Quote from: About.comPenalties for Failure to Register for the Draft

Men who do not register could be prosecuted and, if convicted, fined up to $250,000 and/or serve up to five years in prison. In addition, men who fail to register with Selective Service before turning age 26, even if not prosecuted, will become ineligible for:

• Student Financial Aid - including Pell Grants, College Work Study, Guaranteed Student/Plus Loans, and National Direct Student Loans.
• U.S. Citizenship - if the man first arrived in the U.S. before his 26th birthday.
• Federal Job Training - The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) offers programs that can train young men for jobs in auto mechanics and other skills. This program is only open to those men who register with Selective Service.
• Federal Jobs - men born after December 31, 1959 must be registered to be eligible for jobs in the Executive Branch of the Federal government and the U.S. Postal Service.

So yeah, according to U.S. law, I must sign up for the Selective Service because I have male genitalia in my pants. It's not death that I'm afraid of, it's being forced into a male body throughout extensive military training. More or less, if the draft occurs before my surgery, which I doubt it will, my whole life will go down the drain. I would have to shave my head and train until I become "fit" in a body that I don't belong.

So this is where my question comes in:

If I were to sign up for the Selective Service now, at age 18, while still technically male, what would happen after I surgically become female? Is it possible to be removed from the list? If not, what would happen, would I still be listed as male? How could I change this? So many questions...

I am not a lawyer. Lets start with that...
If you can demonstrate that you have GID you will be declared unfit for military duty should you be drafted. (which there is not a real threat of that any time soon)

You do not currently fit the profile for a combat ready soldier. Now if they make it so trans people can serve in the military you could theoreticaly drafted if they were to reinstitute the draft.

But face it that is not likely to happen in this puritanical society.

Relax. Fill out the selective service form and send it in. You will be ok.

Register for it.  If you do get called in, and look female, there will probably be a somewhat uncomfortable conversation.  After said conversation, they will most likely let you go and change their records.

I wouldn't worry about it though.  The chance of getting drafted is relatively small already because 1) the draft is unpopular and 2) they have more volunteers than they can use at this point anyway.  I went through a similar dilemma because I registered for the draft right after 9/11 happened and was certainly nervous about that - they never called me though.

For anyone to be drafted the congress would need to pass a law calling for the draft and the president would have to sign it into law. There would be major debate around the country and it would be the only thing on the news.
You will know if they institute a draft.

Also the way the draft works is a lottery. Just because you register does not gaurenty that you will be drafted. Your number has to come up for you to be drafted.

Thanks so much for the advice. I'll sign up whenever I get a chance.

I was nervous about registering for the draft way back in 1980    But obviously it is more of a formality than a worry because it is very unlikely that there would actually be a draft any time soon... The Gov't likes to keep that option open though just in case some real serious stuff hits the fan... A draft would pretty much be a last resort after they've called up as many veterans and reservists as possible

Quote from: cynthialee on May 14, 2011, 11:13:48 AM
I am not a lawyer. Lets start with that...

Me either.

Legally you have to register but the odds of actually being called into service are very, very. very remote since we've become a volunteer army (something we didn't have up through Vietnam).

I'm pretty sure that even if you were drafted, you would have to pass a physical to get in.

I didn't even think about it when I registered. It was easier to just do than to try to fight it now. If the draft gets reinstated and my number is called, I will take action at that time. However, I don't feel I need to worry about this currently. I have more important issues to worry about.

I get the impression that this is more a matter of public indoctrination than any realistic proposal to draft people.

Conscripts don't make very good troops, frankly. Modern warfare doesn't really need them. Certainly not such a mechanised military as the US, or, for that matter, most NATO countries.

But it seems to suit the purposes of some to maintain a state of threat.

America is undefeatable. It is essentially, uninvadable. This is due, in part to its military but mostly because its geography, the diversity of its government, the numbers of beligerent civilians.

In all honesty, if some foreigh state took over control of Washington DC, how many Americans would instantly salute their new overloards and follow whatever?

I don't want to get into any discussion on the purposes of this nonsense. Partly because I doubt many Americans are able, at this time, to seriously look at any evidence, without feeling conspired against, but mainly because this isn't really the sort of forum in which that discussion is relevant.

However, as a non-American, I suggest that it is really just an excercise in enforced enrollment in patrotism. It can do little or no har, but could create problems if you refuse.

