The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and the destroyer USS Gridley arrive with stops including Peru, Chile, and Brazil as part of the Southern Seas 2026 tour in Panama City, Panama.

• Eligible men will be automatically registered for the US military draft pool.
• The new rules go into effect in December and are designed to save money.
• US President Donald Trump alone cannot bring back the draft through executive action.

Eligible US men aged 18 to 25 will now be automatically registered for the military draft pool by December as part of an effort to streamline the previous process of self-registration and save money.

According to The Hill, the US government agency – known as the Selective Service System (SSS) – submitted a proposed rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on 30 March.

The Hill reported that while men in the age group are already required to register with the SSS, the process was left to the individual, but automatic registration was mandated in December 2025 as part of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.

Fox5 reported that the SSS, or military draft, was established in 1917 by US President Woodrow Wilson after the US entered World War I.

But it ended in 1975, only to return when US President Jimmy Carter brought back registration for the draft in 1980, when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

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A report in Military Times said that the proposed rule is currently under review by the regulatory affairs office, awaiting finalisation, according to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs’ dashboard.

As the US enters a ceasefire with Iran, the White House has insisted that the build-up in the Middle East would hold station, according to AFP.

US President Donald Trump late on Wednesday said US military deployed near Iran would remain stationed in the area until a “real agreement” is reached, as it enters a fragile two-week ceasefire with Tehran.

“All US Ships, Aircraft, and Military Personnel, with additional Ammunition, Weaponry, and anything else that is appropriate and necessary for the lethal prosecution and destruction of an already substantially degraded Enemy, will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

US Vice President JD Vance will lead talks with Iran beginning on Saturday in Islamabad, and will be joined by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the White House said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in March said that while a draft is “not part of the current plan right now”, Trump “wisely keeps his options on the table”, according to The Hill.

Trump alone cannot bring back the draft through executive action, as Congress would need to pass legislation to amend the Military Selective Service Act to authorise the president to induct personnel into the military, The Hill added.

Failure to register in the draft is considered a crime in the US and can prevent people from receiving state-funded financial aid and employment in numerous states.

It can also result in ineligibility for federal employment opportunities and job training under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, may carry a fine of up to $250 000 (~R4.1 million), and jail time of up to five years.

In addition, immigrants who don’t register may lose their US citizenship.

Women are still ineligible for the draft, even as lawmakers in the past few years have attempted to attach provisions adding women to the draft as part of the annual defence policy bill.

The measures have all been stripped out before a final vote on the legislation.