Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-110

§20501 Authority to Establish Procedures to Consider the Separation of Officers for Substandard Performance of Duty and for Certain Other Reasons

Title 10 › Subtitle F — Alternative Military Personnel Systems › PART I — SPACE FORCE › CHAPTER 2011 — SEPARATION OF OFFICERS FOR SUBSTANDARD PERFORMANCE OF DUTY OR FOR CERTAIN OTHER REASONS › § 20501

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of the Air Force must write rules that let the service check the records of any active-duty Space Force officer (not retired) at any time to decide if the officer must explain why they should stay on active duty. One group of rules covers cases where an officer’s job performance is below Defense standards or the officer fails to meet Space Force qualifications under section 20403. Another group covers misconduct, moral or professional failure, or when keeping the officer is not clearly in the national security interest. Those rules must follow any limits set by the Secretary of Defense.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §20501

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Procedures for Review of Record of Officers Relating to Standards of Performance of Duty.—

(1)The Secretary of the Air Force shall prescribe, by regulation, procedures for the review at any time of the record of any commissioned officer (other than a retired officer) of the Space Force in a space force active status to determine whether the officer shall be required, because of a reason stated in paragraph (2), to show cause for the officer’s retention in a space force active status.

(2)The reasons referred to in paragraph (1) are the following:

(A)The officer’s performance of duty has fallen below standards prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.

(B)The officer has failed to satisfy the standards and qualifications established under section 20403 of this title by the Secretary of the Air Force.

(b)Procedures for Review of Record of Officers Relating to Certain Other Reasons.—

(1)The Secretary of the Air Force shall prescribe, by regulation, procedures for the review at any time of the record of any commissioned officer (other than a retired officer) of the Space Force in a space force active status to determine whether the officer should be required, because of a reason stated in paragraph (2), to show cause for the officer’s retention in a space force active status.

(2)The reasons referred to in paragraph (1) are the following:

(A)Misconduct.

(B)Moral or professional dereliction.

(C)The officer’s retention is not clearly consistent with the interests of national security.

(c)Secretary of Defense Limitations.—

Regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Air Force under this section are subject to such limitations as the Secretary of Defense may prescribe.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 20501

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110