Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§1522 Posthumous warrants

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART II— - PERSONNEL › Chapter CHAPTER 77— - POSTHUMOUS COMMISSIONS AND WARRANTS › § 1522

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary may issue a warrant in the name of a service member who, after September 8, 1939, was officially recommended for appointment or promotion to a grade that is not a commissioned officer grade but died before they could accept it. The warrant is dated from the recommendation, and the member’s records will show them in that grade from that date until their death. For a promotion to a higher grade, the Secretary must find the member was qualified for that grade when they died.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §1522

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary concerned may issue, or have issued, an appropriate warrant in the name of a member of the armed forces who, after September 8, 1939, was officially recommended for appointment or promotion to a grade other than a commissioned grade but was unable to accept the appointment or promotion because of death.
(b)A warrant issued under subsection (a) shall issue as of the date of the recommendation, and the member’s name shall be carried on the records of the military or executive department concerned as if he had served in the grade to which posthumously appointed or promoted from the date of the recommendation to the date of his death.
(c)A warrant issued under subsection (a) in connection with the promotion of a deceased member to a higher grade shall require a finding by the Secretary concerned that, at the time of death of the member, the member was qualified for appointment to that higher grade.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 1522(a)10:612 (words before semicolon).34:285e (words before semicolon).
July 28, 1942, ch. 528, § 4, 56 Stat. 723;
July 17, 1953, ch. 220, § 1 (a)–(d), 67 Stat. 176. 1522(b)10:612 (words after semicolon). 34:285e (words after semicolon). In subsection (a), the words “a member of” are substituted for the words “any person who, while in”, in 10:612 and 34:285e. The words “armed forces” are substituted for the words “the military service of the United States”, in 10:612; and “the naval service of the United States”, in 34:285e (which did not appear in the source statute for the revised section, as amended by the act of
July 17, 1953, ch. 220, § 1(b), 67 Stat. 177). The words “other than a commissioned grade” are substituted for the words “noncommissioned grade” to make it clear that the revised section covers warrant officers. The words “receive or” are omitted as surplusage. In subsection (b), the words “appointment or promotion”, “and branch of the service”, “official”, and “by such warrant” are omitted as surplusage.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2008—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 110–417, § 502(b)(1), struck out “in line of duty” before period at end. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 110–417, § 502(b)(2), added subsec. (c).

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 1522

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73