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Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-110

§1609 Termination of Defense Intelligence Employees

Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 83 — CIVILIAN DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE EMPLOYEES › SUBCHAPTER I — DEFENSE-WIDE INTELLIGENCE PERSONNEL POLICY › § 1609

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Defense can remove any defense intelligence employee if they believe it is in the United States’ interest and if the usual legal firing procedures can’t be used without risking national security. A removal by the Secretary is final and cannot be appealed or reviewed outside the Department of Defense. The Secretary must promptly tell the congressional oversight committees when they remove someone. A removed employee may still try for other federal jobs if the Director of the Office of Personnel Management says they are eligible. The Secretary may only give this removal power to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the head of a Department of Defense intelligence component for that component’s employees, or the Secretary of a military department for that department’s employees. If one of those officials removes someone, that action can be appealed to the Secretary of Defense.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §1609

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Termination Authority.—
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Defense may terminate the employment of any employee in a defense intelligence position if the Secretary—
(1)considers that action to be in the interests of the United States; and
(2)determines that the procedures prescribed in other provisions of law that authorize the termination of the employment of such employee cannot be invoked in a manner consistent with the national security.
(b)Finality.—
A decision by the Secretary of Defense to terminate the employment of an employee under this section is final and may not be appealed or reviewed outside the Department of Defense.
(c)Notification to Congressional Committees.—
Whenever the Secretary of Defense terminates the employment of an employee under the authority of this section, the Secretary shall promptly notify the congressional oversight committees of such termination.
(d)Preservation of Right To Seek Other Employment.—
Any termination of employment under this section does not affect the right of the employee involved to seek or accept employment with any other department or agency of the United States if that employee is declared eligible for such employment by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management.
(e)Limitation on Delegation.—
The authority of the Secretary of Defense under this section may be delegated only to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the head of an intelligence component of the Department of Defense (with respect to employees of that component), or the Secretary of a military department (with respect to employees of that department). An action to terminate employment of such an employee by any such official may be appealed to the Secretary of Defense.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 1590(e) and 1604(e) of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 104–201, §§ 1632(a)(3), 1633(a).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Oct. 1, 1996, see section 1635 of Pub. L. 104–201, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1996 Amendment note under section 1593 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 1609

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110