Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-110

§1589 Participation in Management of Specified Non-federal Entities: Authorized Activities

Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 81 — CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES › § 1589

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary may let a Department of Defense employee, or a Department of Homeland Security employee for the Coast Guard when it is not part of the Navy, serve without pay as a director, officer, trustee, or otherwise help manage a named non‑Federal group. Each approval must be for a specific person, role, and organization. The employee may only give oversight, advice, and coordination and may not run the group’s day‑to‑day operations. "Employee" includes civilian officers. The Secretaries must name which groups qualify. They must include the military welfare societies listed in 1033(b)(2) and may include others in 1033(b)(3). The list can be changed no more often than semiannually. Each designation and each approval must be published in the Federal Register, and the Secretaries must write rules to carry out these actions. "Secretary concerned" includes the Secretary of Defense for DoD civilians who are not in a military department.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §1589

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Authorization.—
(1)The Secretary concerned may authorize an employee described in paragraph (2) to serve without compensation as a director, officer, or trustee, or to otherwise participate, in the management of an entity designated under subsection (b). Any such authorization shall be made on a case-by-case basis, for a particular employee to participate in a specific capacity with a specific designated entity. Such authorization may be made only for the purpose of providing oversight and advice to, and coordination with, the designated entity, and participation of the employee in the activities of the designated entity may not extend to participation in the day-to-day operations of the entity.
(2)Paragraph (1) applies to any employee of the Department of Defense or, in the case of the Coast Guard when not operating as a service in the Navy, of the Department of Homeland Security. For purposes of this section, the term “employee” includes a civilian officer.
(b)Designated Entities.—
The Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security in the case of the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, shall designate those entities for which authorization under subsection (a) may be provided. The list of entities so designated may not be revised more frequently than semiannually. In making such designations, the Secretary shall designate each military welfare society named in paragraph (2) of section 1033(b) of this title and may designate any other entity described in paragraph (3) of such section. No other entities may be designated.
(c)Publication of Designated Entities and of Authorized Persons.—
A designation of an entity under subsection (b), and an authorization under subsection (a) of an employee to participate in the management of such an entity, shall be published in the Federal Register.
(d)Civilians Outside the Military Departments.—
In this section, the term “Secretary concerned” includes the Secretary of Defense with respect to employees of the Department of Defense who are not employees of a military department.
(e)Regulations.—
The Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security in the case of the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 1589, added Pub. L. 98–525, title XIV, § 1401(f)(1), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2618, provided, with exceptions, for prohibition on payment of lodging expenses when adequate Government quarters were available, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title XVI, § 1614(b)(1), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2739.

Amendments

2002—Subsecs. (a)(2), (b), (e). 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.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 1589

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110