Army Secretary says women will likely have to sign up for the draft

Secretary of the Army, the Honorable John McHugh, visits Maj. Gen. Gina Farrisee, commanding general of U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) at her office Aug.11 at Fort Knox, Ky. HRC has successfully completed its BRAC move to Fort Knox, and employs about 3,300 military, civilian and contract workers. Photo by Sally Harding, Fort Knox Visual Information. Photo by Sally Harding, Fort Knox Visual Information.

If this country is serious about allowing women into more combat roles, then the message being sent by a top Army official is they should also have to register for the draft.

Army Secretary John McHugh raised the issue after being asked a question on women and the draft during the annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army in Washington D.C.

Nearly 17 million male U.S. citizens and male immigrant non-citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 are currently registered for conscription with the Selective Service System, according to military.com

McHugh said Monday that “Women will eventually have to register for the draft, if ‘true and pure equality’ is to be realized in the U.S. military.”

The subject was also a topic of debate at a national security forum in Colorado this summer. During one of the panel discussions, retired Navy Adm. Eric Olson, said that women should have to register for the draft if they can also serve in combat.

McHugh said draft registration was not a subject to be decided by the services or the Department of Defense, and will ultimately have to be dealt with by Congress. He said he expects a “pretty emotional debate and discussion” on the issue.

Air Force Secretary Deborah James said she’d have “no problem” with women registering for the draft.

Front-line combat jobs — mostly in infantry, armor, artillery and special ops –could become open to women by January, when the Secretary of Defense is expected to make his final decision.

According to the Washington Examiner, the three service secretaries submitted their recommendations to Secretary Carter this month on whether any positions should remain closed to women. The Navy secretary did not request any exemptions for the Navy or Marine Corps. It’s still unclear what recommendations the other services made.

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Michele Katz

Michele graduated with a B.S. in Telecommunication from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications. She has spent numerous years working in the news industry in south Florida, including many positions ranging from being a news writer at WSVN, the Fox affiliate in Miami to being an associate news producer at WPLG-TV, the ABC affiliate in Miami. Michele has also worked in Public Relations and Marketing.

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