The oath of enlistment is a military oath made by members of the United States Armed Forces who enlist.
Upon enlisting in the United States Armed Forces, each person enlisting in an armed force (whether a soldier, Marine, sailor, airman, or Coast Guardsman) takes an oath of enlistment required by federal statute in . That section provides the text of the oath and sets out who may administer the oath:
Army Regulation 601-210, Active and Reserve Components Enlistment Program provides that:
There is no duration defined in the oath itself. The term of service for each enlisted person is written on the DD Form 4 series, the contract which specifies the active-duty or reserve enlistment period. For a first-time enlistee, this varies from two to six years,which can be a combination of active duty and time spent in a reserve component, although enlisted reservists are subject to activation until the end of the eight-year initial military obligation.[1]
Officers do not take the same oath as enlisted personnel, instead taking a similar United States Uniformed Services Oath of Office.