Tennessee
New Automatic Selective Service law fuels military draft fears in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A new federal law tied to Selective Service registration is stirring up concern online, with some young men wondering whether the U.S. could be moving closer to a military draft.
But a retired Army recruiting official in Tennessee says that is not what this law does.
The change, set to take effect in December, would automatically register eligible men for Selective Service instead of relying on them to sign up themselves.
The Selective Service System (SSS), which maintains the database of men eligible for a draft, states on its website that under the new, “streamlined” registration process, responsibility for registering will shift “from individual men to SSS through integration with federal data sources.”
Almost all male citizens and male immigrants between the ages of 18 and 25 are required by federal law to register with the SSS within 30 days of either marking their18th birthday or entering the U.S.
Men who fail to register can become ineligible for state financial aid, state and federal employment, and—in the case of male immigrants—U.S. citizenship.
A new federal law tied to Selective Service registration is stirring up concern online, with some young men wondering whether the U.S. could be moving closer to a military draft. (Photo: WZTV)
The 2026 NDAA amends the Military Selective Service Act to include language stating that men between the ages of 18 and 26 “shall be automatically registered under this Act by the Director of the Selective Service System.”
Men will be automatically registered within 30 days of their 18th birthday under the new policy, the same period during which eligible men are currently required to self-register.
They will then receive written notice that they have been registered, per the NDAA—and be notified of the process for contesting their registration, if they fall into the select groups who are exempt from the requirements.
The proposed rule will not change who is required to register.
That distinction is getting lost online.
“I’ve heard that there’s like a possibility like 18- to 25-year-olds have to enter into the draft pool by like December or something,” said Zach Rutter, a 22-year-old Vanderbilt senior. “But that’s all I really know.”
Rutter said the idea of “automatic registration” does raise concern.
“It does make me a little more concerned that it’s like a possibility. It could happen,” he said. “But it seems like kind of far in the future if it does.”
Even after learning the law does not create a draft and instead automatically handles a process already required, Rudder said the change still makes some people wonder why it is happening now.
“It just does kind of make me think there’s a possibility that, you know, they’re kind of thinking in the back of their heads, they might need a draft,” he said. “So that’s like my bigger concern, I guess.”
That fear is exactly what Lee Elder says many people are getting wrong.
Elder is a retired civilian employee for Army Recruiting Command, where he worked for 27 years, and a retired Tennessee National Guard officer who served in Desert Storm, Bosnia and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“No, I don’t see it happening,” Elder said when asked whether the U.S. is headed toward a military draft.
He said bringing back a draft would take far more than automatic registration.
“For one thing, it would take congressional approval to do that,” Elder said. “The American public, they love the all-volunteer Army. You say the draft or the D word and people get upset.”
Elder said people are confusing two very different things.
“Enrolling a person is one thing. Putting them in the military service is something totally different,” he said.
He described the new law as more of an administrative change than a signal that a draft is imminent.
“If you’re a male and you reach your 18th birthday, then you need to sign up for Selective Service. You have to do this anyway,” Elder said. “So like I said, I just see it more as a convenience for the government.”
Elder also said even in a worst-case scenario, a draft would not happen overnight.
“It would take weeks, if not months, just to sort out from the list who is qualified and who is not,” he said.
He noted that only a fraction of the population would even meet military qualifications, and said the armed forces already have other options before anything like a draft would be considered, including active-duty troops, reserves and National Guard members.
“A full-scale mobilization simply isn’t in the picture,” Elder said. “It would take a while to pass Congress. It would take a while to get funded. It would take a while to be implemented. It would take months to get draftees into uniform and train them and prepare them for a combat mission.”
Elder said the type of event that would likely be needed to trigger a draft would be much more severe than current world tensions.
“I think you’d have to have several things happen,” he said. “First of all, there’d have to be a threat to our territory, to our homeland. And with anything else we do in our form of government; you’ve got to have a majority of people who support it. And neither of those conditions seem to be in play right now.”
He said he believes much of the panic is being driven by misunderstanding and alarmist posts online.
“I think there’s a lot of people who like to sound the alarm for threats that really aren’t that substantial,” Elder said. “But again, I just don’t see it as a realistic possibility at this point.”
For young men like Rutter, that explanation may calm some fears, but not all of them.
While he said he is not entirely opposed to automatic registration since Selective Service is already required, he also understands why people his age are uneasy.
The law may not start a draft, but as debate over global conflict continues online, the word “draft” alone is enough to get attention.
Tennessee
A Tennessee congressman introduced a federal bill to crack down on fake emergency calls. Here’s what to know about swatting.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A U.S. congressman from Tennessee has introduced a bill to crack down on swatting.
Rep. David Kustoff (R, TN-8) introduced the “Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act,” which would strengthen federal penalties for swatting.
