Collapse to view only § 645. Definitions
- § 641. Applicability of chapter
- § 642. Entitlement of officers discharged or retired under this chapter to separation pay or retired pay
- § 643. Chaplains: discharge or retirement upon loss of professional qualifications
- [§ 644. Repealed.
- § 645. Definitions
- § 646. Consideration of performance as a member of the Joint Staff
- § 647. Force shaping authority
§ 641. Applicability of chapterOfficers in the following categories are not subject to this chapter (other than section 640 and, in the case of warrant officers, section 628):
(1) Reserve officers—
(A) on active duty authorized under section 115(a)(1)(B) or 115(b)(1) of this title, or excluded from counting for active duty end strengths under section 115(i) of this title;
(B) on active duty under section 7038, 8083, 8084, 9038, 10211, 10301 through 10305, 10502, 10505, 10506(a), 10506(b), 10507, or 12402 of this title or section 708 of title 32; or
(C) on full-time National Guard duty.
(2) The director of admissions, dean, and permanent professors at the United States Military Academy, the registrar, dean, and permanent professors at the United States Air Force Academy, and permanent professors of the Navy (as defined in regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy).
(3) Warrant officers.
(4) Retired officers on active duty.
(5) Students at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
(Added Pub. L. 96–513, title I, § 105, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2866; amended Pub. L. 98–525, title IV, § 414(a)(5), title V, § 527(b), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2519, 2525; Pub. L. 99–433, title V, § 531(a)(2), Oct. 1, 1986, 100 Stat. 1063; Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title XVI, § 1671(c)(5), Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 3014; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title XV, § 1501(c)(6), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 498; Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title XII, § 1212(e), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2694; Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title V, § 521], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–108; Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title V, § 511(a), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1092; Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title IV, § 416(j), title V, § 501(d), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 1869, 1874; Pub. L. 109–364, div. A, title VI, § 621(c), Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2255; Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title V, § 508(b), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 97; Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title VI, § 618(b), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1426; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 809(a), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1840.)
§ 642. Entitlement of officers discharged or retired under this chapter to separation pay or retired pay
(a) An officer who is discharged under this chapter is entitled, if eligible therefor, to separation pay under section 1174 of this title.
(b) An officer who is retired under this chapter is entitled to retired pay computed under chapter 71 of this title.
(Added Pub. L. 96–513, title I, § 105, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2867.)
§ 643. Chaplains: discharge or retirement upon loss of professional qualifications
Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, a commissioned officer on the active-duty list of the Army, Navy, or Air Force who is appointed or designated as a chaplain may, if he fails to maintain the qualifications needed to perform his professional function, be discharged or, if eligible for retirement, may be retired.
(Added Pub. L. 96–513, title I, § 105, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2867.)
[§ 644. Repealed. Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title XVI, § 1622(b), Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2961]
§ 645. DefinitionsIn this chapter:
(1) The term “promotion zone” means a promotion eligibility category consisting of the officers on an active-duty list in the same grade and competitive category—
(A) who—
(i) in the case of officers in grades below colonel, for officers of the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, or captain, for officers of the Navy, have neither (I) failed of selection for promotion to the next higher grade, nor (II) been removed from a list of officers recommended for promotion to that grade (other than after having been placed on that list after a selection from below the promotion zone); or
(ii) in the case of officers in the grade of colonel or brigadier general, for officers of the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, or captain or rear admiral (lower half), for officers of the Navy, have neither (I) not been recommended for promotion to the next higher grade when considered in the promotion zone, nor (II) been removed from a list of officers recommended for promotion to that grade (other than after having been placed on that list after a selection from below the promotion zone); and
(B) are senior to the officer designated by the Secretary of the military department concerned to be the junior officer in the promotion zone eligible for consideration for promotion to the next higher grade.
(2) The term “officers above the promotion zone” means a group of officers on an active-duty list in the same grade and competitive category who—
(A) are eligible for consideration for promotion to the next higher grade;
(B) are in the same grade as those officers in the promotion zone for that competitive category; and
(C) are senior to the senior officer in the promotion zone for that competitive category.
(3) The term “officers below the promotion zone” means a group of officers on the active-duty list in the same grade and competitive category who—
(A) are eligible for consideration for promotion to the next higher grade;
(B) are in the same grade as the officers in the promotion zone for that competitive category; and
(C) are junior to the junior officer in the promotion zone for that competitive category.
(Added Pub. L. 96–513, title I, § 105, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2867; amended Pub. L. 97–86, title IV, § 405(b)(1), Dec. 1, 1981, 95 Stat. 1105; Pub. L. 98–525, title V, § 533(a), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2528; Pub. L. 99–145, title V, § 514(b)(1), Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 628; Pub. L. 102–25, title VII, § 701(i)(1), Apr. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 115.)
§ 646. Consideration of performance as a member of the Joint Staff
The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shall ensure that officer personnel policies of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force concerning promotion, retention, and assignment give appropriate consideration to the performance of an officer as a member of the Joint Staff.
(Added Pub. L. 98–525, title XIII, § 1301(d)(1), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2612; amended Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title IX, § 924(b)(1)(C), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3820.)
§ 647. Force shaping authority
(a)Authority.—The Secretary concerned may, solely for the purpose of restructuring an armed force under the jurisdiction of that Secretary—
(1) discharge an officer described in subsection (b); or
(2) transfer such an officer from the active-duty list of that armed force to the reserve active-status list of a reserve component.
(b)Covered Officers.—
(1) The authority under this section may be exercised in the case of an officer (other than an officer of the Space Force) who—
(A) has completed not more than six years of service as a commissioned officer in the armed forces; or
(B) has completed more than six years of service as a commissioned officer in the armed forces, but has not completed a minimum service obligation applicable to that member.
(2) In this subsection, the term “minimum service obligation” means the initial period of required active duty service together with any additional period of required active duty service incurred during the initial period of required active duty service.
(c)Appointment of Transferred Officers.—An officer of the Regular Army, Regular Air Force, Regular Navy, or Regular Marine Corps who is transferred to a reserve active-status list under this section shall be discharged from the regular component concerned and appointed as a reserve commissioned officer under section 12203 of this title.
(d)Regulations.—The Secretary concerned shall prescribe regulations for the exercise of the Secretary’s authority under this section.
(e)Space Force.—For a similar provision with respect to officers of the Space Force, see section 20405 of this title.
(Added Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title V, § 501(c)(1)(A), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 1873; amended Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title V, § 503(b), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 95; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title IX, § 924(b)(4)(H), (16), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3822, 3823; Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XVII, § 1718(b), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 658.)