PRIA Logo™
Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-102

§12642 Standards and Qualifications: Result of Failure to Comply With

Title 10 › Subtitle E — Reserve Components › PART II — PERSONNEL GENERALLY › CHAPTER 1219 — STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES FOR RETENTION AND PROMOTION › § 12642

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Reserve commissioned officers must earn each year the number of points the Secretary sets under section 12732(a)(2). If a military department sets the number, the Secretary of Defense must approve it. The Secretary cannot require more than 50 points. If an officer fails to meet the points or other standards (subject to section 12645), they are moved to the Retired Reserve if qualified and they apply, or to inactive status if eligible, or are discharged. Excludes commissioned warrant officers and adjutants general (and assistants) of States, Puerto Rico, and D.C.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §12642

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)To be retained in an active status, a reserve commissioned officer must, in any applicable yearly period, attain the number of points under section 12732(a)(2) of this title prescribed by the Secretary concerned, with the approval of the Secretary of Defense in the case of a Secretary of a military department, and must conform to such other standards and qualifications as the Secretary concerned may prescribe. The Secretary may not prescribe a minimum of more than 50 points under this subsection.
(b)Subject to section 12645 of this title, a reserve commissioned officer who fails to attain the number of points, or to conform to the standards and qualifications, prescribed in subsection (a) shall—
(1)be transferred to the Retired Reserve if he is qualified and applies therefor;
(2)if he is not qualified or does not apply for transfer to the Retired Reserve, be transferred to an inactive status, if he is qualified therefor; or
(3)if he is not transferred to the Retired Reserve or an inactive status, be discharged from his reserve appointment.
(c)This section does not apply to commissioned warrant officers or to adjutants general or assistant adjutants general of States, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 1002(a) 1002(b)50:1192(b) (1st sentence, less 11th through 29th words).50:1181(4).50:1192(b) (less 1st sentence).Sept. 3, 1954, ch. 1257, §§ 102(1) (as applicable to § 202(b)), 102(4), 202(b), 68 Stat. 1149, 1150. 1002(c)50:1181(1) (as applicable to 50:1192(b)). 50:1192(b) (11th through 29th words of 1st sentence). In subsection (a), the word “minimum” is omitted as surplusage. The last sentence is substituted for the words “(not to exceed fifty)”.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2006—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 109–163 struck out “and Territories” after “States”. 1994—Pub. L. 103–337, § 1662(h)(2), renumbered section 1002 of this title as this section. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–337, § 1675(d)(1)(A), substituted “12732(a)(2)” for “1332(a)(2)”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–337, § 1675(d)(1)(B), substituted “12645” for “1005”. 1988—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100–456 struck out “the Canal Zone,” after “Puerto Rico,”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1994 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 103–337 effective Dec. 1, 1994, except as otherwise provided, see section 1691 of Pub. L. 103–337, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 10001 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 12642

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102