Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§1176 Enlisted members: retention after completion of 18 or more, but less than 20, years of service

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART II— - PERSONNEL › Chapter CHAPTER 59— - SEPARATION › § 1176

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Regular enlisted members who are within two years of qualifying for retirement under section 7314 or 9314, or of being moved to the Fleet Reserve under section 8330, must be kept on active duty until they actually qualify for retirement or transfer, unless they are retired or discharged sooner under some other law. Reserve enlisted members on active duty who are picked for involuntary separation, or whose enlistment ends and are denied reenlistment, cannot be discharged, denied reenlistment, or moved off active duty without their OK if, on the day they would leave, they have at least 18 but less than 20 years of service (computed under section 12732). If they have 18 to less than 19 years, they are protected until the earlier of the date they reach 20 years or the third anniversary of their would‑be separation. If they have 19 to less than 20 years, they are protected until the earlier of the date they reach 20 years or the second anniversary of their would‑be separation. Exceptions do not apply to separations for physical disability or for cause.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §1176

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)A regular enlisted member who is selected to be involuntarily separated, or whose term of enlistment expires and who is denied reenlistment, and who on the date on which the member is to be discharged is within two years of qualifying for retirement under section 7314 or 9314 of this title, or of qualifying for transfer to the Fleet Reserve or Fleet Marine Corps Reserve under section 8330 of this title, shall be retained on active duty until the member is qualified for retirement or transfer to the Fleet Reserve or Fleet Marine Corps Reserve, as the case may be, unless the member is sooner retired or discharged under any other provision of law.
(b)A reserve enlisted member serving in an active status who is selected to be involuntarily separated (other than for physical disability or for cause), or whose term of enlistment expires and who is denied reenlistment (other than for physical disability or for cause), and who on the date on which the member is to be discharged or transferred from an active status is entitled to be credited with at least 18 but less than 20 years of service computed under section 12732 of this title, may not be discharged, denied reenlistment, or transferred from an active status without the member’s consent before the earlier of the following:
(1)If as of the date on which the member is to be discharged or transferred from an active status the member has at least 18, but less than 19, years of service computed under section 12732 of this title—
(A)the date on which the member is entitled to be credited with 20 years of service computed under section 12732 of this title; or
(B)the third anniversary of the date on which the member would otherwise be discharged or transferred from an active status.
(2)If as of the date on which the member is to be discharged or transferred from an active status the member has at least 19, but less than 20, years of service computed under section 12732 of this title—
(A)the date on which the member is entitled to be credited with 20 years of service computed under section 12732 of this title; or
(B)the second anniversary of the date on which the member would otherwise be discharged or transferred from an active status.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–232 substituted “section 7314 or 9314” for “section 3914 or 8914” and “section 8330” for “section 6330”. 1996—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–106 substituted “section 12732” for “section 1332” wherever appearing. 1993—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–160 added subsec. (b) and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (b) which provided that a reserve enlisted member serving on active duty who was selected to be involuntarily separated, or whose term of enlistment expired and who was denied reenlistment, and who on the date on which the member was to be discharged or released from active duty was entitled to be credited with at least 18 but less than 20 years of service computed under section 1332 of this title, could not be discharged or released from active duty without the member’s consent before the earlier of certain dates.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of

Amendments

and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1996 Amendment Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title XV, § 1501(c), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 498, provided that the amendment made by that section is effective as of Dec. 1, 1994, and as if included as an amendment made by the Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act, title XVI of Pub. L. 103–337, as originally enacted.

Effective Date

of 1993 Amendment Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title V, § 562(b), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1669, provided that: “Subsection (b) of section 1176 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect as of October 23, 1992.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 1176

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73