The Selective Service System Just Tried To Register Thousands Of Dead People For The Draft
Wikimedia Commons
The confusion happened when the records of males born between 1993 and 1997 were swapped with ones born 100 years prior. The mix-up happened during an automated data transfer of roughly 400,000 records to the Selective Service. Relatives of these long-lost would-be draft-dodgers began calling the agency last week, and that's when the mix-up was realized.
Chuck Huey, whose grandfather Bert served in World War I, was angered when he first received the letter at his Kingston, Pennsylvania home, he told the Times-Leader. He felt it represented the government's lack of recognition for what his grandfather did for the nation.
However, Huey added that his grandfather, who died in 1995 at the age of 100, would have signed up for the military had he been alive to read the notice.
"If he was here, yeah, he would probably laugh and say, 'Yeah, I'll go,'" Huey said. "He was that kind of guy."
By the time the mistake was realized, the Selective Service had sent out 14,250 notices throughout Pennsylvania. Since the youngest of the men would be turning 117 this year, Pat Schuback, a spokesman for the Selective Service, told the AP that the families can ignore the notices, as the files will be deactivated.
"It's never happened before," he said. "We regret the mistake."
This is not the only time in 2014 that the Selective Service has made an error involving draft registration notices. In May, thousands of letters were sent to men in Maryland saying they needed to register even though they had already done so.
- I got a $40K raise using this 30-second strategy. It made me realize loud work, not hard work, always wins.
- Qatar Airways' new CEO explains why it's sticking with the Airbus A380 as other airlines retire the costly superjumbo
- Prince Harry and Meghan found out about Kate Middleton's cancer diagnosis on TV like everyone else, report says
- Kia India looks to expand sales, service network to 700 touchpoints by year-end
- Shapoorji Pallonji’s Afcons Infra files DRHP for ₹7,000 crore IPO
- Water crisis affects businesses across Bengaluru; Is there room for cautious optimism?
- BenQ Zowie EC2-CW review – Premium wireless mouse for gamers
- Banks' GNPAs set to improve further to 2.1 pc by FY25: Care Ratings