§504 Persons not qualified

Summary

Stops certain people from enlisting in the military. People who are mentally ill, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, deserters, or convicted of a felony normally cannot join. The Secretary of the military department can make rare exceptions for deserters or felony convictions in meritorious cases. Only U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents, and people from the Compacts of Free Association (Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau) may enlist by default. The Secretary may also allow others to enlist if they have a critical skill the country needs and will use it in their main military job. Those special enlistees cannot start initial training until all required background checks and security screening are finished. No more than 1,000 such special enlistments are allowed per military department each calendar year unless the Secretary notifies Congress in writing and waits 30 days after Congress gets the notice. The Secretary of Defense must run a program to give information to people who tried to enlist but were denied. The program must point out job opportunities in areas like the defense industry, cybersecurity or intelligence support, defense research and development, emergency and disaster preparedness, and other non-military fields that serve U.S. interests. It must provide information on training or certification needed and try to make agreements with employers or training groups. The Secretary of Defense must send an annual report to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees showing how many denied applicants got job information, how many got training information, and how many agreements were made.