PRIA Logo™
Title 10 — Armed ForcesRelease 119-73not60

§2610 Competitions for Excellence: Acceptance of Monetary Awards

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— General Military Law › Part IV— SERVICE, SUPPLY, AND PROPERTY › Chapter 155— ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS AND SERVICES › § 2610

Last updated Apr 3, 2026|Official source

Summary

Secretary of Defense may take cash awards from private groups for entering contests that reward excellence or new ideas in how the military provides services or runs programs. The money must go into nonappropriated funds for morale, welfare, and recreation (MWR) for the command, base, or unit that won, and be used only for those MWR activities. Appropriation laws may let Defense pay costs of entering or accepting awards. The Secretary must make rules and report each year to Congress about the awards and expenses. Authority ends February 10, 1998.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §2610

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of Defense may accept a monetary award given to the Department of Defense by a nongovernmental entity as a result of the participation of the Department in a competition carried out to recognize excellence or innovation in providing services or administering programs.
(b)A monetary award accepted under subsection (a) shall be credited to one or more nonappropriated fund accounts supporting morale, welfare, and recreation activities for the command, installation, or other activity that is recognized for the award. Amounts so credited may be expended only for such activities.
(c)Subject to such limitations as may be provided in appropriation Acts, appropriations available to the Department of Defense may be used to pay incidental expenses incurred by the Department to participate in a competition described in subsection (a) or to accept a monetary award under this section.
(d)(1)The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to determine the disposition of monetary awards accepted under this section and the payment of incidental expenses under subsection (c).
(2)At the end of each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report for that year describing the disposition of monetary awards accepted under this section and the payment of incidental expenses under subsection (c).
(e)The authority of the Secretary under this section shall expire on February 10, 1998.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1996—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 104–201 substituted “on February 10, 1998” for “two years after the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996”.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 2610

Title 10 — Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 3, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60