Delayed Entry Program: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Program for new enlistees in the U.S. Armed Forces}}

The '''Delayed Entry Program''', also called the Delayed Enlistment Program, is a program where individuals going into active duty in the [[United States Armed Forces]] enlist first into the DEP before they ship out to training. In actuality, this is an enlistment into the inactive reserves, with an agreement to report for active duty (training) at a specific time in the future.

The '''Delayed Entry Program''' ('''DEP''', also called the '''Delayed Enlistment Program''' or '''Future Soldiers Program''' in the [[United States]]), is a program designed to accommodate new enlistees into the [[United States Armed Forces]] before they ship out to [[Recruit training|basic training]]. Enlistees first enter the DEP as inactive reservists, then make a commitment to report for training on a specified date. However, they do not become active-duty servicemembers until they formally enlist as such on that date.{{Efn|"Members of the recruiting force must respond positively to any inquiry from FSs concerning separations from the FSP. Under no circumstances will any member of this command threaten, coerce, manipulate, or intimidate FSs, nor may they obstruct separation requests. When such an inquiry is received, local recruiting personnel will attempt to resell the FS on an Army enlistment. When an attempt is not successful (not later than 14 days from the original request), advise the FS of the provisions governing separation from the FSP and tell them a written request for separation may be forwarded to the Rctg Bn commander. Emphasize that the FS may submit a request for separation even though his or her reason for it does not fall within an expressed category, such as hardship, dependency, apathy, and/or personal reasons. A request for separation must be personally signed by the FS who initiates it. His or her request should include complete justification for separation and the documents required by AR 135-178, AR 601-210, and as outlined in appendix D of this regulation. If the FS cannot be resold, his or her Recruit Quota System (REQUEST) reservation will be canceled."<ref>From Paragraph 3-1c of [[USAREC]] Reg. 601-56</ref>}}

Enlistees may use the period between signing up and shipping out to complete tasks such as graduating from high school or college, preparing physically and mentally for military life, and putting their personal affairs in order.

One of the benefits for the applicant is to assist in the preparation for the Armed forces prior to activation of his or her contract. The member’s recruiter will spend time with each member of the DEP program and assist in learning of tasks such as marching, general military knowledge prior to the [[Basic Combat Training]] (BCT), or "boot camp".

DEP members who change their mind and decide not to enter the military before they begin active duty will be separated with no adverse consequences. The Army DEP regulation, as an example, states that "under no circumstances will any member of [the recruiting force] threaten, coerce, manipulate, or intimidate FSs [future soldiers], nor may they obstruct separation requests" (USAREC Reg. 601-56, 3-1c).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usarec.army.mil/im/formpub/REC_PUBS/R601_56.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040102211038/http://www.usarec.army.mil/im/formpub/REC_PUBS/R601_56.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 2, 2004|format=PDF|title=Waiver, Future Soldier Program Separation, and Void Enlistment Processing Procedures|publisher=United States Army Recruiting Command}}</ref>

Under the current regulations, an individual can remain in the DEP for up to 365 days, after which the recruit will either have to: a) begin the enlistment process again or b) be discharged from the DEP. When the recruit signs the DEP Enlistment Contract, he/she is entering into a legally binding contract to report to his/her training station (the ___location of his/her BCT) by a certain date. However, regulations governing the Army,<ref>[http://www.usarec.army.mil/im/formpub/REC_PUBS/R601_56.pdf Reg601-56.pmd<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Navy,<ref>[http://usmilitary.about.com/library/pdf/navrecruit.pdf COMNAVCRUITCOMINST 1130.8F<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Marines,<ref>[http://www.marines.mil/news/publications/Documents/MCO%20P1100.72C%20W%20ERRATUM.pdf MCO P1100.72C W ERRATUM MILITARY PERSONNEL PROCUREMENT MANUAL, VOLUME 2, ENLISTED PROCUREMENT (SHORT TITLE: MPPM ENLPROC)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Air Force,<ref>http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/pubfiles/afrs/36/afrsi36-2001/afrsi36-2001.pdf</ref> and Coast Guard<ref>[http://www.girightshotline.org/discharges/dep/coast/index.html GI Rights Hotline<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> (in other words, every branch of service) currently state that a) applicants who request release from the DEP must be released and b) if the applicant refuses to ship out to basic training, he or she may either be released from the DEP or given an Entry Level (Uncharacterized) Separation. The [http://www.girightshotline.org GI Rights Network], a non-profit that assists military personnel seeking discharges, cites [http://usmilitary.about.com About.com's US Military section] in reporting that no one has been prosecuted or involuntarily ordered to active duty for not reporting to BCT since at least the 1970's.<ref>http://www.girightshotline.org/discharges/dep/dep-fact-sheet.pdf</ref>

While the DEP enlistment agreement states that the military can technically order any DEP recruit to active duty in the event that they do not fulfill their commitment by reporting to training on their specified date, no recruit has been involuntarily ordered to active duty in decades.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/dep.htm|title=The Delayed Enlistment Program (DEP)|author=Powers, Rod|website=About.com|access-date=2012-08-06|archive-date=2012-07-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702094202/http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/dep.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Enlistees in the DEP are encouraged to spend a significant amount of time at a local recruiting office and receive training from their [[military recruitment|recruiter]] before they ship out to begin recruit training and active service. Areas that are covered during this phase include [[drill and ceremony]], [[first aid]], [[chain of command]], [[Military rank|rank structure]], and [[Physical fitness|physical training]].

== References ==

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== Notes ==

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== References ==

{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* [http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/dep.htm About the DEP] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702094202/http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/dep.htm |date=2012-07-02 }}

* [http://www.delayedentryprogram.com Delayed Entry Program (DEP) information and resources on delayedentryprogram.com]

* [http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/dep.htm DEP Information on About.com's U.S. Military section]

[[Category:MilitaryUnited ofStates themilitary United Statespolicies]]

* [http://www.girightshotline.org/discharges Discharge guidelines and summaries (including discharges from the DEP) on girightshotline.org/discharges]