The Selective Service System is an independent federal agency that has been a distinguished part of America’s history for over a century, spanning eras of conflict and peacetime.
We are part of America’s National Defense Strategy, fostering deterrence through innovation, advancing diversity in leadership, and supporting the Department of Defense’s priority to maintain a formidable end-strength that provides America’s all-volunteer force with the overmatch necessary to deter, compete and win in the future.
Mission: To register men and maintain a system that, when authorized by the President and Congress, rapidly provides personnel in a fair and equitable manner while managing an alternative-service program for conscientious objectors.
Vision: To be a trusted, actively engaged national defense partner and the sole source of conscripted talent for national security in the event of a national emergency.
Readiness: As a readiness organization, we deliver on the promise of a national strategic capability to the Nation. We remain ready for immediate mobilization and transition to full operations in support of a national draft lottery if directed to do so by the President and Congress.
Registration: High registration rates across the nation serve as the foundation of fairness and equity for full operations, better ensuring that a national draft lottery has the highest level of participation possible.
Management excellence: By upholding high standards of Management Excellence, we are able to consistently provide the full spectrum of functional and programmatic support to Agency operations.
Registration Compliance (CY 2023)
Men, ages, 18 to 25, are required to register with Selective Service.
According to 2023 data:
Agency Budget (FY 2024)
The legislation under which this agency operates is the Military Selective Service Act, 50 U.S.C. 3801 et seq. (formerly 50 U.S.C. App 451 et seq.). “The Selective Service system shall be maintained as an active standby organization… .”
Mr. Joel C. Spangenberg, a senior appointee of the Biden-Harris Administration and member of the Senior Executive Service, serves as the Acting Director of Selective Service. In this role, he leads national conscription readiness, overseeing the National Headquarters, Data Management Center, and three site offices consisting of civil servants, military reservists, and over 6,000 volunteers. Previously, he served in senior career roles as the first-ever Executive Director of Operations at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Deputy Associate Administrator for External Affairs at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and Associate Director of Governmental Affairs at Naval Reactors.
During the Obama-Biden administration, Mr. Spangenberg served as Chief of Staff at the Selective Service System (SSS) and Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Before that, he worked in the U.S. Senate as a Subcommittee Deputy Staff Director and Professional Staff Member, where he led national and homeland security legislative efforts. His key volunteer positions in the community have included Chairman of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s Service Academy Selection Board, SSS Local Board Member of the District of Columbia (D.C.), and Vice Chairman of the D.C. Mayor’s Advisory Board on Veterans Affairs. Mr. Spangenberg is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, Member of the American Nuclear Society, Member of the Senior Executives Association, and a former Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Additionally, he is a Certified Defense Financial Manager with Acquisition Specialty.
Deputy Director
Craig T. Brown, Acting
Chief of Staff
Saif M. Khan
General Counsel
Daniel A. Lauretano, Sr.
Equal Employment Opportunity Director
Commander Nguyen Pham
Associate Director for Operations
Thomas T. Devine, Acting
Associate Director for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
Micheal A. Migliara
Associate Director for Information Technology & Chief Information Officer
Scott W. Jones
Associate Director for Support Services / Chief Financial Officer
Alexander Rud
Data Management Center Director
Matthew H. Adams
Assistant Director for Operations Plans and Assessment
Thomas J. Kenney
Assistant Director for Operations Training and Exercise
Carlos M. Perez
Assistant Director for Readiness Functions
Brett J. Williams, Acting
The Selective Service System’s structure consists of the National Headquarters, Data Management Center, and three Region Headquarters, with 124 full-time employees authorized.
Also part of Selective Service is a field structure of military Reservists and civilian volunteer board members. Each state, the four U.S. territories (Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands), District of Columbia, and New York City also have a state director. Selective Service’s Reservists, board members, and state directors are the agency’s standby components. They serve part-time for the agency, remaining trained and ready to be called into service in the event of a draft.
