Govt. computer glitch sends military draft letters to people over 100 years old

By Konrad Krawczyk July 11, 2014

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According to The Washington Post, a government computer glitch is the reason why some Pennsylvania residents are receiving letters requesting that any males born between 1893 and 1897 register for the U.S. military draft.

Letters were sent out to roughly 14,000 men in Pennsylvnia, after a problem occurred during a “routine automated data transfer” between the state of Pennsylvania, and the Selective Service. The agency acknowledged the problem on its official website, and issued an apology as well.

“Selective Service apologizes for a June 30, 2014 mailing to 14,215 Pennsylvania men reminding them that they should register,” an official Selective Service System notice reads.”

Fortunately, the people don’t have to take any action to correct this error, and are free to toss it away with no fear of repercussions.

These military draft letters apply to Pennsylvanian men who are over 115 years old.

Though registration for the Selective Service is mandatory (you can be fined and imprisoned if you refuse to sign up), the draft has not been used to raise an army here in the U.S. since the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975.

Konrad Krawczyk

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…

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