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Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-110

§1073e Protection of Armed Forces From Infectious Diseases

Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 55 — MEDICAL AND DENTAL CARE › § 1073e

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must make and carry out a plan so the armed forces have the diagnostic tools, testing ability, and protective gear needed to protect service members from infectious diseases and to treat those who get sick. Every military medical facility must have appropriate testing for its mission. Every deployed Navy ship must have access to testing. Service members sent outside the United States for contingency operations must have access to testing, including at field hospitals and other expeditionary medical units. The Department of Defense must keep a 30-day supply of personal protective equipment for every service member, including reserve components, and be able to resupply quickly. Each year’s defense budget must include a plan to research and develop vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments, and DoD medical labs must have the technology to do fast pandemic research.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §1073e

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Protection.—
The Secretary of Defense shall develop and implement a plan to ensure that the armed forces have the diagnostic equipment, testing capabilities, and personal protective equipment necessary to protect members of the armed forces from the threat of infectious diseases and to treat members who contract infectious diseases.
(b)Requirements.—
In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall ensure the following:
(1)Each military medical treatment facility has the testing capabilities described in such subsection, as appropriate for the mission of the facility.
(2)Each deployed naval vessel has access to the testing capabilities described in such subsection.
(3)Members of the armed forces deployed in support of a contingency operation outside of the United States have access to the testing capabilities described in such subsection, including at field hospitals, combat support hospitals, field medical stations, and expeditionary medical facilities.
(4)The Department of Defense maintains—
(A)a 30-day supply of personal protective equipment in a quantity sufficient for each member of the armed forces, including the reserve components thereof; and
(B)the capability to rapidly resupply such equipment.
(c)Research and Development.—
(1)The Secretary shall include with the defense budget materials (as defined by section 231(f) of this title) for a fiscal year a plan to research and develop vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for infectious diseases.
(2)The Secretary shall ensure that the medical laboratories of the Department of Defense are equipped with the technology needed to facilitate rapid research and development of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics in the case of a pandemic.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 231(f) of this title, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), was redesignated as section 231(g) of this title by Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title III, § 352(a)(2), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2533, and subsequently was redesignated as section 231(h) of this title by Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title X, § 1021(1), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2052.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 1073e

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110