DRAFT HOAX: U.S. ARMY ISSUES WARNING ABOUT FAKE DRAFT TEXTS

The U.S. Army Recruiting Command has issued a notice regarding a flurry of fake text messages people have received in recent days indicating that they have been selected for a new military draft. Although the execution of a draft would not fall under the Department of Defense, but rather the U.S. Selective Service System, the U.S. Army stated clearly that there has been no indication that such action is taking place.

“U.S. Army Recruiting Command has received multiple calls and emails about these fake text messages and wants to ensure Americans understand these texts are false and were not initiated by this command or the U.S. Army.” The U.S. Army Recruiting Command wrote in a release.

Texts are not the only way false information about a draft has made its way around the American population. Social media has been flooded with memes about a new draft and even the start of “World War III” following a series of military actions taken by the United States and Iran in recent weeks. While tensions have been high between the two nations for months, concerns about direct conflict snowballed after the U.S. killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s elite and secretive Al Quds Force, in a drone strike on January 3.

Last night, Iran responded with a muted ballistic missile attack on two installations housing U.S. military personnel in Iraq. The attack left no casualties and did little in the way of material damage, leaving an open avenue for deescalation.

However, despite clear signs that war has been averted, at least for now, nefarious pranksters are continuing to take advantage of the general unease many Americans feel about the prospect of a new conflict in the Middle East. As the U.S. Army points out, the draft has not been enacted since 1973, and the United States has maintained continuous combat operations for the better part of two decades using an all-volunteer force. There’s no sign that such a thing would change any time soon, but as the Selective Service points out, if a change were coming, it would begin with new legislation.

“The Selective Service System is conducting business as usual,” according to the Selective Service System’s official Facebook page. “In the event that a national emergency necessitates a draft, Congress and the President would need to pass official legislation to authorize a draft.”

In other words, a draft would have to make it through America’s legislative bodies before being enacted, and however unlikely that may be, it’s also something that would be heavily covered by the nation’s many media outlets. If ever a day does arise where the United States returns to the draft, in other words, it would be anything but a surprise.