H.R.5872

            I 

116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION H. R. 5872 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to establish a separation oath for 
members of the Armed Forces who are separating from military service. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2020 
Mr. MAST (for himself, Mr. BARR, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. STIV-

ERS, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. POSEY, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. CRAWFORD, 
and Mr. MARSHALL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to establish a separa-

tion oath for members of the Armed Forces who are 
separating from military service. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1

tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oath of Exit Act’’. 4

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SEPARATION OATH FOR MEM-5

BERS OF THE ARMED FORCES. 6

(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-7

ings: 8

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2 

•HR 5872 IH

(1) The United States Armed Forces is the 1

largest, all-volunteer military force in the world, yet 2

less than one percent of the American population 3

serves in the Armed Forces. 4

(2) Each branch of the Armed Forces (Army, 5

Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard) in-6

stills in its members a sense of duty and obligation 7

to the United States, their branch of service, and 8

their comrades-in-arms. 9

(3) The Department of Veterans Affairs esti-10

mates that approximately 20 veterans of the Armed 11

Forces commit suicide each day and a veteran’s risk 12

of suicide is 21 percent higher compared to an adult 13

who has not served in the Armed Forces. 14

(4) The Department of Veterans Affairs is ag-15

gressively undertaking measures to prevent these 16

tragic outcomes, yet suicide rates among veterans 17

remain unacceptably high. 18

(5) Upon enlistment or appointment in the 19

Armed Forces, a new member is obligated to take an 20

oath of office or oath of enlistment. 21

(6) Most members of the Armed Forces view 22

this oath not as an imposition, but as a promise that 23

they are bound to fulfill. 24

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3 

•HR 5872 IH

(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF SEPARATION OATH.—Sec-1

tion 502 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— 2

(1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub-3

section (c) and, in such subsection, by striking ‘‘The 4

oath’’ and inserting ‘‘An oath established by this 5

section’’; and 6

(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol-7

lowing new subsection (b): 8

‘‘(b) SEPARATION OATH.—Prior to retirement or 9

other separation from the armed forces, other than sepa-10

ration pursuant to the sentence of a court-martial, a mem-11

ber of an armed force may take the following oath: 12

‘‘ ‘I, llllllll , recognizing that my 13

oath to support and defend the Constitution of the 14

United States against all enemies, foreign and do-15

mestic, has involved me and my fellow members in 16

experiences that few persons, other than our peers, 17

can understand, do solemnly swear (or affirm) to 18

continue to be the keeper of my brothers- and sis-19

ters-in-arms and protector of the United States and 20

the Constitution; to preserve the values I have 21

learned; to maintain my body and my mind; to give 22

help to, and seek help from, my fellow veterans; and 23

to not bring harm to myself or others. I take this 24

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4 

•HR 5872 IH

oath freely and without purpose of evasion, so help 1

me God.’ ’’. 2

(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 3

(1) SECTION HEADING.—The heading of section 4

502 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to 5

read as follows: 6

‘‘§ 502. Enlistment oath and separation oath: who 7

may administer’’. 8

(2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 9

at the beginning of chapter 31 of title 10, United 10

States Code, is amended by striking the item relat-11

ing to section 502 and inserting the following new 12

item: 13

‘‘502. Enlistment oath and separation oath: who may administer.’’. 

Æ 

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		Superintendent of Documents
	2020-02-19T05:20:52-0500
	US GPO, Washington, DC 20401
	Superintendent of Documents
	GPO attests that this document has not been altered since it was disseminated by GPO