14 U.S.C. § 337: Coast Guard Junior Reserve…

Summary

The Secretary of the department that runs the Coast Guard may set up and run Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) units at public and private high schools. Starting December 31, 2025, the Secretary must keep at least one Coast Guard JROTC program in every Coast Guard district at all times. Most rules that apply to other services’ JROTC programs also apply to the Coast Guard program. When those rules say “military department” or mention a “Secretary,” they mean the department that runs the Coast Guard and its Secretary. Any Coast Guard JROTC unit created before this law was enacted is not automatically covered by those rules unless the Secretary says it should be.

Title 14, §337

Coast Guard, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Establishment.—

The Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating may establish and maintain a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, organized into units, at public and private secondary educational institutions.

(b)Applicability.—

Except as provided in subsection (d), the provisions of chapter 102 of title 10 shall apply to a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps established and maintained under this section in the same manner that such provisions apply to the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps of each military department. For purposes of the application of such provisions to this section— (1)

(2)any reference in such provisions to a “Secretary of a military department”, a “Secretary concerned”, or the “Secretary of Defense” shall be treated as a reference to the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating.

(c)Scope.—

Beginning on December 31, 2025, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall maintain at all times a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program with not fewer than 1 such program established in each Coast Guard district.

(d)Exception.—

The requirements of chapter 102 of title 10 shall not apply to a unit of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps established by the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating before the date of the enactment of this section unless the Secretary determines it is appropriate to apply such requirements to such unit.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of the enactment of this section, referred to in subsec. (d), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 116–92, which was approved Dec. 20, 2019.

Amendments

2025—Pub. L. 119–60 renumbered section 320 of this title as this section. 2022—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 117–263, § 11247(a)(2), substituted “subsection (d)” for “subsection (c)”. Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 117–263, § 11247(a)(1), (3), added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsec. (c) as (d).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Expansion Pub. L. 119–60, div. G, title LXXII, § 7268(b), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1745, provided that: “(1) In general.—Beginning on December 31, 2026, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall maintain at all times a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Program with not fewer than 20 such programs. “(2) Cost assessment.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 18, 2025], the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall provide Congress with an estimate of the costs associated with implementing this subsection.”

§337 Coast Guard Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps