§3819 Authority of President to Order Reserve Components to Active Service; Release From Active Duty; Retention of Unit Organizations and Equipment

Summary

The President may order any members or units of the Reserve forces, and retired regular personnel, into active military or naval service for up to 24 consecutive months, with or without their consent, until July 1, 1953, subject to the limits in section 2 of the Selective Service Act of 1948, as amended. A member of the inactive or volunteer reserve who served 12 months or more on active duty between December 7, 1941, and September 2, 1945, and who is ordered to active duty under this rule, may be released after completing 17 or more months of active duty since June 25, 1950 if they apply to the Secretary of their service, unless released sooner under rules the Secretary sets. After that release, they must not be ordered back for more than 30 days without their consent, except in time of war or a national emergency declared by Congress. The Secretary can keep a person if their job or specialty is found to be critical and releasing them would hurt the service. The President may keep unit organizations and their equipment (not the individual members) in active Federal service for up to five consecutive years. When National Guard or Air National Guard units are relieved from federal service, they should, as far as possible, be returned to their State, Territory, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico status with their records, flags, histories, trophies, and other historical items.