Title 10 — Armed ForcesRelease 119-73not60
§808 Art. 8. Apprehension of Deserters
Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— General Military Law › Part II— PERSONNEL › Chapter 47— UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE › Subchapter II— APPREHENSION AND RESTRAINT › § 808
Summary
A civilian officer who has the power to arrest people under federal, state, commonwealth, territorial, or D.C. law can immediately arrest someone who deserted the armed forces and hand them over to military custody.
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §808
Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Any civil officer having authority to apprehend offenders under the laws of the United States or of a State, Commonwealth, possession, or the District of Columbia may summarily apprehend a deserter from the armed forces and deliver him into the custody of those forces.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 80850:562.May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 8), 64 Stat. 111. The word “may” is substituted for the words “It shall be lawful for * * * to”. The words “a State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession, or the District of Columbia” are substituted for the words “any State, District, Territory, or possession of the United States”. The words “of the United States”, before the words “and deliver”, are omitted as surplusage. The words “those forces” are substituted for the words “the armed forces of the United States”, after the words “custody of”.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2006—Pub. L. 109–163 substituted “Commonwealth, possession,” for “Territory, Commonwealth, or possession,”.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 808
Title 10 — Armed Forces
Last Updated
Apr 3, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60