Selective Service System seeks software to aid the draft
As of Dec. 18, this form will likely be no longer necessary because draft-eligible males should start to be automatically registered. Gettyimages.com / Douglas Sacha
By
Ross Wilkers
If the military draft were to ever come back, this software would be used to quickly evaluate staffing and resource requirements.
The window is now open for vendors to start working on and submitting prices for software that can simulate the military’s personnel needs in the event of national emergencies requiring a draft.
While the U.S. military is all-volunteer, the Selective Service System still maintains registration lists of males aged 18-to-25 years old and a second special-skills database based on professional licensing lists of workers in certain health care occupations. The Selective Service System is an independent agency charged with running a draft or drafts in the event they are needed to fill personnel gaps.
By launching this request for quotes on Wednesday, SSS is looking to prepare for emergencies that require it to quickly evaluate staffing and resource requirements through the use of readiness simulation software.
SSS also is tasked with comparing different mobilization and policy scenarios, assessing the operational impacts of surge conditions, identifying potential risks and bottlenecks, and support executive planning and reporting obligations.
The RFQ lists these requirements for the software:
- Model the full end-to-end mobilization pipeline
- Support configurable scenarios
- Provide decision-support analytics for leaders, planners and operators
- Operates within an SSS-designated cloud environment
- Use anonymized aggregate data
- Support complete government ownership and sustainment
SSS is embarking on this search for software ahead of Dec. 18, when the requirement for male U.S. residents aged 18-to-25 years old to register themselves in the system will be replaced with a requirement for SSS to automatically register them by relying on other federal databases.
SSS is an independent agency.
Quotes are due by 2 p.m. Eastern time on Aug. 14. The window for questions to SS closes at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, July 28.