§ 10149. Ready Reserve: continuous screening

• (a) Under regulations to be prescribed by the President, the Secretary concerned shall provide a system of continuous screening of units and members of the Ready Reserve to ensure the following:
  • (1) That there will be no significant attrition of those members or units during a mobilization.
  • (2) That there is a proper balance of military skills.
  • (3) That except for those with military skills for which there is an overriding requirement, members having critical civilian skills are not retained in numbers beyond the need for those skills.
  • (4) That with due regard to national security and military requirements, recognition will be given to participation in combat.
  • (5) That members whose mobilization in an emergency would result in an extreme personal or community hardship are not retained in the Ready Reserve.
• (b)
  • (1) In applying Ready Reserve continuous screening under this section, an individual who is both a member of the Ready Reserve and a Member of Congress may not be transferred to the Standby Reserve or discharged on account of the individual’s position as a Member of Congress.
  • (2) The transfer or discharge of an individual who is both a member of the Ready Reserve and a Member of Congress may be ordered—
    • (A) only by the Secretary of Defense or, in the case of a Member of Congress who also is a member of the Coast Guard Reserve, the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating when it is not operating as a service in the Navy; and
    • (B) only on the basis of the needs of the service, taking into consideration the position and duties of the individual in the Ready Reserve.
  • (3) In this subsection, the term “Member of Congress” includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to Congress and a Member-elect.
• (c) Under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, and by the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, a member of the Ready Reserve who is designated as a member not to be retained in the Ready Reserve as a result of screening under subsection (a) shall, as appropriate, be—
  • (1) transferred to the Standby Reserve;
  • (2) discharged; or
  • (3) if the member is eligible and applies therefor, transferred to the Retired Reserve.