Title 10 — Armed ForcesRelease 119-73
§653 Minimum service requirement for certain flight crew positions
Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART II— - PERSONNEL › Chapter CHAPTER 37— - GENERAL SERVICE REQUIREMENTS › § 653
Summary
People who finish flight training must serve a set time on active duty. If they train to fly fixed‑wing jet aircraft, they must serve 8 years. If they train to fly any other kind of aircraft, they must serve 6 years. Navigators and naval flight officers must serve 6 years after finishing their training. "Service obligation" means the time on active duty, or for reserve members who did their flight training while on active‑duty for training, the active‑status time they must serve in the Selected Reserve after finishing undergraduate training.
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §653
Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)The minimum service obligation of any member who successfully completes training in the armed forces as a pilot shall be 8 years, if the member is trained to fly fixed-wing jet aircraft, or 6 years, if the member is trained to fly any other type of aircraft.
(b)The minimum service obligation of any member who successfully completes training in the armed forces as a navigator or naval flight officer shall be 6 years.
(c)In this section, the term “service obligation” means the period of active duty or, in the case of a member of a reserve component who completed flight training in an active duty for training status as a member of a reserve component, the period of service in an active status in the Selected Reserve required to be served after—
(1)completion of undergraduate pilot training, in the case of training as a pilot;
(2)completion of undergraduate navigator training, in the case of training as a navigator; or
(3)completion of undergraduate training as a naval flight officer, in the case of training as a naval flight officer.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1992—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 102–484, § 506(a)(1), substituted “service obligation” for “active duty obligation”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–484, § 506(a)(2), substituted “the term ‘service obligation’ means the period of active duty or, in the case of a member of a reserve component who completed flight training in an active duty for training status as a member of a reserve component, the period of service in an active status in the Selected Reserve” for “the term ‘active duty obligation’ means the period of active duty”. 1990—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–510, § 1484(k)(3)(A), substituted “or” for “and” before “6 years”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–510, § 1484(k)(3)(B), inserted a comma after first reference to “training” in pars. (1) and (2) and after first reference to “naval flight officer” in par. (3).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1992 Amendment Pub. L. 102–484, div. A, title V, § 506(b), Oct. 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 2405, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall take effect as of November 29, 1989.”
Effective Date
Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title VI, § 634(b), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1454, provided that: “(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), section 653 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a)(1), shall apply to persons who begin undergraduate pilot training, undergraduate navigator training, or undergraduate naval flight officer training, as the case may be, after
September 30, 1990. “(2) Such section shall apply to persons who graduate from the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, the United States Air Force Academy, and the Coast Guard Academy after
December 31, 1991, and to persons who satisfactorily complete the academic and military requirements of the Senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program (provided for in chapter 103 of title 10, United States Code) after
December 31, 1991. “(3) The minimum service requirements provided for such section shall not apply in the case of any person who entered into an agreement with the Secretary concerned before
October 1, 1990, and who is obligated under the terms of such agreement to serve on active duty for a period less than the applicable period specified in section 653 of such title. “(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘Secretary concerned’ has the meaning given that term in section 101(8) of title 10, United States Code [now 10 U.S.C. 101(a)(9)].” [For transfer of authorities, functions, personnel, and assets of the Coast Guard, including the authorities and functions of the Secretary of Transportation relating thereto, to the Department of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see section 468(b), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of
November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.]
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 653
Title 10 — Armed Forces
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73