Executive Order 11497—Amending the Selective Service Regulations to Prescribe Random Selection

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Military Selective Service Act of 1967 (62 Stat. 604, as amended), I hereby prescribe the following amendments of the Selective Service Regulations prescribed by Executive Orders No. 10001 of September 17, 1948, No. 10202 of January 12, 1951, No. 10292 of September 25, 1951, No. 10659 of February 15, 1956, No. 10735 of October 17, 1957, No. 10984 of January 5, 1962, No. 11098 of March 14, 1963, No. 11119 of September 10, 1963, No. 11241 of August 26, 1965, No. 11360 of June 30, 1967, and constituting portions of Chapter XVI of Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

1. Section 1631.4, Calls by the Secretary of Defense, is amended by revoking paragraphs (b) and (c) and re-designating paragraph (d) as (b).

2. Section 1631.5, Calls by the Director of Selective Service, is amended by adding a new paragraph (d), to read as follows:

"(d) The Director of Selective Service shall establish a random selection sequence for induction. Such random selection sequence shall be determined as the President may direct, and shall be applied nationwide. The first sequence shall determine the order of selection of registrants (other than delinquents or volunteers) who prior to January 1, 1970, shall have attained their nineteenth year of age but not their twenty-sixth. New random selection sequences shall be established, in a similar manner, for registrants who attain their nineteenth year of age on or after January 1, 1970. The random sequence number determined for any registrant shall apply to him so long as he remains subject to random selection. A random sequence number established for a registrant shall be equivalent, for purposes of selection, to the same random sequence number established for other registrants in other drawings."

3. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of Section 1631.7, Action by Local Board Upon Receipt of Notice of Call, are revoked, paragraph (c) is redesignated as paragraph (b), and a new paragraph (a) is prescribed to read as follows:

"(a) When a call is received by a Notice of Call on Local Board (SSS Form 201) from the State Director of Selective Service for a specified number of men to be delivered for induction, or for a specified number of men in a medical, dental, or allied specialist category to be delivered for induction, the Executive Secretary or clerk, if so authorized, or a local board member shall select and issue orders to report for induction to the number of men required to fill the call from among its registrants who have been classified in Class I-A or Class I-A-O and have been found acceptable for service in the Armed Forces and to whom a Statement of Acceptability (DD Form 62) has been mailed at least 21 days before the date fixed for induction: Provided, That any registrant classified in Class I-A or Class I-A-O who is subject to random selection as herein provided, whose random sequence number has been reached, and who would have been ordered to report for induction except for delays due to a pending personal appearance, appeal, preinduction examination, reclassification, or otherwise, shall if and when found acceptable and when such delay is concluded, be ordered to report for induction next after delinquents and volunteers even if the year in which he otherwise would have been ordered to report has ended and even if (in cases of extended liability) he has attained his twenty-sixth birthday: Provided further, That a registrant classified in Class I-A or Class I-A-O who has volunteered for induction or who is a delinquent may be selected and ordered to report for induction to fill an induction call notwithstanding the fact that he has not been found acceptable for service in the Armed Forces and regardless of whether or not a Statement of Acceptability (DD Form 62) has been mailed to him. Registrants shall be selected and ordered to report for induction in the following categories and in the order indicated:

"(1) Delinquents who have attained the age of 19 years in the order of their dates of birth with the oldest being selected first.

"(2) Volunteers who have not attained the age of 26 years in the sequence in which they have volunteered for induction.

"(3) (i) 1970. In the calendar year 1970, nonvolunteers born on or after January 1, 1944, and on or before December 31, 1950, who have not attained the 26th anniversary of the dates of their birth, in the order of their random sequence numbers established by random selection procedures prescribed in accordance with paragraph (d) of section 1631.5. The nonvolunteers thus subject to selection are designated the 1970 Selection Group and constitute category (3) for 1970. Members of the 1970 Selection Group on December 31, 1970, whose random sequence numbers have not been reached by that date, shall be assigned to the priority group which is immediately below the First Priority Selection Group for 1971.

"(ii) 1971 and Later Years. For calendar year 1971, and for each subsequent year, a new First Priority Selection Group and lower priority groups shall be established which together will constitute category (3) for that year. The First Priority Selection Group shall consist (A) of nonvolunteers in Class I-A and Class I-A-O who prior to January 1 of each such calendar year have attained the age of 19 years but not of 20 years, and (B) of non-volunteers who prior to January 1 of each such calendar year have attained the age of 19 but not of 26 years and who during that year are classified into Class I-A or Class I-A-O following expiration of their deferments or exemptions or otherwise. Members of each such First Priority Selection Group, who have not attained the 26th anniversary of the dates of their birth, shall be selected in the order of their random sequence numbers. Members of each such First Priority Selection Group on December 31 of the respective calendar year whose random sequence numbers are not reached by that date shall be assigned to successively lower priority groups, so that those who were in the 1970 Selection Group and who move into a lower priority group at the end of 1970 as herein provided will be in the lowest such group, those who were in the 1971 First Priority Selection Group will be in the next to the lowest such group, and so forth. Any registrant who was subject to selection in the 1970 Selection Group or in the First Priority Selection Group for any subsequent year, who thereafter is assigned to a lower priority group in category (3), who while in such a lower priority group receives a deferment or exemption, and who subsequently is reclassified into Class I-A or Class I-A-O, shall be reassigned to the priority group in which he would have been if he had not received such deferment or exemption.

"(iii) Certain Registrants Married Before August 27, 1965. Within each group in category (3) there shall be a subgroup consisting of registrants who have a wife whom they married on or before August 26, 1965, and with whom they maintain a bona fide family relationship in their homes. Registrants in any such subgroup shall be in all respects subject to this paragraph, except that they shall be selected after other registrants in the group of which that subgroup is a part.

"(4) Nonvolunteers who attain the age of 19 years during the calendar year but who have not attained the age of 20 years, in the order of their dates of birth with the oldest being selected first.

"(5) Nonvolunteers who have attained the age of 26 years in the order of their dates of birth with the youngest being selected first.

"(6) Nonvolunteers who have attained the age of 18 years and 6 months and who have not attained the age of 19 years in the order of their dates of birth with the oldest being selected first."

RICHARD NIXON

The White House,

November 26, 1969