Receipt of Orders to Report for Military Service as Triggering Event

Questions sometimes arise about what triggers SCRA protections for individuals with military obligations who are not currently on active duty, such as members of the ready reserve or persons who have enlisted in the military under the delayed enlistment program.  The triggering event is receipt of orders to report for military service per 50 U.S.C. §3917 (Extension of Rights and Protections to Reserves Ordered to Report for Military Service...). Although enlistees under the delayed enlistment program are not specifically mentioned in the SCRA, those enlistees become members of the ready reserve as part of their enlistment contract (see DD Form 4/3) and, therefore, are covered by the SCRA once orders are received.  Titles II and III of the SCRA include the protections afforded activated reservists.  Specific rights and protections are enumerated in §3917. These include protections against default judgments, a conditional right to stay of civil proceedings, and early termination of vehicle and residential leases.
 

SCRA Coverage after Release from Active Duty

Note that certain sections of the SCRA extend protections to servicemembers after their release from active duty.  These servicemembers will not be in possession of active duty orders, yet may still be entitled to certain SCRA protections or entitlements that flow from their active service, as opposed to their call-up.  For example, a servicemember has up to sixty (60) days after release from active duty to seek to vacate or set aside a default judgment (§3931(g)); and up to ninety (90) days after release to seek a stay of proceedings (§3932(a)(1)). 

Other sections of the SCRA that offer certain protections and entitlements after release from active duty including:

• §3934 (Stay or Vacation of Judgments, Attachments and Garnishments)
   
• §3935(Duration and Term of Stay); §3937(a)(1)(A) (Maximum Rate of Interest for Mortgages and Trust Deeds), and
   
• §3953 (Mortgages and Deeds); and §3958(Enforcement of Storage Liens)