[20151215]IN10414_妇女与选择性服务.pdf

CRS INSIGHTWomen and the Selective ServiceDecember 15, 2015 (IN10414) | Related AuthorKristy N. Kamarck |Kristy N. Kamarck, Analyst in Military Manpower (kkamarckcrs.loc.gov, 7-7783)On December 3, 2015, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter ordered the military to open all combat jobs to women with no exceptions. Some have questioned the implications of this policy change for the Military Selective Service Act (MSSA). This law requires males to register but exempts females. By law, the Secretary of Defense is required to report to Congress within 30 calendar days of implementing any proposed changes opening units or positions that were previously closed to women. The Secretarys report is required to include justification for the proposed change and analysis of the implications for the MSSA.Current Law and RegulationsConscription (the draft) has been used to help meet military manpower requirements at various times in U.S. history since the Civil War era. While men have been required to register for induction into military service, women in the United States have never been subject to the draft. On January 27, 1973, then-Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird announced the creation of an