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Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-110

§20502 Retention Boards

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 › § 20502

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of the Air Force must set up retention boards to hear officers who are required to show cause for staying on active Space Force duty. Each board must have at least three qualified officers and must give a fair and impartial hearing. If a board decides the officer did not prove they should stay, the board will recommend one of three actions: move the officer to inactive status, retire the officer if eligible, or discharge the officer. The officer may be put on leave after getting the board’s report and after any time allowed to reply, and that leave can continue until the Secretary makes a final decision. If the board finds the officer should stay, the case is closed. An officer kept under one part of the rules cannot be asked to show cause again for one year. If kept under a different part, they can be asked again anytime, except not again for the same conduct unless the earlier board’s findings were obtained by fraud or collusion. The board may also suggest extra training or education to fix problems.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §20502

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Convening of Boards to Consider Officers Required to Show Cause.—
The Secretary of the Air Force shall convene retention boards at such times and places as the Secretary may prescribe to receive evidence and make findings and recommendations as to whether an officer who is required under section 20501 of this title to show cause for retention in a space force active status should be retained in a space force active status. Each retention board shall be composed of not less than three officers having the qualifications prescribed by section 20506 of this title.
(b)Fair and Impartial Hearing.—
A retention board shall give a fair and impartial hearing to each officer required under section 20501 of this title to show cause for retention in a space force active status.
(c)Effect of Board Determination That an Officer Has Failed to Establish That the Officer Should Be Retained.—
(1)If a retention board determines that the officer has failed to establish that the officer should be retained in a space force active status, the board shall recommend to the Secretary of the Air Force one of the following:
(A)That the officer be transferred to an inactive status.
(B)That the officer, if qualified under any provision of law, be retired.
(C)That the officer be discharged from the Space Force.
(2)Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Air Force, an officer as to whom a retention board makes a recommendation under paragraph (1) that the officer not be retained in a space force active status may be required to take leave pending the completion of the officer’s case under this chapter. The officer may be required to begin such leave at any time following the officer’s receipt of the report of the retention board, including the board’s recommendation for removal from a space force active status, and the expiration of any period allowed for submission by the officer of a rebuttal to that report. The leave may be continued until the date on which action by the Secretary of the Air Force on the officer’s case is completed or may be terminated at any earlier time.
(d)Effect of Board Determination That an Officer Has Established That the Officer Should Be Retained.—
(1)If a retention board determines that the officer has established that the officer should be retained in a space force active status, the officer’s case is closed.
(2)An officer who is required to show cause for retention in a space force active status under subsection (a) of section 20501 of this title and who is determined under paragraph (1) to have established that the officer should be retained in a space force active status may not again be required to show cause for retention in a space force active status under such subsection within the one-year period beginning on the date of that determination.
(3)(A)Subject to subparagraph (B), an officer who is required to show cause for retention in a space force active status under subsection (b) of section 20501 of this title and who is determined under paragraph (1) to have established that the officer should be retained in a space force active status may again be required to show cause for retention at any time.
(B)An officer who has been required to show cause for retention in a space force active status under subsection (b) of section 20501 of this title and who is thereafter retained in an active status may not again be required to show cause for retention in a space force active status under such subsection solely because of conduct which was the subject of the previous proceedings, unless the findings or recommendations of the retention board that considered the officer’s previous case are determined to have been obtained by fraud or collusion.
(4)In the case of an officer described in paragraph (2) or paragraph (3)(A), the retention board may recommend that the officer be required to complete additional training, professional education, or such other developmental programs as may be available to correct any identified deficiencies and improve the officer’s performance within the Space Force.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2024—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 118–159, § 521(x)(1), substituted “That an Officer Has Failed to Establish That the Officer Should Be Retained” for “Than an Officer Has Failed to Establish That the Officer Should Be Retained” in heading and realigned margins. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 118–159, § 521(x)(2), substituted “That” for “Than” in heading.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 20502

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110