
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 10USC533]

 
                         TITLE 10--ARMED FORCES
 
                    Subtitle A--General Military Law
 
                           PART II--PERSONNEL
 
 CHAPTER 33--ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS OF REGULAR OFFICERS IN GRADES ABOVE 
                         WARRANT OFFICER GRADES
 
Sec. 533. Service credit upon original appointment as a 
        commissioned officer
        
    (a)(1) For the purpose of determining the grade and rank within 
grade of a person receiving an original appointment in a commissioned 
grade (other than a warrant officer grade) in the Regular Army, Regular 
Navy, Regular Air Force, or Regular Marine Corps, such person shall be 
credited at the time of such appointment with any active commissioned 
service (other than service as a commissioned warrant officer) that he 
performed in any armed force, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, or the Public Health Service before such appointment.
    (2) The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations, which 
shall apply uniformly among the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, 
to authorize the Secretary of the military department concerned to limit 
the amount of prior active commissioned service with which a person 
receiving an original appointment may be credited under paragraph (1), 
or to deny any such credit, in the case of a person who at the time of 
such appointment is credited with constructive service under subsection 
(b).
    (b)(1) Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, the 
Secretary of the military department concerned shall credit a person who 
is receiving an original appointment in a commissioned grade (other than 
a commissioned warrant officer grade) in the Regular Army, Regular Navy, 
Regular Air Force, or Regular Marine Corps and who has advanced 
education or training or special experience with constructive service 
for such education, training, or experience as follows:
        (A) One year for each year of advanced education beyond the 
    baccalaureate degree level, for persons appointed, designated, or 
    assigned in officer categories requiring such advanced education or 
    an advanced degree as a prerequisite for such appointment, 
    designation, or assignment. 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 
    advanced education 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.
        (B)(i) Credit for any period of advanced education in a health 
    profession (other than medicine and dentistry) beyond the 
    baccalaureate degree level which exceeds the basic education 
    criteria for appointment, designation, or assignment, if such 
    advanced education will be directly used by the armed force 
    concerned.
        (ii) Credit for experience in a health profession (other than 
    medicine or dentistry), if such experience will be directly used by 
    the armed force concerned.
        (C) Additional credit of (i) not more than one year for 
    internship or equivalent graduate medical, dental, or other formal 
    professional training required by the armed forces, and (ii) not 
    more than one year for each additional year of such graduate-level 
    training or experience creditable toward certification in a 
    specialty required by the armed forces.
        (D) Additional credit, in unusual cases, based on special 
    experience in a particular field.
        (E) Additional credit for experience as a physician or dentist, 
    if appointed as a medical or dental officer in the Army or Navy or, 
    in the case of the Air Force, with a view to designation as a 
    medical or dental officer.

    (2) 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 of constructive 
service credited an officer under this subsection may not exceed the 
amount required in order for the officer to be eligible for an original 
appointment in the grade of major in the Army, Air Force, or Marine 
Corps or lieutenant commander in the Navy.
    (3) Constructive service credited an officer under this subsection 
is in addition to any service credited that officer under subsection (a) 
and shall be credited at the time of the original appointment of the 
officer.
    (c) Constructive service credited an officer under subsection (b) 
shall be used only for determining the officer's--
        (1) initial grade as a regular officer;
        (2) rank in grade; and
        (3) service in grade for promotion eligibility.

    (d)(1) Constructive service may not be credited under subsection (b) 
for education, training, or experience obtained while serving as a 
commissioned officer (other than a warrant officer) on active duty or in 
an active status. However, 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.
    (2) A graduate of the United States Military Academy, the United 
States Naval Academy, or the United States Air Force Academy is not 
entitled to service credit under this section for service performed, or 
education, training, or experience obtained, before graduation from such 
Academy.
    (e) If the Secretary of Defense determines that the number of 
qualified judge advocates serving on active duty in the Army, Navy, Air 
Force, or Marine Corps in grades below major or lieutenant commander is 
critically below the number needed by such armed force in such grades, 
he may authorize the Secretary of the military department concerned to 
credit any person receiving an original appointment in the Judge 
Advocate General's Corps of the Army or Navy, or any person receiving an 
original appointment in the Air Force or Marine Corps with a view to 
designation as a judge advocate, with a period of constructive service 
in such an amount (in addition to any period of service credited such 
person under subsection (b)(1)) as will result in the grade of such 
person being that of captain or, in the case of an officer of the Navy, 
lieutenant and the date of rank of such person being junior to that of 
all other officers of the same grade serving on active duty.
    (f) 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.

(Added Pub. L. 96-513, title I, Sec. 104(a), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 
2846; amended Pub. L. 97-22, Sec. 3(c), July 10, 1981, 95 Stat. 125; 
Pub. L. 98-94, title X, Sec. 1007(c)(1), Sept. 24, 1983, 97 Stat. 662; 
Pub. L. 100-180, div. A, title VII, Sec. 714(a), Dec. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 
1112; Pub. L. 103-160, div. A, title V, Sec. 509(a), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 
Stat. 1647.)


                               Amendments

    1993--Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 103-160, Sec. 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, Sec. 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, Sec. 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, Sec. 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, Sec. 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, Sec. 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, Sec. 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''.


    Ratification of Service Credit Awarded Prior to November 30, 1993

    Section 509(e) of Pub. L. 103-160 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.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 531, 603 of this title.
