§7138 Regular Army: Reenlistment After Service as an Officer

Summary

Gives a former Regular Army enlisted soldier who later served on active duty as an Army officer the right to reenlist in the same enlisted rank they held before becoming an officer. They keep their seniority and service credit, even if there is no open slot in that rank or if they have a disability that began in the line of duty, so long as their officer service ended with an honorable discharge (or they were relieved from active duty for a reason other than waiting on appellate review of a sentence that includes dismissal or dishonorable discharge) and they apply to reenlist within six months (or a different time the Secretary of the Army allows for special cases). A person cannot reenlist under this rule if they were discharged or released as an officer for misconduct, moral or professional failure, poor duty performance for their grade, or because keeping them would harm national security, or if their prior enlisted rank existed only because they were in a precommissioning program that led to their commission.