US Presidents With No Prior Military Experience
It might be easy to assume that the President of the United States must have previously served in the military due to the title of Commander-in-Chief.
However, the reality is that military service isn’t a requirement for holding the highest office in the United States. Therefore, a significantly large number of American Presidents did not serve in any capacity.
Military service was once considered an essential credential for being the president, especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, since the Vietnam War era, public expectations have shifted, and civilian careers have become more common paths to the White House.
The US Constitution states that only a civilian can have control of the armed forces by naming the President as Commander-in-Chief. There is no constitutional prohibition on a current or former general becoming President. Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower were former generals.
The number of sitting presidents who served in the military is 31, while 15 presidents have not.
Here is a list of the 15 presidents who did not serve in the military:
| President | Reason for Non-Service |
|---|---|
| John Adams | No formal military service; served in political and diplomatic roles during Revolution |
| Thomas Jefferson | No formal military role; held civil leadership positions during the Revolutionary War |
| John Quincy Adams | Served diplomatically and in government during wartime, not in the military |
| Martin Van Buren | Political career focused on law and public service; no military background |
| Grover Cleveland | Legally paid a substitute during the Civil War, which was allowed under the draft law |
| William H. Taft | Career focused on law, judiciary, and administration; no wartime draft during his age |
| Woodrow Wilson | Academic and political career; no military conflict requiring his service |
| Warren G. Harding | Was of age during peacetime; no military conflict requiring service |
| Calvin Coolidge | Came of age post-Spanish-American War; not drafted or enlisted |
| Herbert Hoover | Civilian humanitarian work during WWI; not in uniformed service |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt | Assistant Secretary of the Navy (civilian role); never enlisted or commissioned |
| Bill Clinton | Received educational deferments; later entered draft lottery during the Vietnam War |
| Barack Obama | Came of age post–Vietnam draft; no conscription; pursued academic and political career |
| Donald Trump | Received four student deferments and a medical deferment (bone spurs) during Vietnam |
| Joe Biden | Received student deferments and a medical deferment (asthma) during the Vietnam War |
Five recent US presidents who didn’t serve in the military.
Donald J. Trump
In 1968, when Donald Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, he was in good health. At this time, the United States was experiencing one of the bloodiest years of the Vietnam War. He was 22 years old, standing at 6 feet 2 inches tall, and an athlete.
Despite meeting the requirements for military service, Trump received four education deferments during his school days. Initial deferment came on 28th July 1964, a few weeks before he started his studies at Fordham. Later, he received other suspensions during his junior, sophomore, and senior years in college.
When he was set to graduate, he was diagnosed with bone spurs, making him land a fifth military deferment. This would see him stay out of the Vietnam War, as he was rendered unfit for service. After college, President Trump didn’t join the army. Instead, he joined his father in business.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt served as US president from 1933 to 1945, which included the troubling years of World War II. Amazingly, FDR is the only President to have been elected four times.
Before becoming the President of the United States, Roosevelt served as New York Governor from 1929 to 1932. He also served as the assistant secretary of the Navy from 1913 to 1920. However, he did not serve in the military himself.
All the same, it is noted that Roosevelt had a long commitment to the Navy. He played a significant role in establishing the Council of National Defense and the US Navy Reserve. He wanted to serve as a naval officer, but he was declined by the Wilson administration, who asked him to serve as the Assistant Secretary.
President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton served as President from 1993 to 2001. Before holding the nation’s most prestigious office, he served as the Governor of Arkansas twice. However, he never served in the military.
Clinton acquired educational deferments from 1963 to 1968 to attend Georgetown. Also, after graduating, he received a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford. In 1968, the law that allowed deferments for law and graduate school was changed, and he received a draft notice.
However, Clinton enrolled in the ROTC program at the University of Arkansas Law School to avoid immediate induction. He later chose not to enter the program and instead returned to Oxford to finish his Master’s.
In 1969, when returning from England, the President introduced the draft lottery. Clinton then took chances with the lottery to find an alternative service if he got a low number.
President Barack Obama
President Joe Biden
Joe Biden was never in uniform. He received deferments during his undergraduate days at the University of Delaware. In addition, he received a postponement for three years while in law school at Syracuse University.
In 1968, his education deferments expired. However, he applied for deferment, claiming that he had asthma when he was a teenager and did not experience combat during the Vietnam War.
The above presidents utilized the years they would have spent on the battlefield to acquire higher education and begin careers that would lead to the White House. Their career ambitions may not have been achieved if they had instead joined the military.
FAQ About Presidents Who Did Not Serve In The Military:
15 U.S. Presidents have never served in the military in any capacity. The full list of presidents who have not served in the military, in order, is as follows: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden.
Get Smarter on US News, History, and the Constitution
No. The U.S. Constitution does not require a President to have served in the military. The only constitutional requirements are that the President must be a natural-born U.S. citizen, at least 35 years old, and have been a resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years.
Several Presidents received student or medical deferments during the Vietnam War era, when the U.S. used a draft system:
Bill Clinton received multiple student deferments and briefly enrolled in an ROTC program but later chose to enter the draft.
Donald Trump received four student deferments and later a medical deferment due to bone spurs.
Joe Biden had student deferments and later received a medical deferment for asthma.
All these deferments were legal under the Selective Service system at the time.
The President is Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces under Article II of the Constitution. This role grants civilian control over the military, a fundamental principle of American democracy. Military service is not required to fulfill this constitutional role.
14 Responses
Just a FYI, You failed too mention President Barack Obama?
presidents-who-did-not-serve-in-the-military-president-barack-obama
President Barack Obama was the first U.S African-American President and he served two terms, from 2009 to 2017. He was the President of Harvard Law Review but did not partake in the military
Don’t forget Clinton and Biden. They did nit served in the Military either.
No recent Democrat US President has served in the military:
Biden: Nope.
Obama: Nope.
Clinton: Nope.
The last Democrat with military service was elected in 1976 – Jimmy Carter.
Does the spotty National Guard attendance of George W Bush count as “serving in the military”?
More than Obama
And yet Donald J Trump was the most effective US President of our times, leading the US to one of the best economies in history (especially for minorities), and a more peaceful world.
Trump got elected because Hillary Clinton was a hopeless candidate. She fainted on television.
Actually, that was Obama. All the data points to obama’s economy that trump inherited obama saved It from bushes recessioned
Thank you for recognizing this and posting it.
Truth matters!
Yes, but none of them except Donald J. Trump used the hilarious excuse of unfitness to serve in the military due to bone spurs !
Lol, but anyways it’s was expected from him as you can see his trouble with the law and how he used the law in his favor for self service.
obama never served and barely had any political experience.
What’s your point?
He is not the first president to not serve. Clearly the list included Clinton, Obama and even FDR.
Yes, but none of them except biden used the hilarious morainic excuse of unfitness to serve in the military due to asthma !
Lol, but anyways it’s was expected from him because he is an idiot.
You are living in an alternate reality my friend. Trump has and always will be Americas greatest joke of AMERICA!!!