Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-102

§643 Chaplains: Discharge or Retirement Upon Loss of Professional Qualifications

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 V — ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO PROMOTION, SEPARATION, AND RETIREMENT › § 643

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Active-duty Army, Navy, or Air Force chaplains who lose the required qualifications may be discharged or, if eligible, retired under Defense Department rules.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §643

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, a commissioned officer on the active-duty list of the Army, Navy, or Air Force who is appointed or designated as a chaplain may, if he fails to maintain the qualifications needed to perform his professional function, be discharged or, if eligible for retirement, may be retired.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

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. § 643

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102