From Draft NOtices, January-March 2026
— Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft
On December 18, 2025, Donald Trump signed into law the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Buried in it was a section that now requires automatic Selective Service System (i.e., draft) registration for men 18-25. It will take effect in December 2026.
From Draft NOtices, January-March 2026
— Rick Jahnkow
In the last two years, most of the military's numerical goals for first-time enlistments were reached by lowering acceptance standards and using special pre-boot camp preparation programs to boost the acceptance rate of applicants who would ordinarily have been rejected under past standards. While these measures made recent recruiting goals reachable, Pentagon leaders are now expressing concern about a new possible recruiting crisis driven by societal trends, including a sharp drop in births that began in 2007. The impact of this downward population trend will be to further shrink the pool of eligible recruits despite the lowering of enlistment standards.
From Draft NOtices, January-March 2026
Book Review
Sacred Soldier:
The Dangers of Worshipping Warriors
Robert F. Keeler
Interlink Books, 2024
Recommended Reading
— Isidro Ortiz
In his Presidential farewell address in 1961, then President Dwight D. Eisenhower urged his fellow Americans to remain vigilant about the rise of what he called the “military-industrial complex.” His statement surprised many as it came from a war hero whose military record suggested that he would be a fervent supporter of increasing military influence.
