Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-102
§1171 Regular Enlisted Members: Early Discharge
Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 59 — SEPARATION › § 1171
Summary
With President-approved Secretary rules, a regular enlisted member may be discharged within one year before enlistment ends. Rights and benefits stay the same, but the member gets no pay or allowances for the time not served.
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §1171
Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned and approved by the President, any regular enlisted member of an armed force may be discharged within one year before the expiration of the term of his enlistment or extended enlistment. A discharge under this section does not affect any right, privilege, or benefit that a member would have had if he completed his enlistment or extended enlistment, except that the member is not entitled to pay and allowances for the period not served.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2011—Pub. L. 112–81 substituted “within one year” for “within three months”.
Executive Documents
Ex. Ord. No. 11498. Delegation of Authority to Secretary of Defense Ex. Ord. No. 11498, Dec. 1, 1969, 34 F.R. 19125, 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, it is ordered that the Secretary of Defense is hereby designated and empowered to approve
Regulations
issued by the Secretaries concerned under section 1171 of title 10, United States Code, effective January 2, 1968, which relate to the early discharge of regular enlisted members of the armed forces. Richard Nixon.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 1171
Title 10, Armed Forces
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102