§ 456. Deferments and exemptions from training and service
(a)
(1)
Commissioned officers, warrant officers, pay clerks, enlisted men, and aviation cadets of the Regular Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and the Environmental Science Services Administration; [1] cadets, United States Military Academy; midshipmen, United States Naval Academy; cadets, United States Air Force Academy; cadets, United States Coast Guard Academy; midshipmen, Merchant Marine Reserve, members of the United States Navy Reserve; students enrolled in an officer procurement program at military colleges the curriculum of which is approved by the Secretary of Defense; members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces and the Coast Guard, while on active duty; and foreign diplomatic representatives, technical attaches of foreign embassies and legations, consuls general, consuls, vice consuls and other consular agents of foreign countries who are not citizens of the United States, and members of their families, and persons in other categories to be specified by the President who are not citizens of the United States, shall not be required to be registered under section
3 [section
453 of this Appendix] and shall be relieved from liability for training and service under section
4 [section
454 of this Appendix], except that aliens admitted for permanent residence in the United States shall not be so exempted: Provided, That any alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence as defined in paragraph (20) of section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (66 Stat. 163, 8 U.S.C. 1101), and who by reason of occupational status is subject to adjustment to nonimmigrant status under paragraph (15)(A), (15)(E), or (15)(G) of such section
101
(a) [8 U.S.C. 1101
(a)(15)(A), (E), or (G)] but who executes a waiver in accordance with section 247(b) of that Act [8 U.S.C. 1257
(b)] of all rights, privileges, exemptions, and immunities which would otherwise accrue to him as a result of that occupational status, shall be subject to registration under section 3 of this Act [section
453 of this Appendix], but shall be deferred from induction for training and service for so long as such occupational status continues. Any person who subsequent to June 24, 1948, serves on active duty for a period of not less than twelve months in the armed forces of a nation with which the United States is associated in mutual defense activities as defined by the President, may be exempted from training and service, but not from registration, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the President, except that no such exemption shall be granted to any person who is a national of a country which does not grant reciprocal privileges to citizens of the United States: Provided, That any active duty performed prior to June 24, 1948, by a person in the armed forces of a country allied with the United States during World War II and with which the United States is associated in such mutual defense activities, shall be credited in the computation of such twelve-month period: Provided further, That any person who is in a medical, dental, or allied specialist category not otherwise deferred or exempted under this subsection shall be liable for registration and training and service until the thirty-fifth anniversary of the date of his birth.
(2)
Commissioned officers of the Public Health Service and members of the Reserve of the Public Health Service while on active duty and assigned to staff the various offices and bureaus of the Public Health Service, including the National Institutes of Health, or assigned to the Coast Guard, the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, or the Environmental Science Services Administration [1] or who are assigned to assist Indian tribes, groups, bands, or communities pursuant to the Act of August 5, 1954 (68 Stat. 674), as amended [42 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.], shall not be required to be registered under section
3 [section
453 of this Appendix] and shall be relieved from liability for training and service under section
4 [section
454 of this Appendix]. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, commissioned officers of the Public Health Service and members of the Reserve of the Public Health Service who, prior to the enactment of this paragraph [June 30, 1967], had been detailed or assigned to duty other than that specified in the preceding sentence shall not be required to be registered under section
3 [section
453 of this Appendix] and shall be relieved from liability for training and service under section
4 [section
454 of this Appendix].
(b)
(1)
No person who served honorably on active duty between September 16, 1940, and the date of enactment of this title [June 24, 1948] for a period of twelve months or more, or between December 7, 1941, and September 2, 1945, for a period in excess of ninety days, in the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, the Public Health Service, or the armed forces of any country allied with the United States in World War II prior to September 2, 1945, shall be liable for induction for training and service under this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix], except after a declaration of war or national emergency made by the Congress subsequent to the date of enactment of this title [June 24, 1948].
(2)
No person who served honorably on active duty between September 16, 1940, and the date of enactment of this title [June 24, 1948] for a period of ninety days or more but less than twelve months in the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, the Public Health Service, or the armed forces of any country allied with the United States in World War II prior to September 2, 1945, shall be liable for induction for training and service under this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix], except after a declaration of war or national emergency made by the Congress subsequent to the date of enactment of this title [June 24, 1948], if—
(A)
the local board determines that he is regularly enlisted or commissioned in any organized unit of a reserve component of the armed force in which he served, provided such unit is reasonably accessible to such person without unduly interrupting his normal pursuits and activities (including attendance at a college or university in which he is regularly enrolled), or in a reserve component (other than in an organized unit) of such armed force in any case in which enlistment or commission in an organized unit of a reserve component of such armed force is not available to him; or
(B)
the local board determines that enlistment or commission in a reserve component of such armed force is not available to him or that he has voluntarily enlisted or accepted appointment in an organized unit of a reserve component of an armed force other than the armed force in which he served.
Nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to be applicable to any person to whom paragraph (1) of this subsection is applicable.
(3)
Except as provided in section 5(a) of this Act [section
455
(a) of this Appendix], and notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no person who
(A)
has served honorably on active duty after September 16, 1940, for a period of not less than one year in the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps, or the Coast Guard, or
(B)
subsequent to September 16, 1940, was discharged for the convenience of the Government after having served honorably on active duty for a period of not less than six months in the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps, or the Coast Guard, or
(C)
has served for a period of not less than twenty-four months
(ii)
as a commissioned officer in the Coast and Geodetic Survey,[2] shall be liable for induction for training and service under this Act, except after a declaration of war or national emergency made by the Congress subsequent to the date of enactment of this title [June 24, 1948].
(4)
No person who is honorably discharged upon the completion of an enlistment pursuant to section
4
(c) [section
454
(c) of this Appendix] shall be liable for induction for training and service under this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix], except after a declaration of war or national emergency made by the Congress subsequent to the date of enactment of this title [June 24, 1948].
(5)
For the purposes of computation of the periods of active duty referred to in paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection, no credit shall be allowed for—
(A)
periods of active duty training performed as a member of a reserve component pursuant to an order or call to active duty solely for training purposes;
(B)
periods of active duty in which the service consisted solely of training under the Army specialized training program, the Army Air Force college training program, or any similar program under the jurisdiction of the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard;
(c)
(1)
Persons who, on February 1, 1951, were members of organized units of the federally recognized National Guard, the federally recognized Air National Guard, the Officers’ Reserve Corps, the Regular Army Reserve, the Air Force Reserve, the Enlisted Reserve Corps, the Naval Reserve, the Marine Corps Reserve, the Coast Guard Reserve, or the Public Health Service Reserve, shall, so long as they continue to be such members and satisfactorily participate in scheduled drills and training periods as prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, be exempt from training and service by induction under the provisions of this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix], but shall not be exempt from registration unless on active duty.
(2)
(A)
Any person, other than a person referred to in subsection (d) of this section, who—
(ii)
prior to the date scheduled for his induction and pursuant to a proclamation by the Governor of a State to the effect that the authorized strength of any organized unit of the National Guard of that State cannot be maintained by the enlistment or appointment of persons who have not been issued orders to report for induction under this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix]; or
(iii)
prior to the date scheduled for his induction and pursuant to a determination by the President that the strength of the Ready Reserve of the Army Reserve, Naval Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, or Coast Guard Reserve cannot be maintained by the enlistment or appointment of persons who have not been issued orders to report for induction under this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix];
enlists or accepts appointment, before attaining the age of 26 years, in the Ready Reserve of any Reserve component of the Armed Forces, the Army National Guard, or the Air National Guard, shall be deferred from training and service under this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix] so long as he serves satisfactorily as a member of an organized unit of such Reserve or National Guard in accordance with section
10147 of title
10 or section
502 of title
32, United States Code, as the case may be, or satisfactorily performs such other Ready Reserve service as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. Enlistments or appointments under subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of this clause may be accepted notwithstanding the provisions of section
15
(d) of this title [section
465
(d) of this Appendix]. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (h) of this section, no person deferred under this clause who has completed six years of such satisfactory service as a member of the Ready Reserve or National Guard, and who during such service has performed active duty for training with an armed force for not less than twelve consecutive weeks, shall be liable for induction for training and service under this Act, except after a declaration of war or national emergency made by the Congress after August 9, 1955. In no event shall the number of enlistments or appointments made under authority of this paragraph in any fiscal year in any Reserve component of the Armed Forces or in the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard cause the personnel strength of such Reserve component or the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard, as the case may be, to exceed the personnel strength for which funds have been made available by the Congress for such fiscal year.
(B)
A person who, under any provision of law, is exempt or deferred from training and service under this Act by reason of membership in a reserve component, the Army National Guard, or the Air National Guard, as the case may be, shall, if he becomes a member of another reserve component, the Army National Guard, or the Air National Guard, as the case may be, continue to be exempt or deferred to the same extent as if he had not become a member of another reserve component, the Army National Guard, or the Air National Guard, as the case may be, so long as he continues to serve satisfactorily.
(C)
Except as provided in subsection (b) and the provisions of this subsection, no person who becomes a member of a reserve component after February 1, 1951, shall thereby be exempt from registration or training and service by induction under the provisions of this Act.
