Title 37 › CHAPTER 3 — BASIC PAY › § 210
If a noncommissioned officer finishes serving as the senior enlisted member of their service, or as the senior enlisted advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, and then goes on terminal leave before retiring, they must be paid the senior enlisted basic pay rate for up to 60 days. If a noncommissioned officer is hospitalized and they finished that senior enlisted role during or just before the hospital stay, they must keep that senior enlisted basic pay rate for up to 180 days while hospitalized. “Senior enlisted member” means these specific positions: Sergeant Major of the Army; Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy; Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force; Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps; Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force; and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard.
Full Legal Text
Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
37 U.S.C. § 210
Title 37, Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102