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Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-102

§7343 Highest Grade Held Satisfactorily: Reserve Enlisted Members Reduced in Grade Not as a Result of the Member’s Misconduct

Title 10 › Subtitle B — Army › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 743 — RETIRED GRADE › § 7343

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

If a Reserve enlisted soldier is retired under section 7314, they must be retired at the highest enlisted rank they had previously held and served in satisfactorily while on active duty (or while on full‑time National Guard duty for Guard members). This applies if, at retirement, they are in a lower rank and were earlier reduced in rank for administrative reasons not caused by their own misconduct. The Secretary of the Army decides if the rules apply. It covers retirements after September 30, 1996.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §7343

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)A Reserve enlisted member of the Army described in subsection (b) who is retired under section 7314 of this title shall be retired in the highest enlisted grade in which the member served on active duty satisfactorily (or, in the case of a member of the National Guard, in which the member served on full-time National Guard duty satisfactorily), as determined by the Secretary of the Army.
(b)This section applies to a Reserve enlisted member who—
(1)at the time of retirement is serving on active duty (or, in the case of a member of the National Guard, on full-time National Guard duty) in a grade lower than the highest enlisted grade held by the member while on active duty (or full-time National Guard duty); and
(2)was previously administratively reduced in grade not as a result of the member’s own misconduct, as determined by the Secretary of the Army.
(c)This section applies with respect to Reserve enlisted members who are retired under section 7314 of this title after September 30, 1996.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 7343, act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 454, related to manufacture of naval aircraft at plants owned by United States under certain circumstances, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title VIII, § 824(a)(9), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1708.

Amendments

2018—Pub. L. 115–232, § 808(b)(13), renumbered section 3963 of this title as this section. Subsecs. (a), (c). Pub. L. 115–232, § 809(a), substituted “section 7314” for “section 3914”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of

Amendments

and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 7343

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102