Sole Survivor Policy
The Sole Survivor Policy or United States Department of Defense Directive 1315.15 "Special Separation Policies for Survivorship" describes a set of regulations in the United States military, partially stipulated by law, that are designed to protect members of a family from the draft during peacetime, or from hazardous duty or other circumstances, if they have already lost family members to military service. History The issue that gave rise to 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. Section 6(o) of the Military Selective Service Act of 1948 exempted the sole surviving son of a family where one or more sons or daughters had been killed in action, died in the line of duty, or subsequently died of injuries or disease incurred while in military service, from being drafted either in peacetime or wartime. In 1971, during the Vietnam War, Congress amended Section 6(o) of the law to remove the restriction on surviving sons being drafted during periods of war or national emergency declared by Congress. Any son, not just a sole surviving son, was exempt from being drafted in peacetime if their father,