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In addition to supporting the personnel needs of the Department of Defense in times of crisis, the Selective Service System is responsible for maintaining and training the local boards. Selective Service System has local and appeal boards, comprised of volunteer civilian board members nationwide.
In the event of a draft, local and appeal boards would be mobilized to form the “backbone” of Selective Service System. Board members would decide draft deferments, postponements, and exemptions based upon claims filed by the men who are selected for induction.
Each state, U.S. territory, and District of Columbia and New York City have a state director who coordinate directly with state/territory governments nationwide in support of the Agency’s mission in support of the Department of Defense. Also, the Selective Service System is a field structure of Reserve Service Members (RSMs) in place to support the Agency’s national footprint.
Selective Service System’s local board members, state directors and RSMs are the agency’s standby components and serve part-time during peacetime. They remain trained and ready to be called into full-time service in the event the nation mobilizes in response to a national emergency.
Regional headquarters also manage, and train hundreds of Reserve Service Members (RSMs) assigned to Selective Service in their regions. The Selective Service System has about 150 National Guard and Reserve members authorized. They are members of every branch of the Reserve Components of the Armed Forces, with the exception of the Air National Guard. RSMs perform 48 drills and two weeks of annual training per year.
This part-time cadre of military officers is paid by the respective military service component; however, the individual services are reimbursed for most costs incurred, including RSM travel, pay, and benefit expenses. The reservists’ jobs are to train and be ready in the case of a return to the draft, to assist in improving on-time registration of young men in America’s communities, and to conduct training for board members. In the event of a draft, RSMs would open and staff more than 400 Selective Service area offices, be assigned to state headquarters, and serve as liaison officers at Military Entrance Processing Stations. RSM assignments and activities are controlled by each region headquarters.
A Selective Service System local board is a group of citizen volunteers whose mission, during a draft, would be to decide who among the registrants in their community would receive deferments, postponements, or exemption from military service based on the individual registrant’s circumstances and beliefs.
The registrant appeal process begins when a registrant is dissatisfied with his Local Board’s decision about his reclassification request and initiates an appeal. The first line of appeal is to the District Appeal Board. In the case of non-unanimous decisions of the District Appeal Board, the registrant may appeal to the President through the National Appeal Board.
The Director and State Directors of Selective Service may also take appeals to a District Appeal Board to ensure fair administration of Selective Service law and regulations.
District Appeal Boards are located in each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and Virgin Islands. The law requires at least one such board within the area of each federal judicial district in the United States and within each territory and possession.
The board member program is one of the primary components of the Selective Service System. Volunteers are currently trained in Selective Service regulations and procedures so that if a draft is reinstated, they will be able to fulfill their obligations fairly. Board members undergo an initial 8-hour training session and then participate in annual training in which they review sample cases similar to real-life situations.
Registrants with low lottery numbers will be ordered to report for a physical, mental, and moral evaluation at a Military Entrance Processing Station to determine whether they are fit for military service. Once he is notified of the results of the evaluation, a registrant will be given 10 days to file a claim for exemption, postponement, or deferment. At that time, board members will begin reviewing and deciding the outcome of the individual registrant’s case. They may personally interview the registrant and persons who know him to gain a better understanding of his situation. A man may appeal a Local Board’s decision to a Selective Service District Appeal Board.
Local board members are appointed by the Director of Selective Service in the name of the President, on recommendations made by their respective state governors or an equivalent public official. If you are interest in serving as a local board member, you may apply online for an application package.
Some requirements to be a board member are that they be:
