Title 14 › Subtitle SUBTITLE II— - PERSONNEL › Chapter CHAPTER 23— - PERSONNEL; ENLISTED › § 2314
Under rules the Secretary sets, an enlisted Coast Guard member may be kept in service after their enlistment ends in certain situations. They can be held until their ship first reaches its home station or any port in a U.S. state or the District of Columbia. If serving at a shore station outside the continental U.S. or in Alaska, they can be kept until they reach a U.S. port where reenlistment or discharge can happen, or until they can be reenlisted or discharged where they are — whichever comes first, but never more than three months. During a war or a President-declared national emergency, they can be held and, for national defense, for up to six months after the war or emergency ends. In other cases, they can be held up to thirty days when it is essential to the public interest, and the Secretary’s decision under the rules is final.
Full Legal Text
Coast Guard — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
14 U.S.C. § 2314
Title 14 — Coast Guard
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73