§14503. Discharge of officers with less than five years of commissioned service or found not qualified for promotion to first lieutenant or lieutenant (junior grade)

(a) Authorized Discharges.-The Secretary of the military department concerned may discharge any reserve officer who-

(1) has less than five years of service in an active status as a commissioned officer; or

(2) is serving in the grade of second lieutenant or ensign and has been found not qualified for promotion to the grade of first lieutenant or lieutenant (junior grade).

(b) Time for Discharge.-(1) An officer described in subsection (a)(2)-

(A) may be discharged at any time after being found not qualified for promotion; and

(B) if not sooner discharged, shall be discharged at the end of the 18-month period beginning on the date on which the officer is first found not qualified for promotion.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply if the officer is sooner promoted.

(c) Regulations.-Discharges under this section shall be made under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense and may be made without regard to section 12645 of this title.

(Added Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title XVI, §1611, Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2949 .)

Effective Date of Section

Section effective Oct. 1, 1996, see section 1691(b)(1) of Pub. L. 103–337, set out as a note under section 10001 of this title.

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in subsecs. (a) and (b) of this section were contained in sections 3819(b) and 8819(c) of this title, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–337, §1629(a)(2), (c)(2).

Rights for Officers With Over Three Years Service

Section 1689 of title XVI of div. A of Pub. L. 103–337 provided that: "A reserve officer of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps who was in an active status on the day before the effective date of this title [Oct. 1, 1996, see section 1691(b)(1), (2) of Pub. L. 103–337, set out as an Effective Date note under section 10001 of this title] and who was subject to placement of the reserve active-status list on the effective date of this title may not be discharged under section 14503 of title 10, United States Code, as added by this title, until on or after the day on which that officer completes three years of continuous service as a reserve commissioned officer."

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 14703 of this title.