10 U.S.C. § 8459 Midshipmen: Agreement For Length of Service

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023 Edition
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-13 (published on www.congress.gov on 08/07/2023),Current through P.L. 118-19 (published on www.congress.gov on 10/06/2023)

(a) Each midshipman shall sign an agreement with respect to the midshipman's length of service in the armed forces. The agreement shall provide that the midshipman agrees to the following:

(1) That the midshipman will complete the course of instruction at the Naval Academy.

(2) That upon graduation from the Naval Academy the midshipman-

(A) will accept an appointment, if tendered, as a commissioned officer of the Regular Navy, the Regular Marine Corps, or the Regular Air Force; and

(B) will serve on active duty for at least five years immediately after such appointment.

(3) That if an appointment described in paragraph (2) is not tendered or if the midshipman is permitted to resign as a regular officer before completion of the commissioned service obligation of the midshipman, the midshipman-

(A) will accept an appointment as a commissioned officer in the Navy Reserve or the Marine Corps Reserve or as a Reserve in the Air Force for service in the Air Force Reserve; and

(B) will remain in that reserve component until completion of the commissioned service obligation of the midshipman.

(4) That if an appointment described in paragraph (2) or (3) is tendered and the midshipman participates in a program under section 2121 of this title, the midshipman will fulfill any unserved obligation incurred under this section on active duty, regardless of the type of appointment held, upon completion of, and in addition to, any service obligation incurred under section 2123 of this title for participation in such program.

(5) That the midshipman may not obtain employment as a professional athlete until two years after the midshipman graduates from the Academy.

(b)

(1) The Secretary of the Navy may transfer to the Navy Reserve or the Marine Corps Reserve, and may order to active duty for such period of time as the Secretary prescribes (but not to exceed four years), a midshipman who breaches an agreement under subsection (a). The period of time for which a midshipman is ordered to active duty under this paragraph may be determined without regard to section 651(a) of this title.

(2) A midshipman who is transferred to the Navy Reserve or Marine Corps Reserve under paragraph (1) shall be transferred in an appropriate enlisted grade or rating, as determined by the Secretary.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1), a midshipman shall be considered to have breached an agreement under subsection (a) if the midshipman is separated from the Naval Academy under circumstances which the Secretary determines constitute a breach by the midshipman of the midshipman's agreement to complete the course of instruction at the Naval Academy and accept an appointment as a commissioned officer upon graduation from the Naval Academy.

(4) A midshipman who violates paragraph (5) of subsection (a) is not eligible for the alternative obligation under paragraph (1).

(c) The Secretary of the Navy shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section. Those regulations shall include-

(1) standards for determining what constitutes, for the purpose of subsection (b), a breach of an agreement under subsection (a);