In the mean time, have a look at this: http://www.draftregistration.us/

i didn't even register. i was supposed to once i turned 18 according to the laws, and what people wanted me to believe. i'm 19 now, and not registered. i figure, why bother? i have asperger's, expressive receptive language disorder, and then i'm on cross sex hormones transitioning into a female. it seemed pointless for me to bother from the start, and it's obviously pointless now. i'll be getting my name legally changed soon. if you did register, i'm pretty sure there's "consciencious objector." if you ask me, the draft thing is a joke at this point. they have more than enough men and women alike going into this line of work for their own will. if world war 3 ever did strike, they just won't take anyone in our situation. you have to be "in a correct state of mind." what's more, they still don't treat their women as equals. they won't let the women be in the front line of fire ever. last thing is, males are only eligible from 18-25.

When I was 22 and serving in Germany with the US Army, I got a letter from Selective Service reminding me to register! I threw it away. Spacial is right, conscripts make poor soldiers, they don't want to be there.

There can be problems with not registering, especially if you don't legally change your sex for quite some time. Even if you change your sex during the registration period (which, I should point out, is very short), that might not be enough to keep you out of hot water later. I don't know which records the Selective Service System relies upon or how SSS records get updated, but even if you change your sex with the Social Security Administration, do not expect that office to automatically notify the Selective Service System--that's your job. And I don't think the SSA would bother to contact the SSS retroactively. In any event, it is probably safer to register and then sort it out later.

As you noted, if you don't register, then you can run into problems further down the road. You can be denied federal benefits like job training and student loans, not to mention that you can't get a federal job. Some might think that they will never need such benefits, but you might want to keep your options open because you never know which direction your life will take.

@SpaceyGirl--I don't know what to make of your post. Registration has nothing to do with your medical status, your name change, your beliefs, or your in-transition status. By registering, you are not stating that you are fit for duty. You're just registering. The other factors only come up later, if there is a draft and if your name is drawn.

As others have pointed out, a draft seems pretty unlikely because we have a volunteer military at the moment. But you are still legally required to register, and people can and do find obstacles when they don't.

Quote from: Arch on May 14, 2011, 01:34:13 PM
@SpaceyGirl--I don't know what to make of your post. Registration has nothing to do with your medical status, your name change, your beliefs, or your in-transition status. By registering, you are not stating that you are fit for duty. You're just registering. The other factors only come up later, if there is a draft and if your name is drawn.

As others have pointed out, a draft seems pretty unlikely because we have a volunteer military at the moment. But you are still legally required to register, and people can and do find obstacles when they don't.

so i should give my male alias to them? people will distinguish what i'm presenting as and what a birth certificate says? that's why i don't think it's suitable, because it's like an imaginary person in their registry.

Quote from: SpaceyGirl on May 14, 2011, 03:58:13 PM
so i should give my male alias to them? people will distinguish what i'm presenting as and what a birth certificate says? that's why i don't think it's suitable, because it's like an imaginary person in their registry.

They will deny you availability for certain forms of federal assistance ( the most important being federal grants). You are no more to them than a number, no harm can possibly be done by registering, especially since you have been diagnosed with GID and it disqualifies you from service.

  I am a Vietnam era veteran.   I disagree that conscripts make bad warriors.  I joined back when the draft was really at the top of inducting conscripts.  Those conscripts, like their fathers before them, fought like hell.  It depends of the quality of the draftees that makes an army.  In our all volunteer army, you need at least a GED to enlist. 
  In my Navy bootcamp company, we had a lot of people that didn't know how to read, including a high school "Head Boy".  He had others do his assignments for him in school!  My company commander, the senior of the company chiefs in my battalion, could not believe it.  He was held back and sent to the Navy's remedial studies school.  These people did the menial work such as compartment cleaning and mess-cooking aboard ship. 
  Joelene

Quote from: SpaceyGirl on May 14, 2011, 03:58:13 PM
so i should give my male alias to them? people will distinguish what i'm presenting as and what a birth certificate says? that's why i don't think it's suitable, because it's like an imaginary person in their registry.

Hon, your presentation doesn't matter to the Selective Service System. The folks there only care that THEY have you down as male and that you're supposed to register--and face any consequences of not registering. If you are legally male to the federal government, that's all they care about.

Think of it this way. If you file tax returns, rack up Social Security benefits, get a job, and/or apply for a passport (or already have a passport), you do that with your federally legal identity, which is tied to your Social Security number and the identity that the federal government has on record for you. Why should registering with Selective Service be any different? It sucks that your true identity is not recognized, but people have to jump through hoops to get the feds to acknowledge that persona.

BTW, you can usually register online, but I don't know if you can do that after the usual 60-day window has elapsed.

Go ahead and register.  America is not currently using the draft.  And being transsexual is still grounds for being ineligible for the draft.

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