Selective Service???

BarbieK

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Mar 27, 2017
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My DS will be leaving soon for USAFA BCT. Yesterday he received a letter in the mail stating that he has not yet signed up for selective service and must do so. I told him he should go ahead and get this SS form in the mail ASAP but he said he doesn't have to because he's basically going into the military. Does anybody know if this is true or not? Would appreciate any comments or advice.
Thanks in advance.
 
Thank you. Personally I think he should just fill it out and send it in because it's not a big deal. Despite his exemplary resume he is still a teenager and often times acts like one who knows it all. I reminded him that three weeks from today MOM will no longer be their to guide or give advise - all his decisions will be on him.
 
AROTC Dad; you are correct. And once the individual is sworn in at the academy, they are considered active duty. So personally; with only a couple weeks to go, I don't think there's an issue.

On the other hand, it doesn't take but a minute to register online; so I don't see what the issue is.

The online registration form is

https://www.sss.gov/Registration/Register-Now/Registration-Form
 
On the other hand, it doesn't take but a minute to register online; so I don't see what the issue is.

I wish there were more posts like this.

As long as I'm ranting...there should be some sort of Cyber Gatekeeper that requires new posters to state their question to that Gatekeeper (search function), before being allowed to start a thread. There is such a deep trove of info in this forum, that a relevant and timely thread could probably be found to answer most questions.

Not that TN and company aren't doing a great job.
 
Thank you. Personally I think he should just fill it out and send it in because it's not a big deal. Despite his exemplary resume he is still a teenager and often times acts like one who knows it all. I reminded him that three weeks from today MOM will no longer be their to guide or give advise - all his decisions will be on him.

We've had a number of these types of conversations recently, some of which are no big deal, and others are more consequential. In our case, as much as our newly adult kids need to be reminded that we're not always going to be around to guide them, we also need to be reminded to let go and let them make decisions and reap the consequences. The issue is not the issue; it's about them learning to stand on their own and that's why they make it a big deal, even when we think we're just trying to give them good advice. But if it is just good advice and not a parent telling a child what to do, then we have to leave it at that and let the chips fall. It's not easy, but we've also had to realize it's going to happen one way or another so we might as well start now.
 
Fill it out anyway, imo.

My uncle was digging fortifications in Laos (not that we were there...) when his draft notice came.

It makes for a great story. PM me of you wanna hear it. Lol
 
CB; you are correct that there is a lot of information already posted on this forum; and a simple search could reveal answers prior to asking new questions. And I have been a big proponent of telling people to use the search function first. But I'm a lot more tolerant of internet questions than most people.

Back when Al Gore first invented the internet, it was a very difficult arena to navigate. As someone who's been involved with computers even before the internet, I was quite good at searching things out. I even made a bit of money doing Online Research for people. Before the search engines became easier to use. But since google and most other search engines have become mainstream, it's been a lot easier for people to look up information.

But I must say that I recently discovered that "Online searching" is still not the easiest thing to do. During the memorial day weekend, my wife and I went to her father's to visit. (Few states away). He's 87 and for the last 5 or so years we've gotten him into using a Kindle and a laptop. He loves to read, but he had a stroke a while back and holding a book was difficult. I regress; but wanted to emphasize that if not for the stroke, he probably would never have used a tablet or laptop. Anyway, he now uses the kindle for reading books and the laptop for checking his investments. But something I noticed was that he and my wife were discussing all sorts of things and had lots of questions. "Who did this", "When was that", "What date", etc. He and my wife started doing searches. He on his laptop and my wife on her tablet. At first, I didn't think anything of it. Then, after a few minutes, both said they couldn't find what they were looking for. Without thinking, I put my beer down, grabbed my cell phone, spent literally 10 seconds, and told them the answer they were looking for. No big deal. Well, over the next week, I noticed both of them being frustrated because they couldn't find what they were looking for. Yet, I could spend literally SECONDS, and find the answer.

Guess what I'm saying is, maybe a lot of the questions being posted here on the forum, the person MAY have actually tried searching for the answer first. But I have learned, that even with powerful search engines like google, there is an "ART" or "SKILL" to knowing HOW to search. MOST people are so generic in their search request, that they wind up with too many results that are vague. They click on a couple and get frustrated because it didn't answer their question fully. This isn't their fault. It's actually the fault of the search engine developers. As an Engineer myself; with degrees in Electronics, Computer Science, and MOST HELPFUL a degree in Psychology; I realized that when I wrote contracts, instructions, information packets, etc. sometimes I wrote from a "Technical Perspective" thinking that others should have no problem understanding what I wrote. Only to find out that I took my knowledge and understanding of a topic for granted; and many others didn't understand. (This is why I'm so long winded in my posts. I TRY to ensure other understand me fully). Search Engine developers are no different. What they write seems EASY and LOGICAL to them. But not for everyone else. My wife and her father used the SAME SEARCH ENGINE that I used. They spent 5-10 minutes and couldn't find what they were looking for. I spent 10 SECONDS and found it immediately.

So it's quite possible that people have tried searching for something first; and simply couldn't find it. I've learned to be a bit more patient with posters. Yes, I prefer that they TRY to search for information first. But I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. I think you are correct. What I'd like to see is: When a NEW topic is being started, before the submit process allows the thread to start, it looks at the WORDS IN THE TITLE of the new thread and come back to the poster with links to SIMILAR THREADS already listed. And then gives them a choice to continue with a NEW thread, or post in an EXISTING thread. But either way, as long as people get answers to their questions, and it makes them a more informed applicant, family member, cadet, etc. then the forum is doing what it was intended to do.

Mike
 
My DS will be leaving soon for USAFA BCT. Yesterday he received a letter in the mail stating that he has not yet signed up for selective service and must do so. I told him he should go ahead and get this SS form in the mail ASAP but he said he doesn't have to because he's basically going into the military. Does anybody know if this is true or not? Would appreciate any comments or advice.
Thanks in advance.

First congratulations to your DS. MY DS is going to USMA next month and was filling out his EQIP (the electronic questionnaire for his security clearance background check) Anyway, the form asked if he was registered for the selective service and his registration number (at that moment he wasn't registered) but he jumped onto the selective service website and registered within about three minutes. He was then issues his registration number that he then needed to continue on with the questionnaire. So, it looks like registration is needed to some degree albeit it will be a moot point in a few weeks here.
 
Did a screen shot of a couple of these posts earlier in the day and sent them to my DS. Within a few minutes I heard our household wireless printer printing and saw a receipt from Selective Service. I didn't say another word. As for searching the Internet, I cannot tell you how many hours of my recent life have been spent searching for information through a number of different servers. If you have an abundance of time it's a great way to get questions answered. However, I own a business and these last couple of weeks with HS graduation, getting ready for my DS to leave for Colorado and running the business it has been a real challenge to fit everything in. I guess I'm not real "up" on new threads, old threads etc. but I am learning. This forum has been a first for me and it has been a treasure chest of information. Sorry if it seemed like a silly question I just felt confident that this would be the place to go to get a quick answer or some good advise. I will try searching first next time before I ask.
 
FYI - SF86 (Section 14) asks for the Selective Service System registration number - filling out the online registration form is probably easier than providing an explanation as to why one entered "No" on the SF86.
 
20 something years ago, I completed my selective service form while on Christmas leave during my plebe year. I didn't turn 18 till Christmas that year. It's just easier to fill it out.
 
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