10 U.S.C. § 8321 | Officers: 40 years

(a)

Each officer of the Regular Navy or the Regular Marine Corps holding a permanent appointment in the grade of warrant officer, W–1, or above who applies for retirement after completing 40 or more years of active service shall be retired by the Secretary of the Navy.

(b)

For the purpose of this section, an officer’s years of active service are computed by adding all his active service in the armed forces.

Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041 70A Stat. 393 Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 807(b)(15)Aug. 13, 2018132 Stat. 1836(, , § 6321; renumbered § 8321, , , .)

Historical and Revision Notes
Revised section	Source (U.S. Code)	Source (Statutes at Large)
6321	34 U.S.C. 381.	R.S. 1443; June 17, 1948, ch. 497, § 1(a), 62 Stat. 477.
	34 U.S.C. 879 (less applicability to enlisted men).	June 4, 1920, ch. 228, § 3 (3d proviso, less applicability to enlisted men), 41 Stat. 835.
	34 U.S.C. 626–1(a) (1st sentence).	Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 512, § 314(a) (1st sentence), 61 Stat. 863; May 5, 1954, ch. 180, § 205, 68 Stat. 68.

In subsection (a) the words “Regular” and “holding a permanent appointment in the grade of warrant officer, W–1, or above” are inserted for clarity. The word “shall” is substituted for the word “may” because the Attorney General has construed R.S. 1443 as conferring a right to retirement upon officers who apply for it after 40 years of service (30 Op. Atty. Gen. 406). The words “from active service” are omitted as surplusage. The words “after completing 40 or more years of active service” are substituted for the words “has been forty years in the service of the United States” for clarity.

In subsection (b) the accepted meaning of the words “service of the United States” is spelled out for clarity. They have been consistently interpreted to include active service in the armed forces as defined in this title.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Pub. L. 115–232 section 6321 of this title2018— renumbered as this section.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2018 Amendment

Pub. L. 115–232Feb. 1, 2019section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232 section 3001 of this titleAmendment by effective , with provision for the coordination of amendments and special rule for certain redesignations, see , set out as a note preceding .