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Title 10 — Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§636 Retirement for years of service: regular and Space Force officers in grades above brigadier general; regular Navy officers in grades above rear admiral (lower half)

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 › § 636

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Regular officers who are major generals in the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Space Force, and Regular Navy officers who are rear admirals, must be retired if they have not already left service on the later of two dates: the first day of the month after five years in that rank or the first day of the month after they complete 35 years of active commissioned service, unless different rules apply under subsection (b), (c), or under sections 637(b) or 637a. If the officer is serving as a lieutenant general or vice admiral, the years-of-service limit is 38 years; if serving as a general or admiral, it is 40 years.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §636

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) and 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 major general, and each officer of the Regular Navy who holds the regular grade of rear admiral, shall, if not earlier retired, be retired on the first day of the first month beginning after the date of the fifth anniversary of his appointment to that grade or on the first day of the month after the month in which he completes 35 years of active commissioned service, whichever is later.
(2)Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) and under section 637(b) or 637a of this title, each officer of the Space Force who holds the grade of major general shall, if not earlier retired, be retired as specified in paragraph (1).
(b)In the administration of subsection (a) in the case of an officer who is serving in the grade of lieutenant general or vice admiral, the number of years of active commissioned service applicable to the officer is 38 years.
(c)In the administration of subsection (a) in the case of an officer who is serving in the grade of general or admiral, the number of years of active commissioned service applicable to the officer is 40 years.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2023—Pub. L. 118–31, § 1722(b)(6)(E)(iv), substituted “and Space Force officers in grades above brigadier general; regular Navy officers in grades above” for “officers in grades above brigadier general and” in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 118–31, § 1722(b)(6)(D), 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”. 2016—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–328 inserted “or 637a” after “637(b)”. 1997—Pub. L. 105–85, § 506(b), substituted “regular officers in grades above brigadier general and rear admiral (lower half)” for “regular major generals and rear admirals” in section catchline. Pub. L. 105–85, § 506(a), designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, substituted “Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) and” for “Except as provided”, and added subsecs. (b) and (c). 1984—Pub. L. 98–525 substituted “35” for “thirty-five”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

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. § 636

Title 10 — Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73