Is there any existing statutes that prohibiting an only child in the military from being deployed to a combat zone?
A. Only sons or the last to carry on the family name must register and can be deployed. However, they may be entitled to a peacetime deferment if there is a military death in the immediate family. Although details regarding the provisions written into Selective Service law after WWII varied over the years, the basic premise remains the same. Where a family member has been lost as a result of military service, the remaining family members should be protected. The fact that a serviceman is an only child or only son does not qualify him for consideration. He must be a survivor of one who died as a result of military service. The present law provides a peacetime exemption for anyone whose parent or sibling was killed in action, died in the line of duty or died later as a result of disease or injury incurred during military service. The son does not have to be the only son in order to qualify; if there are four sons in the family and one dies in the line of duty, the remaining three would q
