UL student Marty Brady has seen numerous posts on social media about WWIII and a draft.
"Oh my gosh, I don't know what I would do. I don't want to fight a war, that's why I didn't join the Army, unfortunately," Brady said.
As #ww3 trends on Twitter this week, a number of fraudulent text messages informing individuals they have been selected for a military draft have circulated throughout the country.
The 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 do not come from the command or the U.S. Army.
"These texts are false, and were not initiated by the command or the U.S Army. Registering for the Selective Service does not enlist somebody into the military," Captain Paxton Haydel, Company Commander of Lafayette Recruiting Company said.
The official U.S. Army Recruiting Twitter account shared on Tuesday that the texts circulating are "false."
Fact check: The @USArmy is NOT contacting anyone regarding the draft. Text messages currently circulating are false and are not official Army communications.
— U.S. Army Recruiting (@usarec) January 7, 2020
Read more from the U.S. Army Recruiting Command on the recent texts here.
The decision to enact a draft is not made at or by the U.S. Army Recruiting Command. The Selective Service System, a separate agency outside of the Department of Defense, is the organization that manages registration for the Selective Service.
"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."
The draft has not been in effect since 1973. The military has been an all-volunteer force since that time.
"I think we should wait and see what happens. It's not always war or peace, so we should just wait and see what happens, there won't be a WWIII," Brady said.
Army recruiting operations are proceeding as normal.
