§502 — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

Summary

People who join the armed forces must take an oath. They promise to support and defend the U.S. Constitution, be loyal to it, and obey the President and their officers under military rules and law. The oath can end with words asking for God's help. The oath may be given by the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, any commissioned officer, or other people the Secretary of Defense appoints under his rules.

Title 10, §502

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Each person enlisting in an armed force shall take the following oath:“I, __________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

(b)The oath may be taken before the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary of Defense, any commissioned officer, or any other person designated under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 50150:737.May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 8, 64 Stat. 146. The words “or affirmation” are omitted as covered by the definition of the word “oath” in section 1 of title 1. The words “of any armed force” are inserted in the last sentence, since they are necessarily implied by their use in the source statute.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Uniform Code of Military Justice, referred to in the oath, is classified to chapter 47 (§ 801 et seq.) of this title. Codification Another section 502 was renumbered section 500b of this title.

Amendments

2006—Pub. L. 109–364 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, struck out concluding provisions which read as follows: “This oath may be taken before any commissioned officer of any armed force.”, and added subsec. (b). 1989—Pub. L. 101–189 struck out “or affirmation” after “This oath”. 1962—Pub. L. 87–751 substituted “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same” for “bear true faith and allegiance to the United States of America; that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies whomsoever” and inserted “So help me God” in the oath, and “or affirmation” in text.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1962 Amendment Pub. L. 87–751, § 3, Oct. 5, 1962, 76 Stat. 748, provided that: “This Act [amending this section and section 304 of Title 32, National Guard] does not affect any oath taken before one year after its enactment [Oct. 5, 1962].”

§502 Enlistment oath: who may administer