Taking effect in December 2026, the U.S. government will implement a new policy that automatically registers male citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 for the Selective Service. These men will then be put into the lottery, which takes place whenever a draft happens. While this change does not mean a draft will be produced, it still raises concerns among Camas High School (CHS) students and teachers alike.
“I have mixed feelings about it, because I understand the potential necessity for having males 18 to 25 in the database in case we ever do need to enact the draft, ” CHS Career Specialist Sean Tamura said.
“I tend to be a very anti-war person in general. From a personal standpoint, I think that a lot of people should have autonomy over their choice of whether or not to serve,” Tamura said. “I could see, if the Selective Service were a little bit broader in terms of things, if the necessity was there to maintain infrastructure within the country, I could see there being a little bit more justification to it.”
Tamura believes that there should be compensation for young adults who are required to register for the Selective Service
Tamura also believes that some exemptions should be granted.
“I think there are [exemptions] that should be more objectively considered, like a professional mental health diagnosis that might prevent you from being a productive member of the armed services,” Tamura said. “If you do have some type of religious conflict with something like military service, and you were able to, like, prove or show evidence of that, then I think that that could be a viable exemption.”
CHS senior Jacob Bjork, who will be enlisting in the Air National Guard, believes that this new government policy would not be too far astray from anything else the U.S. has done.
“The precedents that we passed are that it’s been done before, so, in terms of what we’ve done, I don’t think it’s too much of an issue,” Bjork said.
When asked about how the public would react if a draft were to happen, Bjork did not think we would be prepared.
“I think considering all of the wars since [the Vietnam War], particularly in the Middle East, it would definitely be something that nobody in this generation is used to in their lifetime,” Bjork said.
Future Air Force member Kylie Ericcson weighed in on whether a future draft would be necessary.
“I think, for the current events going on in the world, in some cases, it can be necessary,” Ericsson said. “Knowing a lot of the people right now, I can tell you, a lot of them are nervous or scared about it, especially with history, other events, and other wars, where they have taken drafts, but personally, I don’t think it’s going to be as extreme this time around.”
