Allofficers of the eightuniformed services of the United States swear or affirm anoath of office upon commissioning. It differs from that of theoath of enlistment that enlisted members recite when they enter the service. It is required by statute, the oath being prescribed by Section 3331,Title 5, United States Code.^[1] It is traditional for officers to recite the oath upon promotion but as long as the officer's service is continuous this is not required.^[2]

I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.^[1]

The oath applies while in "the office on which I am about to enter."

Officers of theNational Guard of the various states, however, take an additional oath:

I,[name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State (Commonwealth, District, Territory) of ___ against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the Office of[grade] in the Army/Air National Guard of the State (Commonwealth, District, Territory) of ___ on which I am about to enter, so help me God.^[3]

Commissioned officers O-1 (second lieutenant or ensign) through O-10 (general or admiral) and W-2 through W-5 (chief warrant officers) are commissioned under the authority of thePresident of the United States with theadvice and consent of theUnited States Senate;warrant officers (W-1) receive awarrant under the authority of their respective service secretary (e.g., theSecretary of the Army or theSecretary of the Navy); National Guard officers are additionally committed to the authority of thegovernor of their state. They may be activated in the service of their state in time of local or state emergency in addition to federal activation. Reserve officers may only be activated by the President of the United States.

Officers of theUnited States Air Force take the following oath:^[4]

I, (state your name), having been appointed a (rank) in the United States Air Force, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, Foreign and domestic, that I bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter. So help meGod. (optional)

The first oaths of office were given to those serving under theContinental Army, beginning in 1775. A candidate had to not only name the 13 states, but also swear to keep them "free, independent and sovereign states and declare no allegiance to George the third, king of Great Britain" as well as "defend the United States against King George, his heirs and successors, and his and their abettors, assistants and adherents".

It was first updated in September 1776, after theDeclaration of Independence, to swear to be "true to the United States of America, and to serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies opposers whatsoever; and to observe and obey the orders of the Continental Congress and the orders of the Generals and officers set over me by them".

This was changed in 1789 to place allegiance to theConstitution of the United States at the beginning of the oath. It remained relatively unchanged until the 1860s. At this point, the reference to "them" was replaced with "it" to reflect the realities of the divided nation during theAmerican Civil War, as well as the shifting attitude of viewing the United States as one entity rather than a collection of smaller ones. The conflict also resulted in adding the phrase "...all enemies, Foreignand domestic," in reference to Confederate sympathizers, as well as "without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion" in reference to members who were secretly supporting the South.^[5] In 1868, the officer oath was simplified to:

I, A.B., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.^[6]

The enlisted oath underwent further revision and, as of 1862, read:

: I, ___, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the president of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.^[6]

• United States Armed Forces oath of enlistment

• Military oaths
• United States military traditions

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from January 2023