Selective Service System

American  

noun

1. the U.S. federal agency that facilitates the mobilization of military forces by requiring the registration of males between the ages of 18 and 26 years. SSS

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Selective Service System Cultural  

1. The system used in the United States to draft young people into armed service. Though the United States at present has no draft, young men are required by law to register with the Selective Service when they reach the age of eighteen.

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Example Sentences

Yakhour, 35, the third challenger to emerge against Herrera Beutler, until recently served as chief of staff at the Selective Service System, which runs the nation’s military draft registration system.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 27, 2021

Keeping the Selective Service System afloat will cost about $27 million this year.

From Salon • Mar. 16, 2020

The Selective Service System continues today to sign up all men age 18 to 25, though the draft ended in 1972.

From Washington Times • Dec. 11, 2019

If you were not under 24 at that time I doubt you could understand how the Selective Service System worked.

From New York Times • Aug. 1, 2016

When they turned eighteen, men had to register with the Selective Service System, the agency responsible for implementing a draft.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge