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Sullivan Brothers Information
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
The Sullivan Brothers: U.S. Navy Policy Regarding Family Members
Serving Together at Sea
Several misconceptions, common during World War II and after,
continue to circulate about the Sullivan brothers and the assignment
of family members to U.S. Navy ships.
Reference to a "Sullivan Act" in connection with family members serving in the same ship/unit is a popular misconception. The Sullivan Law of 29 May 1911 is a New York State Law dealing with firearms. Although proposed after the death of the five Sullivan Brothers, no "Sullivan Act" was ever enacted by Congress related to family members serving together. Similarly, no President has ever issued any executive order forbidding assignment of family members to the same ship/unit.
Following are nine references that describe the U.S. Navy policy toward the assignment of family members to ships since 1942, and one other article that helps explain this policy.
Official U.S. Navy Documents:
(1) Bureau of Naval Personnel Information
Bulletin, 1942; Extract on the assignment of brothers to same
ship or station
(2) Bureau of Naval Personnel Circular
Letter 345-44, 15 November 1944; Sole-survivor policy
(3) Bureau of Naval Personnel Circular
Letter 107-45, 14 April 1945; Sole-survivor policy
(4) Bureau of Naval Personnel Circular
Letter 281-45, 28 September 1945; Members of Families Serving
in the Same Ship, [Policy after World War II]
(5) Extract from History of Enlisted
Personnel Activity, Bureau of Naval Personnel Administrative
History, 1946. This summarizes wartime practice with regard to
family members serving in same ship/unit, also "sole survivor"
policy.
(6) Bureau of Naval Personnel Manual:
Chapter 5; Policy on assignment or reassignment of members of
the same immediate family, 1966.
(7) Naval Military Personnel Command Press
Release , 29 May 1980; on same-unit and sole-survivor policies.
(8) OPNAV Instruction 1300.15, 6 January
1988 [Extract on sole survivors from Office of Chief of Naval
Operations instruction]
(9) Naval Military Personnel Manual,
NavPers 15560C, 15 August 1991
Unofficial:
(1) Non-Commissioned Officers Association
News Brief, 22 October 1990; Sole-survivor policy at time of Desert
Shield, 1990.
(1) Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin, 1942;
Extract on the assignment of brothers to same ship or station
[Source: Bureau of Naval Personnel: Information Bulletin,
July 1942, Number 304, World War II Command File, Operational
Archives Branch, Naval Historical Center, Washington, DC]
[Article forbids commanding officers to forward requests from
brothers to serve in same ship/station. Issued July 1942, but
does not seem to have been enforced in practice.]
"The Bureau considers that it is to the individual family
interest that brothers not be put on the same ship in war time,
as the loss of such a ship may result in the loss of two or more
members of the family, which might be avoided if brothers are
separated. An instance of this was the loss of three brothers
on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, T. H. (Territory of
Hawaii), on December 7, 1941. In view of the above, Commanding
Officers will not forward requests for brothers to serve in the
same ship or station."
(2) Bureau of Naval Personnel Circular Letter 345-44, 15 November
1944; Sole-survivor policySole Survivor Policy
[Source: Navy Department Bulletin All Ships and Stations
Letters, January-June 1945
(Still in effect 30 June 1945), Navy Department, World War
II Command File, Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical
Center, Washigton, D.C.]
BuPers [Bureau of Naval Personnel]
CIRCULAR LETTER NO. 345-44
44-1285--Return to the United States of Sons of War-Depleted Families
Pers -10D -JK, P16-3/00, 15 November 1944
ACTION: ALL SHIPS AND STATIONS
1. In recognition of the sacrifice and contribution made by a
family which has lost two or more sons who were members of the
armed forces and has only one surviving, and he is serving in
the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, consideration will be
given to his return to, or retention in, the continental limits
of the United States, except when he is engaged in nonhazardous
duties overseas.
