Executive Order 13919Executive Order

Ordering the Selected Reserve of the Armed Forces to Active Duty

Donald J. Trump

Signed: Apr 30, 2020

Published: May 4, 2020

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview

Executive Order 13919, issued April 30, 2020, authorizes the Secretary of Defense to order up to 200 members of the Selected Reserve to active duty for up to 365 consecutive days to augment the regular Armed Forces for the named mission: the Enhanced Department of Defense Counternarcotic Operation in the Western Hemisphere. The order applies to both units and individual Selected Reservists not assigned to a unit organized to serve as a unit. It is framed as a temporary mobilization to support a specific operational need and is to be implemented consistent with law and appropriations. The order does not create new rights or benefits and preserves existing authorities and budgetary processes.

Key Points

1Activation authority: Secretary of Defense may order up to 200 Selected Reservists to active duty at any one time, for not more than 365 consecutive days, as needed.
2Scope of personnel: Applies to both units and individual Selected Reservists not assigned to a unit organized to serve as a unit.
3Purpose: To augment the regular Armed Forces for the Enhanced DoD Counternarcotic Operation in the Western Hemisphere.
4Legal framework and constraints: Implementation must be consistent with applicable law and subject to appropriations; does not modify preexisting executive or budgetary authorities; no new rights are created by the order.
5Duration and oversight: Activation is temporary, with a defined maximum duration per individual (365 days) and a cap on the number mobilized at one time, intended to address an identified operational need.

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