody. So the better approach is to leave things as they are—not draft women but not draft men either.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sees through the charade. He questions why there’s a push to include women now, considering our military has thrived as an all-volunteer force for over fifty years. Hawley suspects that because recruitment and retention numbers are down, some folks are gearing up to reinstitute the draft and want to cast the net as wide as possible. “Our recruitment and retention numbers are so bad in the military right now I think some of these folks are inching toward the position that maybe we’re gonna need to reinstitute the draft, so they’re trying to get their hands on as many Americans as possible,” he said. Bingo, Hawley!
This isn’t the first time the Senate has tried to slip this provision into the NDAA. They’ve done it before and failed. Hawley plans to fight this tooth and nail, just as he has in the past.
Forcing women to register for the draft distracts from the real issues our military faces. Let’s focus on strengthening our volunteer force rather than playing political games with our daughters’ futures. Most of the Senate Armed Services Committee didn’t bother to respond to inquiries about this proposal, which speaks volumes about their commitment to this misguided idea.