(D)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the President, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, may provide that any person enlisted or appointed after October 4, 1961, in the Ready Reserve of any reserve component of the Armed Forces (other than under section
12103 of title
10, United States Code), the Army National Guard, or the Air National Guard, prior to attaining age of twenty-six years, or any person enlisted or appointed in the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard or enlisted in the Ready Reserve of any reserve component prior to attaining the age of eighteen years and six months and deferred under the prior provisions of this paragraph as amended by the Act of October 4, 1961, Public Law 87–378 (75 Stat. 807), or under section 262 of the Armed Forces Reserve Act of 1952, as amended [50 U.S.C. 1013], who fails to serve satisfactorily during his obligated period of service as a member of such Ready Reserve or National Guard or the Ready Reserve of another reserve component or the National Guard of which he becomes a member, may be selected for training and service and inducted into the armed force of which such reserve component is a part, prior to the selection and induction of other persons liable therefor.
(d)
(1)
Within such numbers as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, any person who
(A)
has been or may hereafter be selected for enrollment or continuance in the senior division, Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or the Air Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or the Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or the naval and Marine Corps officer candidate training program established by the Act of August 13, 1946 (60 Stat. 1057), as amended, or the Reserve officers’ candidate program of the Navy, or the platoon leaders’ class of the Marine Corps, or the officer procurement programs of the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Reserve, or appointed an ensign, United States Navy Reserve, while undergoing professional training;
(B)
agrees, in writing, to accept a commission, if tendered, and to serve, subject to order of the Secretary of the military department having jurisdiction over him (or the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the United States Coast Guard), not less than two years on active duty after receipt of a commission; and
(C)
agrees to remain a member of a regular or reserve component until the eighth anniversary of the receipt of a commission in accordance with his obligation under the first sentence of section
651 of title
10, United States Code, or until the sixth anniversary of the receipt of a commission in accordance with his obligation under the second sentence of section
651 of title
10, United States Code, shall be deferred from induction under this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix] until after completion or termination of the course of instruction and so long as he continues in a regular or reserve status upon being commissioned, but shall not be exempt from registration. Such persons, except those persons who have previously completed an initial period of military training or an equivalent period of active military training and service, shall be required while enrolled in such programs to complete a period of training equal (as determined under regulations approved by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the United States Coast Guard) in duration and type of training to an initial period of military training. There shall be added to the obligated active commissioned service of any person who has agreed to perform such obligatory service in return for financial assistance while attending a civilian college under any such training program a period of not to exceed one year. Except as provided in paragraph (5), upon the successful completion by any person of the required course of instruction under any program listed in clause (A) of the first sentence of this paragraph, such person shall be tendered a commission in the appropriate reserve component of the Armed Forces if he is otherwise qualified for such appointment. If, at the time of, or subsequent to, such appointment, the armed force in which such person is commissioned does not require his service on active duty in fulfillment of the obligation undertaken by him in compliance with clause (B) of the first sentence of this paragraph, such person shall be ordered to active duty for training with such armed force in the grade in which he was commissioned for a period of active duty for training of not more than six months (not including duty performed under section
10147 of title
10, United States Code), as determined by the Secretary of the military department concerned to be necessary to qualify such person for a mobilization assignment. Upon being commissioned and assigned to a reserve component, such person shall be required to serve therein, or in a reserve component of any other armed force in which he is later appointed, until the eighth anniversary of the receipt of such commission pursuant to the provisions of this section. So long as such person performs satisfactory service, as determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, he shall be deferred from training and service under the provisions of this Act. If such person fails to perform satisfactory service, and such failure is not excused under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, his commission may be revoked by the Secretary of the military department concerned.
(2)
In addition to the training programs enumerated in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and under such regulations as the Secretary of Defense (or the Secretary of the Treasury [3] with respect to the United States Coast Guard) may approve, the Secretaries of the military departments and the Secretary of the Treasury [3] are authorized to establish officer candidate programs leading to the commissioning of persons on active duty. Any person heretofore or hereafter enlisted in the Army Reserve, the Navy Reserve, the Marine Corps Reserve, the Air Force Reserve, or the Coast Guard Reserve who thereafter has been or may be commissioned therein upon graduation from an Officers’ Candidate School of such Armed Force shall, if not ordered to active duty as a commissioned officer, be deferred from training and service under the provisions of this Act so long as he performs satisfactory service as a commissioned officer in an appropriate unit of the Ready Reserve, as determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the department concerned. If such person fails to perform satisfactory service in such unit, and such failure is not excused under such regulations, his commission may be revoked by such Secretary.
