republic-os/legal/us/code/title-14/chapter-21/section-2131.md

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LegalText	14 U.S.C. § 2131	College student pre-commissioning initiative	us	united_states_code	code_section	14	COAST GUARD	21	PERSONNEL; OFFICERS	2131	14 U.S.C. § 2131	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc14@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t14/s2131	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-14/usc14.xml	4583c96b9ee9bc5aa93ab7a8e0230a0f497d984f70942c14f3c940c59b220221	0a287809467d795ac0e1a72d6743ea6b1d340c0f74c77c67bfeba10724006304	8e8bad951abc0ab55247c991fa65a0d97233487d291785b18c05014ded8c85db	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

14 U.S.C. § 2131 - College student pre-commissioning initiative

Text

(a) In General.— There is authorized within the Coast Guard a college student pre-commissioning initiative program (in this section referred to as the “Program” ) for eligible undergraduate students to enlist and receive a guaranteed commission as an officer in the Coast Guard.

(b) Criteria for Selection.— To be eligible for the Program a student must meet the following requirements upon submitting an application:

(1) Age.— A student must be not less than 19 years old and not more than 27 years old as of September 30 of the fiscal year in which the Program selection panel selecting such student convenes.

(2) Character.— (A) All applicants.— All applicants must be of outstanding moral character and meet other character requirements as set forth by the Commandant.

(B) Coast guard applicants.— An applicant serving in the Coast Guard may not be commissioned if in the 36 months prior to the first Officer Candidate School class convening date in the selection cycle, such applicant was convicted by a court-martial or awarded nonjudicial punishment, or did not meet performance or character requirements set forth by the Commandant.

(3) Citizenship.— A student must be a United States citizen.

(4) Clearance.— A student must be eligible for a secret clearance.

(5) Dependency.— (A) In general.— A student may not have more than 2 dependents.

(B) Sole custody.— A student who is single may not have sole or primary custody of dependents.

(6) Education.— (A) Institution.— A student must be an undergraduate sophomore or junior—

(i) at a historically Black college or university described in section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061(2)) or an institution of higher education described in section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)); or

(ii) an undergraduate sophomore or junior enrolled at an institution of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) that, at the time of application of the sophomore or junior, has had for 3 consecutive years an enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent students (as defined in section 312(e) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1058(e))) that is a total of at least 50 percent Black American, Hispanic, Asian American (as defined in section 371(c) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1067q(c))), Native American Pacific Islander (as defined in such section), or Native American (as defined in such section), among other criteria, as determined by the Commandant.

(B) Location.— The institution at which such student is an undergraduate must be within 100 miles of a Coast guard 11 So in original. Probably should be “Guard”. unit or Coast Guard Recruiting Office unless otherwise approved by the Commandant.

(C) Records.— A student must meet credit and grade point average requirements set forth by the Commandant.

(7) Medical and administrative.— A student must meet other medical and administrative requirements as set forth by the Commandant.

(c) Enlistment and Obligation.— Individuals selected and accept to participate in the Program shall enlist in the Coast Guard in pay grade E–3 with a 4-year duty obligation and 4-year inactive Reserve obligation.

(d) Military Activities Prior to Officer Candidate School.— Individuals enrolled in the Program shall participate in military activities each month, as required by the Commandant, prior to attending Officer Candidate School.

(e) Participation in Officer Candidate School.— Each graduate of the Program shall attend the first enrollment of Officer Candidate School that commences after the date of such graduate’s graduation.

(f) Commissioning.— Upon graduation from Officer Candidate School, Program graduates shall be discharged from enlisted status and commissioned as an O–1 with an initial 3-year duty obligation.

(g) Briefing.— (1) In general.— Not later than August 15 of each year, the Commandant shall provide a briefing to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on the Program.

(2) Contents.— The briefing required under paragraph (1) shall describe—

(A) outreach and recruitment efforts over the previous year; and

(B) demographic information of enrollees including—

(i) race;

(ii) ethnicity;

(iii) gender;

(iv) geographic origin; and

(v) educational institution.

(Added Pub. L. 116–283, div. G, title LVXXXII [LXXXII], § 8276(a), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4685.)