Editorial Notes
Amendments

2023—Subsecs. (a)(1), (b)(1), (f). Pub. L. 118–31 struck out “Regular” before “Space Force”.

2021—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(4)(C), substituted “Regular Marine Corps, or Regular Space Force” for “or Regular Marine Corps”.

Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(1)(B), substituted “Marine Corps, and Space Force” for “and Marine Corps”.

Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(4)(C), substituted “Regular Marine Corps, or Regular Space Force” for “or Regular Marine Corps” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (b)(1)(D). Pub. L. 116–283, § 502(a), amended subpar. (D) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (D) read as follows: “Additional credit for special training or experience in a particular officer career field as designated by the Secretary concerned, if such training or experience is directly related to the operational needs of the armed force concerned.”

Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(14), substituted “, captain in the Navy, or an equivalent grade in the Space Force” for “or captain in the Navy”.

Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(4)(C), substituted “Regular Marine Corps, or Regular Space Force” for “or Regular Marine Corps” in introductory provisions.

2018—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 115–232, § 502(a)(2)(A), struck out “or (g)” after “subsection (b)”.

Subsec. (b)(1)(D). Pub. L. 115–232, § 502(a)(1)(A), added subpar. (D) and struck out former subpar. (D) which read as follows: “Additional credit, in unusual cases, based on special experience in a particular field.”

Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 115–232, § 502(a)(1)(B), substituted “The amount” for “Except as authorized by the Secretary concerned in individual cases and under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense in the case of a medical or dental officer, the amount” and “in the grade of colonel in the Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps or captain in the Navy” for “in the grade of major in the Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps or lieutenant commander in the Navy”.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 115–232, § 502(a)(2)(A), struck out “or (g)” after “subsection (b)” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 115–232, § 502(a)(2)(B), struck out subsec. (g) which related to constructive service credited to commissioned officers with cyberspace-related experience or advanced education serving on active duty.

2017—Subsec. (g)(4). Pub. L. 115–91 substituted “2023” for “2018”.

2013—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 113–66, § 502(1), inserted “or (g)” after “subsection (b)”.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 113–66, § 502(1), inserted “or (g)” after “subsection (b)” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 113–66, § 502(2), added subsec. (g).

1993—Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 103–160, § 509(a)(1), in second sentence, substituted “In determining” for “Except as provided in clause (E), in determining” and “advanced education required” for “postsecondary education in excess of four that are required”.

Subsec. (b)(1)(E), (F). Pub. L. 103–160, § 509(a)(2), (3), redesignated subpar. (F) as (E) and struck out former subpar. (E) which read as follows: “Additional credit of one year for advanced education in a health profession if the number of years of baccalaureate education completed by 75 percent or more of the students entering advanced training in that health profession exceeds, by one or more, the minimum number of years of preprofessional education required by a majority of institutions which award degrees in that health profession. The percentage of such persons shall be computed on an annual basis for each health profession from the data for the year in which the person being appointed, designated, or assigned was admitted to a professional school. However, a person may not receive additional credit under this clause if the amount of his baccalaureate education does not exceed, by one or more, the minimum number of years of preprofessional education required by a majority of institutions which award degrees for that health profession, determined on the basis prescribed in the preceding sentence.”

1987—Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 100–180 designated existing provisions as cl. (i) and added cl. (ii).

1983—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 98–94 inserted “, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the Public Health Service”.

1981—Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 97–22, § 3(c)(1), inserted “, designated, or assigned” in first sentence after “persons appointed” and substituted “Except as provided in clause (E), in determining the number of years of constructive service to be credited under this clause to officers in any professional field, the Secretary concerned shall credit an officer with, but with not more than, the number of years of postsecondary education in excess of four that are required by a majority of institutions that award degrees in that professional field for completion of the advanced education or award of the advanced degree” for “(Except as provided in clause (E), in determining the years of constructive service under this clause, the Secretary concerned shall grant credit for only the number of years normally required to complete the advanced education or receive the advanced degree”.

Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 97–22, § 3(c)(2), substituted “appointment, designation, or assignment, if such advanced education” for “appointment as an officer, if such advanced education”.

Subsec. (b)(1)(E). Pub. L. 97–22, § 3(c)(3), substituted “person being appointed, designated, or assigned was admitted” for “person being appointed was admitted”.

Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 97–22, § 3(c)(4), inserted provision that, in the case of an officer who completes advanced education or receives an advanced degree while on active duty or in an active status and in less than the number of years normally required to complete such advanced education or receive such advanced degree, constructive service may, subject to regulations prescribed under subsection (a)(2), be credited to the officer under subsection (b)(1)(A) to the extent that the number of years normally required to complete such advanced education or receive such advanced degree exceeds the actual number of years in which such advanced education or degree is obtained by the officer.

Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 97–22, § 3(c)(5), substituted “A reserve officer (other than a warrant officer) who receives an original appointment as an officer (other than as a warrant officer) in the Regular Army, Regular Navy, Regular Air Force, or Regular Marine Corps shall (1) in the case of an officer on the active-duty list immediately before that appointment as a regular officer, be appointed in the same grade and with the same date of rank as the grade and date of rank held by the officer on the active-duty list immediately before the appointment; and (2) in the case of an officer not on the active-duty list immediately before that appointment as a regular officer, be appointed in the same grade and with the same date of rank as the grade and date of rank which the officer would have held had the officer been serving on the active-duty list on the date of the appointment as a regular officer” for “An officer of a reserve component who receives an original appointment as an officer (other than a warrant officer) in the Regular Army, Regular Navy, Regular Air Force, or Regular Marine Corps shall be appointed in the grade and with the date of rank to which he would have been entitled had he been serving on active duty as an officer of a reserve component on the date of such original appointment as a regular officer”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date

Section effective Sept. 15, 1981, but the authority to prescribe regulations under this section effective Dec. 12, 1980, see section 701 of Pub. L. 96–513, set out as an Effective Date of 1980 Amendment note under section 101 of this title.

Annual Report

Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title V, § 502(c), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3564, provided that:

“(1)
In general.—
Not later than February 1, 2022, and every four years thereafter [sic], each Secretary of a military department shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the use of the authorities in subparagraph (D) of section 553(b)(1) [probably means section 533(b)(1)] of title 10, United States Code (as amended by subsection (a)), and subparagraph (D) of section 12207(b)(1) of such title (as amended by subsection (b)) (each referred to in this subsection as a ‘constructive credit authority’) during the preceding fiscal year for the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of such Secretary.
“(2)
Elements.—
Each report under paragraph (1) shall include, for the fiscal year and Armed Forces covered by such report, the following:
“(A)
The manner in which constructive service credit was calculated under each constructive credit authority.
“(B)
The number of officers credited constructive service credit under each constructive credit authority.
“(C)
A description and assessment of the utility of the constructive credit authorities in meeting the operational needs of the Armed Force concerned.
“(D)
Such other matters in connection with the constructive credit authorities as the Secretary of the military department concerned considers appropriate.”

Ratification of Service Credit Awarded Prior to November 30, 1993

Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title V, § 509(e), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1648, provided that: “To the extent that service credit awarded before the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 30, 1993] under section 533, 3353, 5600, or 8353 of title 10, United States Code, based on advanced education in medicine or dentistry was awarded consistent with that section as amended by this section (whether or not properly awarded under that section as in effect before such amendment), the awarding of that service credit is hereby ratified.”

Transition Provision Under Defense Officer Personnel Management Act

For savings provision relating to constructive service previously granted, see section 625 of Pub. L. 96–513, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.