§2004a Detail of Commissioned Officers as Students at Medical Schools

Summary

Each military department may send commissioned officers to accredited U.S. medical or osteopathy schools to train for a doctor of medicine degree, but no more than 25 officers from a department may start in any one fiscal year. To be eligible, an officer must be a U.S. citizen, have served on active duty between two and six years, be in pay grade O–3 or below when training begins, and sign an agreement to finish the medical course, accept assignment as a medical officer afterward, and serve the required post‑training time. The agreement requires two years of active duty for each year or part of a year of training. The agreement can let an officer serve some of that time in the Selected Reserve; any portion left to finish in the Reserve requires three years in the Reserve for each year or part of training not completed on active duty. Officers are picked competitively and are appointed as regular second lieutenants or ensigns with full pay; if prior service gives a higher basic pay, that higher pay continues under set rules. The service obligation adds to any other obligations. Department funds pay training expenses. If an officer is dropped for conduct or academic reasons, DoD rules may require them to serve in another duty, but not more than one year of active duty for each year (or part) they spent in the program. No new agreements may be made while the President is legally allowed to draft people into the armed forces.