2. Applications for return to, or retention in, the continental
limits of the United States must be filed by the serviceman himself
or his immediate family. Request from the individual concerned
shall be submitted officially to the Bureau of Naval Personnel
for naval personnel, Commandant of the U. S. Marine Corps for
Marine Corps personnel, and Commandant of the U. S. Coast Guard
for Coast Guard personnel by their commanding officers. Applications
received from immediate families shall be referred to the Bureau
of Naval Personnel, Commandant of the U. S. Marine Corps, or Commandant
of the U. S. Coast Guard, as appropriate.-BuPers. L. E. Denfeld.
(3) Bureau of Naval Personnel Circular Letter 107-45, 14 April
1945; Sole-survivor policy
[ Source: Navy Department Bulletin All Ships and Stations
Letters January-June 1945
(Still in effect 30 June 1945), Navy Department, World War
II Command File, Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical
Center, Washington, D.C.]
BuPers [Bureau of Naval Personnel]
CIRCULAR LETTER NO. 107-45
45-380--Return to the United States of Sons of War-Depleted Families
Pers-2-LD, P16-3/MM, 14 April 1945
ACTION: ALL SHIPS AND STATIONS
(Ref.: (a) BuPers Circ. Ltr. 345-44;
AS&SL July-Dec. 1944, 44-1285, p. 467.)
1. Reference (a) on this same subject is canceled and superseded
by this letter.
2. In recognition of the Sacrifice and contribution made by
a family which has lost two or more sons who were members of the
armed forces, consideration will be given to the return to, or
the retention in, the continental limits of the United States,
of all remaining members of the immediate family serving in the
Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, except when engaged in nonhazardous
duties overseas.
3. Applications for return to, or retention in, the continental
limits of the United States must be filed by the serviceman himself
or his immediate family. Request from the individual concerned
shall be submitted officially to the Bureau of Naval Personnel
for naval personnel, Commandant, U. S. Marine Corps, for Marine
Corps personnel, and Commandant, U. S. Coast Guard, for Coast
Guard personnel, by their commanding officers. Applications received
from immediate families shall be referred to the Bureau of Naval
Personnel, Commandant, U. S. Marine Corps, or Commandant, U. S.
Coast Guard, as appropriate.-BuPers. Randall Jacobs.
(4) Bureau of Naval Personnel Circular Letter 281-45, 28 September
1945; Members of Families Serving in the Same Ship
[Source: Navy Department Bulletin All Ships and Stations
Letters, January-June 1945
(Still in effect 30 June 1945), Navy Department, World War
II Command File, Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical
Center, Washington, D.C.]
BuPers [Bureau of Naval Personnel]
CIRCULAR LETTER NO. 281-45
45-1332-Members of Families Serving in the Same Ship or Other
Activity
Pers-630-MJB(1), P16-3/MM, 28 September 1945
ACTION: ALL SHIPS AND STATIONS
1. With the end of the war with Japan, the Navy can now revert
to its long-time policy of not prohibiting members of the same
family from serving together aboard the same ship or at the same
activity.
2. The Navy now has no objection to members of the same family
serving in the same ship. However, no assurance can be given that
members of the same family can be kept together indefinitely.
3. Except in the cases of recruits as indicated in the following
paragraph, no transfers of personnel may be made under the authority
of this letter alone, but must be in accordance with current directives
regarding transfers.
4. Naval training centers are authorized, without further reference
to this Bureau, to effect transfers of recruits who have brothers
serving in ships of any fleet, except submarines, to the ships
in which their brothers are serving for duty, or such other duty
as the fleet commander may assign.--BuPers. W. M. Fechteler.
(5) Bureau of Naval Personnel, History of the Enlisted
Personnel Activity; Chapter 5, 1946; Extracts
[Selections from: Bureau of Naval Personnel, History of the
Enlisted Personnel Activity, #87; Navy Department Library,
Naval Historical Center, Washington, D.C., 18 January 1946. One
of a large series of unpublished "administrative histories"
written by Navy commands shortly after the end of World War II.]
[Selection states that "a common peace-time practice in
the Navy, which was never specifically forbidden during World
War II, was for brothers to serve together on the same ship."
Involuntary separation of brothers was considered, especially
after loss of Sullivan brothers in November 1942, but not put
into effect.
Chapter 5, Special Categories of Enlisted Personnel
From time to time the Bureau established policies to govern
the assignment and distribution of special categories and types
of enlisted personnel. These policies sometimes were, in effect,
self-denying ordinances which the Bureau imposed upon itself and,
in other instances, were intended to control the actions of fleet
and shore commands responsible for personnel distribution.
Family Groups
One category of enlisted personnel who created delicate policy
questions for the Bureau was composed of family groups serving
in the Navy. A common peace-time practice in the Navy, which was
never specifically forbidden during World War II, was for brothers
to serve together on the same ship. On 3 February 1942, instructions
were issued that it would be considered "impractical"
to authorize the transfer of men after recruit training to specific
vessels in which brothers or close relatives were serving. As
to brothers and relatives already serving together, they were
to be advised of the undesirability of their continuing to do
so, from the standpoint of their dependents, and told that they
would be given every opportunity to request transfers. Commanding
officers were directed to approve such requests when they would
facilitate separation of members of the same family. In the Bureau
of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin for July, 1942, it was
stated that the Bureau considered it to be in the interest of
their families that brothers not be put on the same ships in wartime,
and added that "in view of the above, commanding officers
will not forward requests for brothers to serve in the same ship
or station." Other than the foregoing announcements, no policies
were put forth on the subject. The question of the advisability
of coercive action to force the separation of brothers was considered,
especially after the death of the five Sullivan brothers as a
result of the sinking of the U.S.S. Juneau on 13 November
1942. However, no such action was taken.
A related policy question was that of the proper handling of
surviving members of family groups in which casualties had been
suffered. In this field, action by the Navy was forced by the
announcement of a War Department Policy on 26 October 1944 of
"removing surviving sons from the hazards of combat. On that
date the Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel approved a recommendation
of the officer in charge of the public relations activities of
the Bureau that the press services be informed that "the
Navy has also adopted this policy." On 15 November 1944 Bureau Circular Letter 345-44 was issued.
It stated that in case a family had lost two or more sons in the
armed forces and had only one surviving son, consideration would
be given to application either by the family or the surviving
son for the latter's retention in the United States, unless he
was engaged in non-hazardous duties overseas. On 14 April 1945 Bureau Circular Letter 107-45 broadened
the rule to provide that if two or more members of the family
had been lost consideration would be given to the return to the
United States of all remaining members of the family.
(6) Bureau of Naval Personnel Manual: Chapter 5; Policy
on assignment or reassignment of members of the same immediate
family, 13 September 1966.
[Source: Bureau of Naval Personnel Manual]
Chapter 5: Distribution and Transfer of Personnel
C- 5207. Assignment or Reassignment of Members of the Same
Immediate Family
(1) It is the desire of the Chief of Naval Personnel that, when
practicable, members of an immediate family serving together on
active duty at the same activity who no longer desire to serve
together but to serve at different activities upon reassignment
shall have their requests for such reassignment favorably considered
provided there are no overriding military needs for their retention
in the same unit. Request for reassignment from enlisted personnel
to be separated from a member of the same family shall reference
this article C-5207(l) and be submitted in accordance with the
provisions of article C-5203(2). In the absence of requests to
the contrary, members of an immediate family serving together
shall not be reassigned until they become eligible for normal
rotation, or until their reassignment is required to meet the
needs of the service.
(2) Conversely there are instances where two or more members of
the same immediate family desire to serve together. The Chief
of Naval Personnel is also desirous of favorable consideration
by distribution commanders of official requests for transfer to
serve with members of an immediate family where individuals requesting
transfer are otherwise eligible for reassignment under current
distribution directives and provided:
(a) Urgent service requirements do not preclude approval.
(b) The receiving activity has an authorized allowance for the
rate/rating concerned.
(c) Where duty ashore is involved, both members are eligible for
shore duty.
(3) Where members do not meet the eligibility requirements for
transfer at government expense as specified in paragraph (2),
the Chief of Naval Personnel has no objection to the issuance
of no cost transfer directives by distribution commanders as outlined
in, Chapter XVI, Enlisted Transfer Manual. The criteria set forth
in subparagraphs (2)(a), (b), and (c) above apply. Due to industrial
funding regulatory restrictions, no-cost orders will not be approved
where travel outside the Continental United States via MAC [Military
Airlift Command] or MSTS [Military Sea Transportation Service]
is anticipated. Utilization of Fleet Units for transportation
purposes. in these instances may be authorized where practicable
and feasible.
(4) In the event that members of an immediate family desire to
serve together, commanding officers shall advise them of the provisions
of this article and require each of them to execute a signed statement
on page 13 of his enlisted service record to the following effect:
"I hereby certify that I fully understand the implications
of serving on duty with my ........ but I have a profound desire
to serve with him and do not anticipate submitting a request to
be separated or transferred in the near future."
A copy of this page 13 shall be forwarded to the Chief of Naval
Personnel for inclusion in the duplicate service record.
(5) Requests for assignment to duty with another member of the
immediate family shall reference this article and shall be forwarded
to the appropriate distribution commander via the commanding officer
and the other member's commanding officer.
(6) The Chief of Naval Personnel has no objection to assignment
in the same area of two members of the same immediate family where
an officer and an enlisted person are involved provided the following
conditions are met:
(a) Assignment is consistent with the needs of the service.
(b) Transfer is within authorized manning.
(c) Person being transferred is qualified in all other respects.
(d) Transfer is not to the same military command.
(7) Naval Military Personnel Command Press Release, 29 May
1980; Brothers on the Same Ship
[Source: Naval Military Personnel Command, Press Release of
29 May 1980, The Sullivans Source Files, Ships History
Branch, Naval Historical Center, Washington, DC.]
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
NAVAL MILITARY PERSONNEL COMMAND
WASHINGTON, DC 20370
29 May 1980
Subj: Request for Information
Ref: BuPers Inst. 1300.38, 14 Aug. 1978
Requested by: Newport News Times
Brothers on Same Ship
Ql: What is the Navy's policy on brothers serving in the same
ship?
A2: Brothers or members of the same family may serve in the same
ship following approval of their request to do so by the Commander
Naval Military Personnel Command so long as the ship is not in
a hostile fire area. The member requesting assignment to a ship
in which his immediate family member is serving must sign the
following statement, "I voluntarily request assignment to
duty with (relationship and name of other member) and do not anticipate
submitting a request for transfer or separation in the near future."
The brother, or other member of the immediate family requesting
the assignment must meet certain conditions for the duty requested,
such as a need for his rating in the ship, sufficient time remaining
in his enlistment and other eligibility requirements for the transfer.
Q2: Was this policy different during Vietnam?
A2: The policy has remained essentially the same since 1942.
Since that time approval for such assignments has been required
from the appropriate assignment control authority at the headquarters
level. Each approval has been accompanied by a statement of understanding
which is signed by the member seeking the voluntary assignment.
Q3: In the event of war, do sole surviving sons on active duty
have a deferment from combat operations?
A3: Not automatically. When the Chief of Naval Personnel approves
an enlisted member's request that he/she be designated a sole
surviving son/daughter a limited duty designator is assigned.
Commanders delegated control of enlisted personnel shall ensure
that members under their distribution control who are so designated
are assigned to duties not involving combat. This is not intended
to preclude their assignment to overseas commands where combat
conditions do not exist. The member may submit a request to have
the designator removed and sign a statement, "I hereby waive
my right, as a sole surviving son/daughter, of assignment to noncombat
duty."
(8) OPNAV Instruction 1300.15 on Navy
Military Personnel Assignment Policy, 6 January 1988, Extract
[Source: Section 9, OPNAV Instruction 1300.15 on Navy Military
Personnel Assignment Policy, 9 January 1988. The whole instruction
is available on Table 02 at http://neds.nebt.dap.mil/Directives/dirindex.html]
Section 9 [Extract]
p. Sole Surviving Son or Daughter. Policies concerning
the assignment, assignment re-
strictions, eligibility criteria and waivers from designation
are contained in reference (e).[Naval
Military Personnel Manual]
q. Assignment to Duty in Designated Hostile-Fire or Imminent-Danger
Areas
(1) Assignment to duty in a hostile-fire
or imminent-danger area (hereafter referred to as "hostile-fire
area"), as specified by reference (g), must be shared equitably
by all similarly, qualified members except as follows:
(a) If a member of a family is killed
or dies when serving in a designated hostile-fire area, or is
determined by the Veterans Administration (VA) or a Military Service
to be 100 percent physically or mentally disabled because of such
disability shall be hospitalized continually and shall not be
employed gainfully other members of the same family shall be exempt
on request from serving in designated hostile-fire areas. If serving
in such an area, other family members shall be reassigned from
there. Family members similarly shall be exempt, on request, when
another family member is in a captured or missing status.
(b) Members qualifying as sole surviving
sons or-daughters and requesting non-combat duty or not waiving
a request submitted by a parent shall be assigned according to
reference (e).
(c) Assignment of conscientious objectors
shall be subject to DoD restrictions.
(2) Personnel who were wounded in
a specific hostile-fire action resulting from combat service and
were hospitalized 30 or more days outside a hostile-fire area
shall not be returned to such service during the same tour. Members
reassigned under this circumstance, if needed, may be eligible
for reassignment to a hostile-fire area on subsequent tours. Members
may return
voluntarily to a hostile-fire area, if medically qualified. The
provisions of this paragraph shall
not apply to members hospitalized for injury, accident, or illness
not attributable to hostile-fire action. This prevents considering
cases such as self-inflicted wounds and other noncombat causes.
(3) Requests for combat deferment
or exemption may be submitted only b), the member and must be
submitted to CNMPC. Deferment requests should be submitted within
15 days after receiving orders, assignment instruction, unit alert,
or movement schedule. Exemption requests may be submitted at any
time. A member submitting a request for deferment or exemption
from an assignment should be retained in place until action on
the request is finalized.
(4) For the purpose of this section,
family members include the following:
(a) Father and Mother. This includes stepfather, father by adoption,
step-mother, mother by adoption, or those who have stood in loco
parentis for at least 5 years.
(b) Brothers and Sisters. This includes stepbrothers, brothers
by adoption, half
brothers, stepsisters, sisters by adoption, or half sisters.
(c) Husband and Wife.
(d) Children:
1. Legitimate child.
2. Legally adopted child.
3. Stepchild, if a member of the household at the time of death
of the service member or former service member.
4. An illegitimate child of a female service member or a female
former service member.
5. An illegitimate child to whose support a male service member
or former
service member shall have been ordered or decreed judicially to
contribute, decreed judicially
to be the father, or shall have acknowledged in writing under
oath that he is the father.
6. A person standing in loco parentis minimally for 5 years before
death to
the service member or former service member.
(9) 1860100 Designation as a sole
surviving son or daughter, Naval Military Personnel Manual
[Source: Naval Military Personnel
Manual, NAVPERS 15560C, Enclosure e, 15 August 1991,]
1860100 Designation as a sole surviving
son or daughter
1. For the purposes of this article the following definitions
apply:
a. A sole surviving son or daughter is the only remaining son
or daughter of a family in which, by reason of service in any
of the Armed Forces of the United States, the father, or mother,
or one or more sons or daughters:
(1) Was killed in action.
(2) Died as a result of wounds, accident, or disease.
(3) Is in a captured or missing-in-action status.
(4) Is permanently 100 percent physically or mentally disabled
as determined by the Veterans' Administration or one of the military
services, is hospitalized on a continuing basis, and is not gainfully
employed as a result of such physical or mental disability.
b. A family is considered to include a husband and wife; or the
father, mother, sons, daughters, and all brothers and sisters
in the following categories:
(1) A brother or sister of the whole blood.
(2) A brother or sister of the half blood.
(3) A stepbrother or stepsister.
(4) A brother or sister by adoption.
c. Noncombat duty is duty at any place or in any situation other
than that designated by the Secretary of Defense wherein a member
of the Armed Forces would be entitled to receive special pay for
duty subject to hostile fire.
2. Neither the acquisition nor retention of sole surviving son
or daughter status is dependent upon the existence of any other
Living family member. Thus, the continued existence of a family
unit is not required as a prerequisite for qualification as a
sole surviving son or daughter. A person's status as a sole surviving
son or daughter does not change once obtained.
3. An enlisted member who qualifies as a sole surviving son or
daughter subsequent to enlistment, reenlistment, or induction
may apply for and will be given prompt administrative discharge
using Article 3620240 as the authority except:
a. Where the member has court-martial charges against them, or
they have been tried and convicted by court-martial and the case
is being reviewed or appealed, or they are serving a sentence
(or otherwise satisfying punishment) imposed by court-martial;
the administrative discharge will be postponed until fine action
has been completed with respect to such charges,
review or appeal, or until the sentence has been served, or any
other punishment imposed by such court-martial has been satisfied.
b. When an enlisted member is the only remaining son or daughter
of a family solely because their father, or one or more brothers
or sisters, is captured by an enemy or is in a missing-in-action
status.
c. During a period of war or national emergency declared by Congress.
4. An enlisted member who qualifies as a sole surviving son or
daughter on the basis of 100 percent disability status defined
above, of a father, brother or sister which occurred either (1)
prior or subsequent to induction, or (2) subsequent to volunteer
enlistment may apply for and will be granted an administrative
discharge unless the member has reenlisted, voluntarily
extended their period of active duty, or waived their right to
discharge in writing under this article subsequent to qualifying
as a sole surviving son or daughter on this basis. In order to
qualify for a veteran's exemption under the provisions of 50 U.S.C.
456(b)(3), they will be required to complete at least 6 months
of active duty prior to discharge.
5. An administrative discharge shall not be used to effect the
release from active duty of a sole surviving son or daughter who
is a commissioned officer or a warrant officer except for those
officers inducted into the Navy under provisions of the Military
Selective Service Act of 1967. See Article 3850320 for discharge
authority.
6. A request for designation and assignment or discharge as asole
surviving son or daughter shall be submitted by the member to
the Chief of Naval Personnel, via their commanding officer. Prior
to the submission of the information requested in this paragraph,
the servicemember shall be advised of the provisions of the Privacy
Act as follows:
"The authority to request this information is derived from
5 U.S.C. 301 Departmental Regulations and 10 U.S.C. 6330. The
principle purpose of this information is to enable you to make
known your desire for consideration for discharge or reassignment
under the provisions of this article. This information will be
used to assist officials of the Bureau of Naval Personnel in determining
your eligibility for discharge under this article. Completion
of the requested information is voluntary; however, failure to
provide the required information may result in delay, in response
to, or disapproval of, your application."
The request must contain the following information:
a. Full name grade/rate, SSN/designator, Veterans Administration
claim number, if any; and branch of the service of each family
member killed, captured, missing in action, or permanently disabled;
or as much of this information as can be obtained.
b. Name, age, and sex of all other members of the immediate family.
c. In the case of an enlisted member, a statement indicating whether
designation and assignment or discharge is desired. A discharge
will not be granted if the member concerned has waived their rights
as a sole surviving son or daughter under this article.
7. A request for the designation and assignment or discharge of
a sole surviving son or daughter may be made by one or both parents.
A parental request shall be handled in the same manner as a request
by the member concerned, except the member shall be afforded an
opportunity to waive the request before final determination is
made. A parental request shall be referred to the member through
their commanding officer. A discharge will not be granted if the
member concerned has waived their rights as a sole surviving son
or daughter under this article.
8. When the Chief of Naval Personnel approves an officer's request
that they be designated as a sole surviving son or daughter, the
following entry shall be made in block 25 of the officer's current
NAVPERS 1301/1, officer Preference and Personal Information Card.
"Designated sole surviving son or daughter, assignment Limited
per the MILPERSMAN. Authority, BUPERS (Ltr/msg) of (date)'."
9. When the Chief of Naval Personnel approves an enlisted member's
request that they be designated a sole surviving son or daughter
and they do not request an administrative discharge, the subsequent
notification to their commanding officer shall assign the member
to an L-9 Limited duty classification designator. When an L-9
Limited duty classification designator is assigned or removed,
enlisted personnel diary entries shall be made as prescribed in
the Manpower, Personnel and Training Information System (MAPTIS).
10. Commanders delegated control of enlisted personnel, as prescribed
in the NAVPERS 15909E, Enlisted Transfer Manual, shall ensure
that members under their distribution control who are designated
as a sole surviving son or daughter are assigned to duties not
involving combat. This is not intended to preclude their assignment
to overseas commands where combat conditions do not exist.
11. Enlisted personnel assigned Limited duty classification designators
who desire to extend their enlistments, to reenlist, or to further
obligate themselves for additional active duty, shall request
specific authorization from the Chief of Naval Personnel.
12. A request by a member for removal of their Limited duty classification
designation as a sole surviving son or daughter shall contain
the following statement:
"I hereby waive my right, as a sole surviving son or daughter,
of assignment to noncombat duty."
Waivers executed by enlisted members shall be entered on the NAVPERS
1070/613, Administrative Remarks, Page 13 of the service record,
and signed by the member concerned.
13. A member who has waived their status as a sole surviving son
or daughter may request reinstatement of that status at any time.
Requests for reinstatement shall be approved. Reinstatement is
not a basis for discharge but shall qualify the member for assignment
Limitations only.
14. When a member designated as sole surviving son or daughter
is aboard a ship or is a member of a unit ordered to an area where
combat is likely, the commanding officer of the ship or unit shall
make an immediate message report to the Bureau of Naval Personnel.
This report shall refer to the impending movement and give the
name, grade/rate, and all other pertinent information regarding
the member. The Bureau of Naval Personnel shall take action to
effect transfer or detachment of the member prior to the movement
of the ship or unit. If there is insufficient time for the Bureau
of Naval Personnel to effect the transfer or detachment of the
member prior to the movement of the ship or unit, the commanding
officer of the member
concerned shall transfer the member to the nearest naval shore
activity for Temporary Duty Pending Further Assignment, notifying
the Bureau of Naval Personnel of such action.
15. A member who has been advised of the provisions of this article
and enlists, reenlists, or otherwise voluntarily extends their
period of active duty in the Regular Navy or Naval Reserve subsequent
to the date of notification of the family casualty on which the
sole surviving sonship or daughtership is based, shall be considered
as having waived their rights for discharge as a sole surviving
son or daughter.
16. A sole surviving son or daughter who has an L-9 Limited duty
designator assigned by the Navy, may volunteer for enlistment,
reenlistment, or otherwise extend their period of active duty
provided they sign the following entry on the NAVPERS1070/613,
Administrative Remarks, Page 13 in their service record:
"I hereby acknowledge that I have been advised of the contents
of MILPERSMAN 1860100.I understand that if I enlist, reenlist,
or otherwise voluntarily extend my period of active duty, my rights
for discharge as a sole surviving son or daughter under the provisions
of Public Law 92-129 are automatically waived. Furthermore, I
hereby waive my rights under the assignment
provisions of MILPERSMAN 1860100. 1 understand that I may request
reinstatement of sole surviving son or daughter status for assignment
Limitations, but not for discharge."
Unofficial Sources:
(1) The Non-Commissioned Officers Association News Brief of
22 October 1990 on the Operation Desert Shield Sole Survivor Policy:
[Source: 22 October 1990 News Brief produced by The Non Commissioned
Officers Association National Capital Office, 225 N. Washington
Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 (703) 549-0311]
News Brief: Week of October 22, 1990
Desert Shield soldiers who qualify as sole-surviving sons or daughters
will be reassigned to locations not designated as imminent danger
areas. Imminent danger areas include land areas of Saudi Arabia,
Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, Red Sea,
Gulf of Oman, Arabian Peninsula, and United Arab Emirates. This
policy became effective September 19, 1990, and applies to sole-surviving
sons or daughters who are the only remaining son or daughter in
a family in which the father, mother or one or more sons or daughters
who served in the Armed Services of the United States was killed,
died as a result of wounds, an accident or disease, has been captured
or is missing in action, or is permanently and totally physically
disabled. The term "family member" includes father or
mother, stepfather/mother, father/mother by adoption or those
who have stood in Loco Parentis for at least five years. For additional
information, contact your local personnel office.
27 May 2005