95bFM Automatic Draft Registration Exposes Larger Problems with America’s Military
April 28, 2026
Interview by Pranuja Tahal, adapted by Gabriel Timpson-Neill
The University of Auckland’s Jennifer Frost says that US President Donald Trump’s changes to the draft system are not only a prelude to possible greater military actions in the future, but also a worsening sign for the hopes of young people in America.
The United States government is aiming to introduce an automatic draft service by the end of the calendar year, on the heel of increased American military actions in Iran and Venezuela. US President Donald Trump has also threatened further economic and even military action against countries like Cuba, which has led to global condemnation.
With the new draft system, eligible members would be added rather than being able to sign up for the draft, or opt-out ahead of time for medical or religious reasons. University of Auckland Associate Professor Jennifer Frost told 95bFM’s The Wire that this shift from voluntary to potentially involuntary military service is quite significant.
She says that one of the reasons for this move could be low number of enrolments into the draft in recent years. In 2024, only 42% of 18 year old men signed up for the draft, though this was a three-percent increase from 2023 with an overall registration rate for all those under 25 at 81%.
Though the implementation of the automatic draft registration system is in December this year, plans for it were created in December of 2025. These plans passed through Congress as part of federal funding to the military, and then authorised by Trump through a request to have the rule approved.
Professor Frost says the draft system is another sign to many Americans of Trump’s overreach and authoritarian leanings. She says that the idea of a constantly-tracking database, surveying every young man or child from birth to see their capabilities for combat, is an invasion of privacy not out of step with other actions during the second Trump presidency.
She says that while the United States is not reintroducing mandatory conscription, with the draft remaining a system to know who is military-eligible, the changes have faced vocal opposition from civil liberties and anti-war groups. Over forty groups have come together to formally oppose the rule change that makes it easy for young men to enroll in the military.
The last time the United States had a military draft was during the Vietnam War, up until 1975. That war, Professor Frost says, much like many of the military engagements the United States is getting itself involved in now, was illegal and even unconstitutional, as it began without formal declarations of war. Military actions like those in Iran fosters distrust of the government in young people, and indeed the entire population, with only 24 percent approving of the Iran War in the United States.
She says that as the United States continues in these highly unpopular-wars, changes to the draft system like those implemented this year frighten young people, who do not want to go fight in an almost certainly illegal war they are critical of.
Professor Frost says that the United States’ continuing militarization is definitely a cause for concern. She says that increasing the number of possible service people eases military planning and strategy, inviting the chance of a real boots-on-the-ground invasion of Iran or other countries.
Professor Frost says that she expects Trump will continue to wreak havoc in the global economy and the international order. Not only does the Republican-controlled Congress fail to implement checks and balances against him, Trump is in fact more erratic than ever, making whatever he does leave more profound results.
"The power of the United States, it still is the most powerful country in the world. And in the hands of this chaotic, unconstitutional, illegal administration, or regime, it's profound for everybody."
