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The Selective Service System’s structure consists of the National Headquarters, Data Management Center, and three Region Headquarters, with 124 full-time employees authorized. Regional headquarters are responsible for maintaining and training the local boards within their jurisdictions. Selective Service has more than 2,000 local and appeal boards, comprised of approximately 11,000 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. Board members would decide draft deferments, postponements, and exemptions based upon claims filed by the men who are selected for induction.
Also part of Selective Service is a field structure of Reserve Service Members (RSMs). Each state, US territory, and District of Columbia and New York City have a state director. Selective Service’s RSMs, local board members, and state directors are the agency’s standby components and serve part-time. They remain trained and ready to be called into service in the event of a draft.
Provides leadership, administrative and technical support to the agency, as well as plans and develops new methods for making a future draft fair, equitable, and efficient.
Director: Joel C. Spangenberg, Acting
Address:
Selective Service System
National Headquarters
Arlington, VA 22209-2425
Number of Employees:
49 full-time employees authorized
Responsible for processing registration materials and records.
Director: Nicole F. Harris
Address:
Selective Service System
P.O. Box 94638
Palatine, IL 60094-4638
Number of Employees:
51 full-time employees authorized
Base of operations for the agency’s field structure in the northeastern and midwestern United States, including New York City and Chicago. Covers 16 states and the District of Columbia.
Region Director: Thomas Kenney
Address:
Selective Service System
Region I
North Chicago, IL 60064-9983
Number of Employees:
9 full-time employees authorized
18 state directors, intermittent employees
60 part-time reservists
3,620 volunteer local board members authorized
Base of operations in the southeastern and south central United States, including Houston, Miami, and Atlanta. Covers 13 states and 2 territories.
Region Director: Carlos M. Perez
Address:
Selective Service System
Region II
Marietta, GA 30069-5010
Number of Employees:
9 full-time employees authorized
15 state directors, intermittent employees
58 part-time reservists
3,410 volunteer local board members authorized
Base of operations for the agency’s field structure in the western United States, including the Los Angeles and Denver areas. Covers 21 states and 2 territories.
Region Director: Steven L. Kett
Address:
Selective Service System
Region III
Aurora, CO 80011-9526
Number of Employees:
9 full-time employees authorized
23 state directors, intermittent employees
57 part-time reservists
3,315 volunteer local board members authorized
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.
If you are a Guard member or Reservist, find out more about opportunities to serve as a Selective Service RSM in your area by emailing us at HR-Mil@sss.gov.
A Selective Service 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 and equitable 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. Approximately 11,000 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 and equitably. 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:
