Sole Survivor Policy

The Sole Survivor Policy or DoD Directive 1315.15 "Special Separation Policies for Survivorship" describes a set of regulations in the U.S. military that are designed to protect members of a family from the draft or from combat duty if they have already lost family members in military service.

History

The need for the regulations first caught public attention after the five Sullivan brothers were all killed when the USS Juneau (CL-52) was sunk during World War II, and was enacted as law in 1948. No peacetime restriction was in place until 1964 during the Vietnam War; in 1971, Congress amended the law to include not only the sole surviving son or daughter but also any son or daughter who had a combat related death in the family. Since then, each branch of the military has made its own policies with regard to separating immediate family members.

A notable instance of the Sole Survivor Policy being enacted is the case of the Niland brothers, where U.S. intelligence believed that all but one of the siblings were killed in action. It was later discovered that the eldest brother, Technical Sergeant Edward Niland, of the U.S. Army Air Forces, had been held in a prisoner of war camp in Burma. The film Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven Spielberg, was loosely based on the brothers' story. Another example of this policy being instituted during World War II, was that of the Butehorn Brothers of Bethpage, NY. Three brothers Charles, Joseph and Henry all went off to fight during WWII. Charles was killed in action in France in 1944, Joseph was killed in action in Pacific in 1945 and Henry serving with the Army Air Force in Italy was ordered home by the War Department shortly thereafter. The VFW post in Bethpage, NY is named after their sacrifice. The Long Island newspaper Newsday did a feature article on the family when "Saving Private Ryan" hit theaters.^{[citation needed]} The Borgstrom brothers are yet another example from World War II, where four brothers were killed and the last brother in military service (a sixth brother had not yet reached conscription age) was immediately discharged from military service.

The most recent instance in which the policy was enacted is the case of the Hubbard brothers in the Iraq War. Jason and Nathan Hubbard joined the army after their brother Jared had died in Iraq in 2004. In 2007, Nathan died in a helicopter crash. Military officials ordered Jason home shortly after.

Regulations

It is widely thought that this policy protects "only sons", "the last son to carry the family name", and "sole surviving sons" of a family from the draft. However, the policy in fact states that they are protected from draft only during peacetime. In times of war or national emergency as declared by Congress, this provision does not apply to any of the above. Also, this provision is voluntary, meaning that the member wishing to be sent home has to apply for the policy and get the application approved. Furthermore, it does not apply strictly to the sole surviving son but also to all surviving sons.

Members of the Armed Forces that are not eligible for Department of Defense Directive 1315.15, "Special Separation Policies for Survivorship" include those that currently have court-martial charges pending against them or those that have been convicted by court-martial. This policy does not protect children without siblings. Furthermore, commissioned officers and warrant officers are not eligible for this policy either. If a member of the Armed Forces re-enlists or voluntarily extends their active duty beyond the requirement after having been notified of a death in the family, that member becomes automatically ineligible as well.

See also

• Bixby letter
• Only child
• Saving Private Ryan

External links

• "Sole Surviving Son or Daughter" by Rod Powers
• U.S. Navy policy regarding family members serving together at sea
• DoD Special Separation Policies for Survivorship Directive
• Snopes article regarding this topic
• US 'sole survivor' to leave Iraq
• House OKs benefits for military 'sole survivors'
• Military 'sole survivors' bill goes to president