Title 10 — Armed ForcesRelease 119-73
§633 Retirement for years of service: regular and Space Force lieutenant colonels; regular Navy commanders
Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART II— - PERSONNEL › Chapter CHAPTER 36— - PROMOTION, SEPARATION, AND INVOLUNTARY RETIREMENT OF OFFICERS ON THE ACTIVE-DUTY LIST › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - FAILURE OF SELECTION FOR PROMOTION AND RETIREMENT FOR YEARS OF SERVICE › § 633
Summary
Regular lieutenant colonels in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, regular Navy commanders, and Space Force lieutenant colonels who are not on a list recommending them for promotion to colonel (or to captain for Navy) must retire on the first day of the month after the month they reach 28 years of active commissioned service, unless they already retired or are excluded under sections 637(b) or 637a. This rule does not apply to Navy or Marine Corps limited‑duty officers covered by section 8146(e) or 8372, or to permanent professors at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §633
Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)(1)Except as provided in subsection (b) and as provided under section 637(b) or 637a of this title, each officer of the Regular Army, Regular Air Force, or Regular Marine Corps who holds the regular grade of lieutenant colonel, and each officer of the Regular Navy who holds the regular grade of commander, who is not on a list of officers recommended for promotion to the regular grade of colonel or captain, respectively, shall, if not earlier retired, be retired on the first day of the month after the month in which he completes 28 years of active commissioned service.
(2)Except as provided under section 637(b) or 637a of this title, each officer of the Space Force who holds the grade of lieutenant colonel who is not on a list of officers recommended for promotion to the grade of colonel shall, if not earlier retired, be retired on the first day of the month after the month in which the officer completes 28 years of active commissioned service.
(b)Subsection (a) does not apply to the following:
(1)An officer of the Navy or Marine Corps who is an officer designated for limited duty to whom section 8146(e) or 8372 of this title applies.
(2)An officer of the Navy or Marine Corps who is a permanent professor at the United States Naval Academy.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2023—Pub. L. 118–31, § 1722(b)(6)(E)(i), substituted “and Space Force lieutenant colonels; regular Navy” for “lieutenant colonels and” in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 118–31, § 1722(b)(6)(A), designated existing provisions as par. (1), substituted “or Regular Marine Corps” for “Regular Marine Corps, or Regular Space Force”, and added par. (2). 2021—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–283 substituted “Regular Marine Corps, or Regular Space Force” for “or Regular Marine Corps”. 2018—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 115–232 substituted “section 8146(e) or 8372” for “section 5596(e) or 6383”. 2016—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–328 inserted “or 637a” after “637(b)”. 2006—Pub. L. 109–163 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, substituted “Except as provided in subsection (b) and as provided” for “Except an officer of the Navy or Marine Corps who is an officer designated for limited duty to whom section 5596(e) or 6383 of this title applies and except as provided”, and added subsec. (b). 1998—Pub. L. 105–261 substituted “Except an officer of the Navy or Marine Corps who is an officer designated for limited duty to whom section 5596(e) or 6383 of this title applies” for “Except an officer of the Navy designated for limited duty to whom section 5596(e) of this title applies and an officer of the Marine Corps designated for limited duty to whom section 5596(e) or section 6383 of this title applies” and struck out at end “During the period beginning on
July 1, 1993, and ending on
October 1, 1999, the preceding sentence shall not apply to an officer of the Navy designated for limited duty to whom section 6383 of this title applies.” 1993—Pub. L. 103–160 substituted “
October 1, 1999” for “
October 1, 1995”. 1992—Pub. L. 102–484 inserted at end “During the period beginning on
July 1, 1993, and ending on
October 1, 1995, the preceding sentence shall not apply to an officer of the Navy designated for limited duty to whom section 6383 of this title applies.” 1984—Pub. L. 98–525, § 1405(12), substituted “28” for “twenty-eight”. Pub. L. 98–525, § 529(b), substituted “Except an officer of the Navy designated for limited duty to whom section 5596(e) of this title applies and an officer of the Marine Corps designated for limited duty to whom section 5596(e) or section 6383 of this title applies” for “Except an officer of the Navy and Marine Corps who is an officer designated for limited duty (to whom section 5596(e) or 6383 of this title applies)”.
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
Section effective Sept. 15, 1981, but the authority to prescribe
Regulations
under this section effective on Dec. 12, 1980, see section 701 of Pub. L. 96–513, set out as an
Effective Date
of 1980 Amendment note under section 101 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 633
Title 10 — Armed Forces
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73