Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§2648 Persons and supplies: sea, land, and air transportation

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART IV— - SERVICE, SUPPLY, AND PROPERTY › Chapter CHAPTER 157— - TRANSPORTATION › § 2648

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

When the Secretary of Defense decides there is room, certain people and supplies may ride on military ships, vehicles, or aircraft. That includes members of Congress; other U.S. officials on official business; staff and supplies of the YMCA’s Armed Services Department; officers and employees of Puerto Rico on duty; and families of military members, DoD or Coast Guard employees, and the officials listed above.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §2648

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Whenever the Secretary of Defense considers that space is available, the following persons and supplies may be transported on vessels, vehicles, or aircraft operated by the Department of Defense:
(1)Members of Congress.
(2)Other officers of the United States traveling on official business.
(3)Secretaries and supplies of the Armed Services Department of the Young Men’s Christian Association.
(4)Officers and employees of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on official business.
(5)The families of members of the armed forces, officers and employees of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard, and persons described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (4).

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 474410:1369.10:1370.10:1371 (less last 29 words).Mar. 2, 1907, ch. 2511 (6th proviso, less last 29 words under “Transportation of the Army and Its Supplies”), 34 Stat. 1170. June 30, 1921, ch. 33 (8th proviso under “Transportation of the Army and Its Supplies”), 42 Stat. 81. Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 209 (3d proviso under “Transportation of the Army and Its Supplies”), 36 Stat. 1051. Reference to the Philippine government, contained in the source statute for 10:1371, is omitted, since the Philippine Republic now has the status of a foreign country and only possessions of the United States are intended to be covered by the source statute. The words “Armed Services Department” are substituted for the words “Army and Navy Department”, in 10:1370, to reflect the present name of that Department of the Young Men’s Christian Association. (See also third sentence of revision note for section 4746 of this title, below.)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2011—Pub. L. 111–383 substituted “Persons and supplies: sea, land, and air transportation” for “Persons and supplies: sea transportation” in section catchline and inserted “, vehicles, or aircraft” after “vessels” in introductory provisions. 2004—Pub. L. 108–375, § 1072(b)(1), in introductory provisions, substituted “Secretary of Defense” for “Secretary of the Army” and struck out “Army transport agencies or, within bulk space allocations made to the Department of the Army, on vessels operated by any military transport agency of” before “the Department of Defense”, redesignated pars. (4) to (8) as (1) to (5), respectively, in par. (5), substituted “members of the armed forces, officers and employees of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard, and persons described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (4)” for “persons described in clauses (1), (2), (4), (5), and (7)”, in concluding provisions, substituted “paragraph (4) or (5)” for “clause (7) or (8)”, and struck out former pars. (1) to (3) which read as follows: “(1) Members of the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard. “(2) Officers and employees of the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Air Force, or the Coast Guard. “(3) Supplies of the Department of the Navy.” Pub. L. 108–375, § 1072(a), renumbered section 4744 of this title as this section. 1960—Pub. L. 86–624 struck out cl. (6) which authorized transportation of officers and employees of the Territory of Hawaii, redesignated cls. (7) to (9) as (6) to (8), respectively, and substituted “clauses (1), (2), (4), (5), and (7)” for “clauses (1), (2), (4), (5), (6), and (8)” in redesignated cl. (8), and “clause (7) or (8)” for “clause (8) or (9)” in closing sentence.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 2648

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73