Title 50War and National DefenseRelease 119-73

§3804 Volunteer service of physicians and dentists; minimum period

Title 50 › Chapter CHAPTER 49— - MILITARY SELECTIVE SERVICE › § 3804

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Any doctor or dentist who qualifies for a reserve commission must be allowed to volunteer for active duty when the military needs them. If they volunteer and meet the qualification, they must be ordered to serve on active duty for at least twenty-four months, regardless of the rank they would otherwise be entitled to under the law of September 9, 1950, as amended.

Full Legal Text

Title 50, §3804

War and National Defense — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Any physician or dentist who meets the qualifications for a reserve commission in the respective military departments shall, so long as there is a need for the services of such a physician or dentist, be afforded an opportunity to volunteer for a period of active duty of not less than twenty-four months. Any physician or dentist who so volunteers his service, and meets the qualifications for a reserve commission shall be ordered to active duty for not less than twenty-four months, notwithstanding the grade or rank to which such physician or dentist is entitled under the provisions of the Act of September 9, 1950, as amended.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Act of
September 9, 1950, as amended, referred to in text, is act Sept. 9, 1950, ch. 939, 64 Stat. 826. section 7 of the Act, as amended (71 Stat. 208), provided that the Act, except for section 3 and 5, shall terminate as of
June 30, 1957. section 3 of the Act amended section 202 of the National Security Act of 1947, by adding subsections (g) to (i) which were classified to section 171a(g) to (i) of former Title 5 and which were later omitted from the Code following the codification of section 202(a) to (f) and (j) of the National Security Act of 1947 in Title 10, Armed Forces, by Pub. L. 87–651, Sept. 7, 1972, 76 Stat. 506. section 5 of the Act was classified to section 234b of former Title 37, and was later omitted from the Code following the enactment of Title 37, Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services, by Pub. L. 87–649, Sept. 7, 1962, 76 Stat. 451. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 454e of the former Appendix to this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section. Section was not enacted as part of the Military Selective Service Act, title I of which comprises this chapter.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

50 U.S.C. § 3804

Title 50War and National Defense

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73