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Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-102

§10149 Ready Reserve: Continuous Screening

Title 10 › Subtitle E — Reserve Components › PART I — ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION › CHAPTER 1005 — ELEMENTS OF RESERVE COMPONENTS › § 10149

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

The military must run ongoing checks of Ready Reserve units and members. These checks must make sure units won’t lose many people if called up, keep the right mix of military skills, avoid keeping too many people for their civilian jobs unless their military skill is needed, recognize combat service when appropriate, and not keep people whose activation would cause extreme personal or community hardship. A Ready Reserve member who is also a Member of Congress cannot be moved to the Standby Reserve or discharged just for being a lawmaker. Only the Secretary of Defense (or the Homeland Security Secretary for the Coast Guard) can order such a move, and only for service needs while considering the member’s Ready Reserve duties. “Member of Congress” includes Delegates, Resident Commissioners, and Members-elect. If screening finds someone should not stay in the Ready Reserve, they may be moved to the Standby Reserve, discharged, or, if eligible and they ask, moved to the Retired Reserve.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §10149

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Under regulations to be prescribed by the President, the Secretary concerned shall provide a system of continuous screening of units and members of the Ready Reserve to ensure the following:
(1)That there will be no significant attrition of those members or units during a mobilization.
(2)That there is a proper balance of military skills.
(3)That except for those with military skills for which there is an overriding requirement, members having critical civilian skills are not retained in numbers beyond the need for those skills.
(4)That with due regard to national security and military requirements, recognition will be given to participation in combat.
(5)That members whose mobilization in an emergency would result in an extreme personal or community hardship are not retained in the Ready Reserve.
(b)(1)In applying Ready Reserve continuous screening under this section, an individual who is both a member of the Ready Reserve and a Member of Congress may not be transferred to the Standby Reserve or discharged on account of the individual’s position as a Member of Congress.
(2)The transfer or discharge of an individual who is both a member of the Ready Reserve and a Member of Congress may be ordered—
(A)only by the Secretary of Defense or, in the case of a Member of Congress who also is a member of the Coast Guard Reserve, the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating when it is not operating as a service in the Navy; and
(B)only on the basis of the needs of the service, taking into consideration the position and duties of the individual in the Ready Reserve.
(3)In this subsection, the term “Member of Congress” includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to Congress and a Member-elect.
(c)Under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, and by the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, a member of the Ready Reserve who is designated as a member not to be retained in the Ready Reserve as a result of screening under subsection (a) shall, as appropriate, be—
(1)transferred to the Standby Reserve;
(2)discharged; or
(3)if the member is eligible and applies therefor, transferred to the Retired Reserve.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 271 of this title, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–337, § 1661(a)(2)(A).

Amendments

2015—Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 114–92 added subsec. (b) and redesignated former subsec. (b) as (c). 2002—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107–296 substituted “of Homeland Security” for “of Transportation”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2002 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 107–296 effective on the date of transfer of the Coast Guard to the Department of Homeland Security, see section 1704(g) of Pub. L. 107–296, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

Effective Date

Section effective Dec. 1, 1994, except as otherwise provided, see section 1691 of Pub. L. 103–337, set out as a note under section 10001 of this title.

Executive Documents

Ex. Ord. No. 11190. Screening of Ready Reserve Ex. Ord. No. 11190, Dec. 29, 1964, 29 F.R. 19183, as amended by Ex. Ord. No. 11382, Nov. 28, 1967, 32 F.R. 16247; Ex. Ord. No. 13286, § 67, Feb. 28, 2003, 68 F.R. 10630, provided: By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, it is ordered as follows: section 1. There is delegated to the Secretary of Defense (and to the Secretary of Homeland Security with regard to the United States Coast Guard) the authority vested in the President by section 271 [see 10149] of title 10 of the United States Code to prescribe

Regulations

for the screening of units and members of the Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces. Sec. 2. Executive Order No. 10651 of January 6, 1956, is revoked.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 10149

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102