§12304b Selected Reserve: order to active duty for preplanned missions in support of the combatant commands

Summary

The Secretary of a military department can order any unit of the Selected Reserve to active duty without the members’ consent for up to 365 consecutive days to support a preplanned mission for a combatant command. Units can be called only if the manpower and costs are specifically included in the defense budget materials for the fiscal year(s) involved, and the budget must describe the mission and the expected length of the involuntary duty. If the President’s budget is submitted later than April 1 in the year before mobilization, the Secretary may send that budget information to Congress in a separate notice. No more than 60,000 reserve members may be on active duty under this rule at any one time. Members called this way do not count toward authorized active-duty strength or grade limits. When a unit is ordered, the Secretary must send Congress a written report explaining why the call-up was needed and how the unit will be used. The Secretary or Congress may end the service, and the War Powers Resolution still applies. Choosing which units to call should consider past service, how often members have been assigned, family responsibilities, and civilian jobs important to national health, safety, or interest. Military department Secretaries must create policies to carry out these rules, and those policies need the Secretary of Defense’s approval before they take effect. “Selected Reserve” is defined in section 10143(a). “Defense budget materials” means what section 231(f)(2) says.