Title 10 — Armed ForcesRelease 119-73
§7253 Flying officer rating: qualifications
Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle B— - Army › Part PART II— - PERSONNEL › Chapter CHAPTER 733— - MISCELLANEOUS RIGHTS AND BENEFITS › § 7253
Summary
Only certain Army officers can be called flying officers. They are officers who are qualified pilots or aircraft observers, flight surgeons, officers who are in flight training, other combat‑crew members who are not pilots or observers, and, in wartime, officers who are qualified as observers.
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §7253
Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Only officers of the Army in the following categories may be rated as flying officers:
(1)Officers who have aeronautical ratings as pilots of service types of aircraft or as aircraft observers.
(2)Flight surgeons.
(3)Officers undergoing flight training.
(4)Officers who are members of combat crews, other than pilots of service types of aircraft, aircraft observers, and observers.
(5)In time of war, officers who have aeronautical ratings as observers.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 369110:291c.10:291c-1.10:291e.
June 3, 1916, ch. 134, § 13a (8th, 9th, and 11th provisos); added
July 2, 1926, ch. 721, § 2 (4th sentence, less 2d proviso), 44 Stat. 781;
June 16, 1936, ch. 587, § 3, 49 Stat. 1524; Oct. 4, 1940, ch. 742 (last proviso), 54 Stat. 963.
June 24, 1948, ch. 632 (2d proviso under “Finance Department”), 62 Stat. 650. 10:291c (proviso) and the words “after
June 30, 1948”, in 10:291c–1, are omitted as executed. The definition of the term “flying officer”, in 10:291c, originally was a definition of the term “flying officer in time of peace” as provided by section 2 of the Act of
July 2, 1926, ch. 721, 44 Stat. 781. section 1 of the Act of
October 4, 1940, ch. 742, 54 Stat. 963, eliminated the words “in time of peace”. As a consequence of that amendment, 10:291e (1st 26 words) is omitted as surplusage. Clause (2) is substituted for 10:291c–1 (less last 10 words). The words “commissioned officers or warrant”, in 10:291c–1, are omitted as surplusage. In clause (4), the last 12 words are substituted for the words “any other”.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2018—Pub. L. 115–232 renumbered section 3691 of this title as this section.
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.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 7253
Title 10 — Armed Forces
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73