Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§7229 Command: commissioned officers of Army Medical Department

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle B— - Army › Part PART II— - PERSONNEL › Chapter CHAPTER 725— - RANK AND COMMAND › § 7229

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Army Medical Department officers cannot command units outside their department due to rank, but Medical Service Corps officers may if the Secretary of the Army gives permission or delegates that authority.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §7229

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Except as provided in subsection (b), a commissioned officer of the Army Medical Department is not entitled to exercise command because of his rank, except within the Army Medical Department.
(b)An officer of the Medical Service Corps may exercise command of troops that are not part of the Army Medical Department whenever authorized by the Secretary of the Army. The Secretary of the Army may delegate such authority to appropriate commanders as the interest of the Army may require.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

1956 Act Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 3579(a)10:82.R.S. 1169. 3579(b)10:166e (less 1st sentence).Apr. 16, 1947, ch. 38, § 106 (less 1st sentence), 61 Stat. 44. In subsection (a), the word “commissioned” is inserted for clarity. The words “Except as provided in section 94 of this title”, not contained in section 1169 of the Revised Statutes, but contained in 10:94, are omitted as surplusage, since 10:94 deals exclusively with assignments. The words “except within the Army Medical Service” are substituted for the words “in the line or in other staff corps”. Officers of the Army Nurse Corps and Women’s Medical Specialist Corps are not covered by subsection (a), since their command authority is specifically stated in subsection (b). In subsection (b), 10:166e (last 22 words of 1st sentence) is omitted as superseded by section 3012(e) and 3065 of this title. The words “may exercise command only” are substituted for the words “shall not be entitled * * * to command except”. The words “by virtue of their rank” and “by competent authority” are omitted as surplusage. 1958 Act Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 3579(a)10 App.:376(b).Aug. 9, 1955, ch. 654, § 2, 69 Stat. 579. The amendment of subsec. (b) also reflects the authority contained in section 3357 of this title to appoint males as reserve officers of the Corps concerned.

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 7229 was renumbered section 8629 of this title. A prior section 7230, added Pub. L. 85–43, § 1(1), May 31, 1957, 71 Stat. 44; amended Pub. L. 87–651, title I, § 125, Sept. 7, 1962, 76 Stat. 514, related to sale of degaussing equipment, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title VIII, § 824(a)(4), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1707.

Amendments

2018—Pub. L. 115–232 renumbered section 3579 of this title as this section. 1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–525 substituted “subsection (b)” for “subsection (c)”. 1980—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96–513, § 212(a)(1), struck out “, other than an officer of the Army Nurse Corps or Army Medical Specialist Corps,” after “officer of the Army Medical Department”. Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 96–513, § 212(a)(2), (3), redesignated subsec. (c) as (b) and struck out former subsec. (b) which provided that an officer of the Army Nurse Corps or the Army Medical Specialist Corps exercise command only within his branch, or over persons placed under his charge. 1968—Pub. L. 90–329 substituted “Army Medical Department” for “Army Medical Service” in section catchline and in subsecs. (a) and (c). 1961—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 87–142, § 1(1), substituted “Except as provided in subsection (c), a” for “A”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 87–142, § 1(2), added subsec. (c). 1958—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 85–861, § 1(60), substituted “Army Medical Specialist Corps” for “Women’s Medical Specialist Corps”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 85–861, § 1(60), (87), substituted “Army Medical Specialist Corps” for “Women’s Medical Specialist Corps” and “his” for “her own” and “her”.

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

of 1980 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 96–513 effective Sept. 15, 1981, but the authority to prescribe

Regulations

under the amendment by Pub. L. 96–513 effective on Dec. 12, 1980, see section 701 of Pub. L. 96–513, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 7229

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73