Category:United States Naval Academy Oath of Office

At the USNA, the portal between the country of Constitutional rights and the country of military justice is the Oath of Office, informally known as the midshipman oath. It is not to be confused with other oaths, such as the ones by which new graduates are inducted into the Navy and Marine Corps as officers, or the Oath of Leadership by which First Class Midshipmen become instructors of Plebe Summer. The Naval Academy Oath of Office is irrevocable and one-way. Internally it is not distinguished from the Oath required of any other office of the government, including the Presidency. The candidate swears to uphold and defend the Constitution and to perform his duties without reservation, "so help me God," right hand upheld. Before the swearing the candidate can leave at any time. After it he can only change his new status by due process of Military Justice, to which he is now subject.

Despite its language presuming religious context, which is a legacy, the oath has no binding religious implications. It is not necessarily, for example, an affirmation of belief in God. The midshipman can be a believer in nothing or in anything whatever. Indeed as an oath with religious impact, it might be problematical to some beliefs: the New Testament commands Christians to "swear not at all ...." The "so help me God" phrase or in other versions "under God," is an issue sometimes Constitutionally disputed, but it has no effect on the oath as a strictly legal document, which inducts citizens into the Armed Forces.