No one can be drafted into the U.S. military without an act of Congress

A few days after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, a TikTok video gave the false impression that the U.S. is mandating that people join the military in order to send them to that conflict. 

The Feb. 26 video implies that the U.S. military has reinstated a draft, and women are included. It shows a person revealing a document that says it's from the Selective Service System, indicating that the person has to report to Ukraine on March 5, 2022. A text overlay says, "Women can get drafted?!!?!" 

The caption says, "Y’all I’m about to cry like what." The video has been viewed more than 46,000 times.

There currently is no draft — mandatory enrollment into the military — for any American. The U.S. military has been an all-volunteer force since 1973. 

And the video’s creator said it was a joke: "I’m gonna say this (because) I’m getting hate: I’M JOKING," according to a pinned comment on the video. "I know this situation is not a joke and very heartbreaking but I was just tryna make ppl laugh." 

But comments on the video indicated some people believed it was true. "Wait did u just get drafted?" one person wrote. Another said, "I want equal rights but not this," with a crying emoji. 

Featured Fact-check

Progress 2028

stated on October 21, 2024 in a Facebook post

A pro-Kamala Harris website shows she supports a mandatory gun buyback program.

The U.S. requires that male citizens and male immigrants between ages 18 and 25 register with the federal Selective Service System, the agency responsible for running a draft. It would require an act of Congress to reinstate a draft in the event of a national emergency, and if that were to happen, the Selective Service System would begin calling registered men for duty.

"If Congress were to reinstate the draft, the Selective Service would activate and order all personnel to report for duty to open Area Offices," USA Today reported. "A public, televised and nationally streamed National Draft Lottery to establish the order by year of birth in which registrants receive directives to report for induction would follow."

We rate the claim that women can be drafted in the U.S. Pants on Fire!