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Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-110

§635 Retirement for Years of Service: Regular and Space Force Brigadier Generals; Regular Navy Rear Admirals (lower Half)

Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 36 — PROMOTION, SEPARATION, AND INVOLUNTARY RETIREMENT OF OFFICERS ON THE ACTIVE-DUTY LIST › SUBCHAPTER III — FAILURE OF SELECTION FOR PROMOTION AND RETIREMENT FOR YEARS OF SERVICE › § 635

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Unless covered by sections 637(b) or 637a, regular Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps officers who are brigadier generals, and regular Navy officers who are rear admirals (lower half), who are not on a promotion list for major general or rear admiral, must be retired either on the first day of the first month after their fifth anniversary in that rank or on the first day of the month after they reach 30 years of active commissioned service, whichever is later. Unless covered by those same sections, Space Force brigadier generals who are not recommended for promotion must be retired under the same timing rule.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §635

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.—
Except as provided under section 637(b) or 637a of this title, each officer of the Regular Army, Regular Air Force, or Regular Marine Corps who holds the regular grade of brigadier general, and each officer of the Regular Navy who holds the regular grade of rear admiral (lower half), who is not on a list of officers recommended for promotion to the regular grade of major general or rear admiral, respectively, shall, if not earlier retired, be retired on the first day of the first month beginning after the date of the fifth anniversary of his appointment to that grade or on the first day of the month after the month in which he completes 30 years of active commissioned service, whichever is later.
(b)Space Force.—
Except as provided under section 637(b) or 637a of this title, each officer of the Space Force who holds the grade of brigadier general who is not on a list of officers recommended for promotion to the grade of major general shall, if not earlier retired, be retired as specified in subsection (a).

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2023—Pub. L. 118–31 substituted “and Space Force brigadier generals; regular Navy” for “brigadier generals and” in section catchline; designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, and substituted “or Regular Marine Corps” for “Regular Marine Corps, or Regular Space Force”; and added subsec. (b). 2021—Pub. L. 116–283 substituted “Regular Marine Corps, or Regular Space Force” for “or Regular Marine Corps”. 2016—Pub. L. 114–328 inserted “or 637a” after “637(b)”. 1985—Pub. L. 99–145 substituted “rear admirals (lower half)” for “commodores” in section catchline and “rear admiral (lower half)” for “commodore” in text. 1984—Pub. L. 98–525 substituted “30” for “thirty”. 1981—Pub. L. 97–86 substituted “commodores” for “commodore admirals” in section catchline and “commodore” for “commodore admiral” in text.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1981 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 97–86 effective Sept. 15, 1981, see section 405(f) of Pub. L. 97–86, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

Effective Date

Section effective Sept. 15, 1981, but the authority to prescribe

Regulations

under this section effective on Dec. 12, 1980, see section 701 of Pub. L. 96–513, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1980 Amendment note under section 101 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 635

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110