(a) A member of the armed forces may not be assigned to active duty on land outside the United States and its territories and possessions until the member has completed the basic training requirements of the armed force of which he is a member.
(b) In time of war or a national emergency declared by Congress or the President, the period of required basic training (or its equivalent) may not (except as provided in subsection (c)) be less than 12 weeks.
(c)
(1) A period of basic training (or equivalent training) shorter than 12 weeks may be established by the Secretary concerned for members of the armed forces who have been credentialed in a medical profession or occupation and are serving in a health-care occupational specialty, as determined under regulations prescribed under paragraph (2). Any such period shall be established under regulations prescribed under paragraph (2) and may be established notwithstanding section 4(a) of the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. 3803(a)).
(2) The Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, shall prescribe regulations for the purposes of paragraph (1). The regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense shall apply uniformly to the military departments.
Open Table| Revised section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
|---|---|---|
| 671 | 50 App.:454(a) (words between semicolon and proviso of 6th par.). | June 24, 1948, ch. 625, §4(a) (words between semicolon and proviso of 6th par.); restated June 19, 1951, ch. 144, §1(d) (words between semicolon and proviso of 6th par.), 65 Stat. 78. |
The words "four months of basic training or its equivalent" are substituted for the words "the equivalent of at least four months of basic training". The words "who is enlisted, inducted, appointed, or ordered to active duty after the date of enactment of the 1951 Amendments to the Universal Military Training and Service Act [June 19, 1951]" and "at any installation located" are omitted as surplusage.
Amendments
2016—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 114–328 substituted "(50 U.S.C. 3803(a))" for "(50 U.S.C. App. 454(a))".
2002—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 107–296 substituted "of Homeland Security" for "of Transportation".
1993—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–160, §511(1), inserted "(except as provided in subsection (c))" after "may not".
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–160, §511(2), added subsec. (c).
1986—Pub. L. 99–661 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: "No member of an armed force may be assigned to active duty on land outside the United States and its Territories and possessions, until he has had twelve weeks of basic training or its equivalent."
1975—Pub. L. 94–106 reduced minimum period of basic training from four months to twelve weeks.
Effective Date of 2002 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 107–296 effective on the date of transfer of the Coast Guard to the Department of Homeland Security, see section 1704(g) of Pub. L. 107–296, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.
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