(3)
Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to preclude the President from providing, by regulations prescribed under subsection (h) of this section, for the deferment from training and service of any category or categories of students for such periods of time as he may deem appropriate.
(5)
Notwithstanding paragraph (1), upon the successful completion by any person of the required course of instruction under any Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program listed in clause (A) of the first sentence of paragraph (1) and subject to the approval of the Secretary of the military department having jurisdiction over him, such person may, without being relieved of his obligation under that sentence, be tendered, and accept, a commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration instead of a commission in the appropriate reserve component of the Armed Forces. If he does not serve on active duty as a commissioned officer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for at least six years, he shall, upon discharge therefrom, be tendered a commission in the appropriate reserve component of the Armed Forces, if he is otherwise qualified for such appointment, and, in fulfillment of his obligation under the first sentence of paragraph (1), remain a member of a reserve component until the sixth anniversary of the receipt of his commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. While a member of a reserve component he may, in addition to as otherwise provided by law, be ordered to active duty for such period that, when added to the period he served on active duty as a commissioned officer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, equals two years.
(e)
Fully qualified and accepted aviation cadet applicants of the Army, Navy, or Air Force who have signed an agreement of service shall, in such numbers as may be designated by the Secretary of Defense, be deferred, during the period covered by the agreement but not to exceed four months, from induction for training and service under this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix] but shall not be exempt from registration.
(f)
The Vice President of the United States; the governors of the several States, Territories, and possessions, and all other officials chosen by the voters of the entire State, Territory, or possession; members of the legislative bodies of the United States and of the several States, Territories, and possessions; judges of the courts of record of the United States and of the several States, Territories, possessions, and the District of Columbia shall, while holding such offices, be deferred from training and service under this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix] in the armed forces of the United States.
(g)
(1)
Regular or duly ordained ministers of religion, as defined in this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix], shall be exempt from training and service, but not from registration, under this title [said sections].
(2)
Students preparing for the ministry under the direction of recognized churches or religious organizations, who are satisfactorily pursuing full-time courses of instruction in recognized theological or divinity schools, or who are satisfactorily pursuing full-time courses of instruction leading to their entrance into recognized theological or divinity schools in which they have been preenrolled, shall be deferred from training and service, but not from registration, under this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix]. Persons who are or may be deferred under the provisions of this subsection shall remain liable for training and service in the Armed Forces under the provisions of section 4(a) of this Act [section
454
(a) of this Appendix] until the thirty-fifth anniversary of the date of their birth. The foregoing sentence shall not be construed to prevent the exemption or continued deferment of such persons if otherwise exempted or deferrable under any other provision of this Act.
(h)
Except as otherwise provided in this subsection the President is authorized, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, to provide for the deferment from training and service in the Armed Forces of any or all categories of persons whose employment in industry, agriculture, or other occupations or employment, or whose continued service in an Office (other than an Office described in subsection (f)) under the United States or any State, territory, or possession, or the District of Columbia, or whose activity in study, research, or medical, dental, veterinary, optometric, osteopathic, scientific, pharmaceutical, chiropractic, chiropodial, or other endeavors is found to be necessary to the maintenance of the national health, safety, or interest: Provided, That no person within any such category shall be deferred except upon the basis of his individual status: Provided further, That persons who are or may be deferred under the provisions of this section shall remain liable for training and service in the Armed Forces under the provisions of section 4(a) of this Act [section
454
(a) of this Appendix] until the thirty-fifth anniversary of the date of their birth. This proviso shall not be construed to prevent the continued deferment of such persons if otherwise deferrable under any other provisions of this Act. The President is also authorized, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, to provide for the deferment from training and service in the Armed Forces
(1)
of any or all categories of persons in a status with respect to persons (other than wives alone, except in cases of extreme hardship) dependent upon them for support which renders their deferment advisable, and
(2)
of any or all categories of those persons found to be physically, mentally, or morally deficient or defective. For the purpose of determining whether or not the deferment of any person is advisable, because of his status with respect to persons dependent upon him for support, any payments of allowances which are payable by the United States to the dependents of persons serving in the Armed Forces of the United States shall be taken into consideration, but the fact that such payments of allowances are payable shall not be deemed conclusively to remove the grounds for deferment when the dependency is based upon financial considerations and shall not be deemed to remove the ground for deferment when the dependency is based upon other than financial considerations and cannot be eliminated by financial assistance to the dependents. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the President is also authorized, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, to provide for the deferment from training and service in the Armed Forces of any or all categories of persons who have children, or wives and children, with whom they maintain a bona fide family relationship in their homes. No deferment from such training and service in the Armed Forces shall be made in the case of any individual except upon the basis of the status of such individual. There shall be posted in a conspicuous place at the office of each local board a list setting forth the names and classifications of those persons who have been classified by such local board. The President may, in carrying out the provisions of this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix], recommend criteria for the classification of persons subject to induction under this title [said sections], and to the extent that such action is determined by the President to be consistent with the national interest, recommend that such criteria be administered uniformly throughout the United States whenever practicable; except that no local board, appeal board, or other agency of appeal of the Selective Service System shall be required to postpone or defer any person by reason of his activity in study, research, or medical, dental, veterinary, optometric, osteopathic, scientific, pharmaceutical, chiropractic, chiropodial, or other endeavors found to be necessary to the maintenance of the national health, safety, or interest solely on the basis of any test, examination, selection system, class standing, or any other means conducted, sponsored, administered, or prepared by any agency or department of the Federal Government, or any private institution, corporation, association, partnership, or individual employed by an agency or department of the Federal Government.