The measure says, “This bill makes it a crime to intentionally convey false or misleading information in circumstances where the information may reasonably be expected to cause an emergency response and the information indicates the occurrence of criminal conduct or a threat to health or safety (commonly referred to as swatting).”
This comes after more than half a dozen schools in Tennessee were all placed on lockdown this week after hoax school threats.
Here’s which TN schools were impacted by ‘hoax’ threats, and what to know about the swatting investigations
What is swatting?
According to the FBI, swatting is when a person calls 911 and fakes an emergency that draws a response from law enforcement — usually a SWAT team.
The calls can put first responders and victims in dangerous situations, the FBI said, as the callers often report tales of hostages about to be executed or bombs about to go off.
“The community is placed in danger as responders rush to the scene, taking them away from real emergencies,” the FBI said. “And the officers are placed in danger as unsuspecting residents may try to defend themselves.”
While the FBI does not have a publicly recorded number of swatting calls that have been made year over year in the U.S., the National Association of Attorneys General says swatting threats have escalated across the U.S. Because of this, several states have taken targeted action to criminalize these calls, including Kentucky, which in 2022 approved a bill that would increase penalties for falsely reporting emergencies and allow courts to order restitution to affected agencies or individuals.
According to the FBI’s 2023 Year in Review report, it launched the National Common Operating Picture database to track swatting events. The agency reported more than 300 incidents between May and September of 2023.
The K-12 School Shooting Database recorded swatting incidents at U.S. schools from 2023 to 2024. The highest number of reported incidents occurred in March 2023, with 210. The second-most was 148 in February 2023.
Recent swatting incidents in Tennessee
On Tuesday, a flurry of swatting incidents caused several schools in Middle Tennessee to be put on lockdown and lockout, drawing responses from several law enforcement agencies and disrupting students’ education.
In April, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a threat made against a student at Independence High School.
The school was placed on a brief lockdown as the sheriff’s office investigated the threat.
The sheriff’s office later determined that the call was actually a swatting incident and was likely made from out-of-state.
A spokesperson for Williamson County Schools said some similar false threat calls were made to other schools in the area as well.
The investigation into that incident is ongoing.
Earlier this year, an East Tennessee teen was arrested for allegedly making four swatting calls to the McMinnville Police Department. The caller reported that a person had been shot and another was being held hostage.
The 17-year-old Maryville boy admitted to being angry at another teen staying at a McMinnville home and paying someone to call false emergencies and being present when the calls were made.
The Associated Press reported in 2025 about a wave of swatting calls at multiple college campuses in August.
One of the first incidents in this wave occurred in Tennessee at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga when authorities received false calls reporting an active shooter with an AR-15-style rifle and four people shot.
The AP reported that dispatchers reported hearing multiple gunshots on the calls.
Ways to protect yourself from swatters
The FBI shared measures you can take to protect yourself from swatters, including:
- Review your online presence for sensitive personal information that could enable malicious actors to conduct a swatting attack.
- Exercise care when posting content (including photos and videos) or sharing it with individuals online. Although seemingly innocuous, images and videos can be exploited or manipulated by malicious actors for criminal activity.
- Consider online resources and services that may aid in reducing or removing sensitive publicly available information.
- Use strong, unique passwords and multi-factor authentication on all devices and accounts, including smart home devices.
- Discuss swatting with your family members or colleagues and have a plan in place in the event of law enforcement contact at your residence, business, or other location.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee environmental officials and electric transportation partners have released an updated roadmap for the state’s electric vehicle future.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Office of Energy Programs and Drive Electric Tennessee released the 2026 Roadmap for Electric Vehicles in Tennessee, which builds on the state’s original EV strategy from 2019.
The updated plan lays out priorities for the next decade, including a goal to support the deployment of 750,000 light-duty electric vehicles in Tennessee by 2035.
The roadmap also addresses medium- and heavy-duty vehicle electrification, charging infrastructure, battery recycling, second-life battery use, bi-directional charging and smart charge management technologies.
State officials said Tennessee’s EV landscape has changed in recent years because of growing consumer interest, manufacturing investment, expanded charging infrastructure and federal, state, utility and local programs.
Since the original roadmap was released, Drive Electric Tennessee and its partners have completed more than 40 EV-related projects. Those efforts have included assessing charging needs, connecting fleet operators with EV options, hosting demonstrations and developing best practices for local policy.
TDEC said Tennessee’s automotive manufacturing base and EV supply chain could help the state benefit economically from transportation electrification through job creation and private investment.
Officials also said EV adoption could help reduce transportation costs for households and fleets, improve air quality and support energy independence by using locally produced electricity as a transportation fuel.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the transportation sector made up 46.1% of Tennessee’s total energy consumption in 2023, making it the state’s largest energy-consuming end-use sector.
For additional information on transportation electrification in Tennessee, visit the TDEC website.
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