(i)
(1)
Any person who is satisfactorily pursuing a full-time course of instruction at a high school or similar institution of learning and is issued an order for induction shall, upon the facts being presented to the local board, have his induction postponed
(C)
until he ceases satisfactorily to pursue such course of instruction, whichever is the earliest. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, any person who attains the twentieth anniversary of his birth after beginning his last academic year of high school shall have his induction postponed until the end of that academic year if and so long as he continues to pursue satisfactorily a full-time course of instruction.
(2)
Any person who while satisfactorily pursuing a full-time course of instruction at a college, university, or similar institution is ordered to report for induction under this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix], shall, upon the appropriate facts being presented to the local board, have his induction postponed
(A)
until the end of the semester or term, or academic year in the case of his last academic year, or
(j)
Nothing contained in this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix] shall be construed to require any person to be subject to combatant training and service in the armed forces of the United States who, by reason of religious training and belief, is conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form. As used in this subsection, the term “religious training and belief” does not include essentially political, sociological, or philosophical views, or a merely personal moral code. Any person claiming exemption from combatant training and service because of such conscientious objections whose claim is sustained by the local board shall, if he is inducted into the armed forces under this title [said sections], be assigned to noncombatant service as defined by the President, or shall, if he is found to be conscientiously opposed to participation in such noncombatant service, in lieu of such induction, be ordered by his local board, subject to such regulations as the President may prescribe, to perform for a period equal to the period prescribed in section
4
(b) [section
454
(b) of this Appendix] such civilian work contributing to the maintenance of the national health, safety, or interest as the Director may deem appropriate and any such person who knowingly fails or neglects to obey any such order from his local board shall be deemed, for the purposes of section
12 of this title [section
462 of this Appendix], to have knowingly failed or neglected to perform a duty required of him under this title [said sections]. The Director shall be responsible for finding civilian work for persons exempted from training and service under this subsection and for the placement of such persons in appropriate civilian work contributing to the maintenance of the national health, safety, or interest.
(k)
No exception from registration, or exemption or deferment from training and service, under this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix], shall continue after the cause therefor ceases to exist.
(l)
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one shall be discharged from service in the armed forces of the United States while this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix] is in effect because such person entered such service without the consent of his parent or guardian.
(m)
No person shall be relieved from training and service under this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix] by reason of conviction of a criminal offense, except where the offense of which he has been convicted may be punished by death, or by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
(n)
In the case of any registrant whose principal place of employment is located outside the appeal board area in which the local board having jurisdiction over the registrant is located, any occupational deferment made under subsection (h) of this section may, within five days after such deferment is made, be submitted for review and decision to the appeal board having jurisdiction over the area in which is located the principal place of employment of the registrant. Such decision of the appeal board shall be final unless modified or changed by the President, and such decision shall be made public.
(o)
Except during the period of a war or a national emergency declared by Congress, no person may be inducted for training and service under this title [sections
451 to
471a of this Appendix] unless he volunteers for such induction—
(1)
if the father or the mother or a brother or a sister of such person was killed in action or died in line of duty while serving in the Armed Forces after December 31, 1959, or died subsequent to such date as a result of injuries received or disease incurred in line of duty during such service, or
(2)
during any period of time in which the father or the mother or a brother or a sister of such person is in a captured or missing status as a result of such service.
As used in this subsection, the term “brother” or “sister” means a brother of the whole blood or a sister of the whole blood, as the case may be.
[1] See Transfer of Functions note below.
[2] See Transfer of Functions note below.
[3] See Transfer of Functions note below.