§ 7448. Cadets: service obligation

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

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

(2)That upon graduation from the Academy the cadet—

(A)will accept an appointment, if tendered, as a commissioned officer of the Regular Army 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 cadet is permitted to resign as a regular officer before completion of the commissioned service obligation of the cadet, the cadet—

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

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

(4)That if an appointment described in paragraph

(2)or

(3)is tendered and the cadet participates in a program under section 2121 of this title, the cadet 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 cadet may not obtain employment as a professional athlete until two years after the cadet graduates from the Academy.

(1)Subject to paragraph (4), the Secretary of the Army may transfer to the Army Reserve, and may order to active duty for such period of time as the Secretary prescribes (but not to exceed four years), a cadet who breaches an agreement under subsection (a). The period of time for which a cadet is ordered to active duty under this paragraph may be determined without regard to section 651(a) of this title.

(2)A cadet who is transferred to the Army 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 cadet shall be considered to have breached an agreement under subsection

(a)if the cadet is separated from the Academy under circumstances which the Secretary determines constitute a breach by the cadet of the cadet’s agreement to complete the course of instruction at the Academy and accept an appointment as a commissioned officer upon graduation from the Academy.

(4)Each academic year, the Secretary of the Army may transfer not more than five cadets, who obtain employment in violation of paragraph

(5)of subsection (a), to the Selected Reserve of the Army. Each cadet so transferred shall—

(A)serve as a commissioned officer—

(i)in an appropriate grade or rating, determined by the Secretary of the Army; and

(ii)for a period, determined by the Secretary of the Army, not longer than 10 years; and

(B)while so serving, participate in efforts to recruit and retain members of the armed forces.

(c)The Secretary of the Army 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);

(2)that a cadet who obtains employment as a professional athlete—

(A)in violation of paragraph

(5)of subsection

(a)has breached an agreement under such subsection unless such cadet receives a transfer under paragraph

(4)of subsection (b); and

(B)at least two years after the cadet graduates from the Academy has not breached an agreement under subsection (a);

(3)procedures for determining whether such a breach has occurred; and

(4)standards for determining the period of time for which a person may be ordered to serve on active duty under subsection (b).

(d)In this section, the term “commissioned service obligation”, with respect to a cadet, means the period beginning on the date of the cadet’s appointment as a commissioned officer and ending on the sixth anniversary of such appointment or, at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, any later date up to the eighth anniversary of such appointment.

(1)This section does not apply to a cadet who is not a citizen or national of the United States.

(2)In the case of a cadet who is a minor and who has parents or a guardian, the cadet may sign the agreement required by subsection

(a)only with the consent of a parent or guardian.

(f)A cadet or former cadet who does not fulfill each term of the agreement as specified under subsection (a), or an alternative obligation imposed under subsection (b), shall be subject to the repayment provisions of section 303a(e) or 373 of title 37.

(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 243, § 4348; Pub. L. 88–276, § 5(a), Mar. 3, 1964, 78 Stat. 153; Pub. L. 88–647, title III, § 301(9), Oct. 13, 1964, 78 Stat. 1072; Pub. L. 98–525, title V, §§ 541(a), 542(b), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2529; Pub. L. 99–145, title V, § 512(a), Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 623; Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title V, § 511(b), title XVI, § 1622(e)(5), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1439, 1605; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title V, § 531(a), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 314;

Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title VI, § 687(c)(9), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3335; Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title X, § 1073(a)(29), Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2474; Pub. L. 111–383, div. A, title V, § 554(a), Jan. 7, 2011, 124 Stat. 4221; Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title V, § 543(a), title VI, § 618(a)(1)(K), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1395, 1426; renumbered § 7448, Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 808(c)(1), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1839; Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title V, § 554(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1388;

Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title V, § 553(a), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2592; Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title V, § 557(a), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 1896; Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title V, § 556(a), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 878.)

The word “agreement” is substituted for the word “articles”. The words “Hereafter”, “appointed to the United States Military Academy”, “engage”, and 10:1092c (1st 25 words of clause (2)) are omitted as surplusage. The word “separated” is substituted for the words “discharged by competent authority”. The words “if he is permitted to resign” are substituted for the words “in the event of the acceptance of his resignation”, since a resignation is effective only when accepted. The first 31 words of clause

(3)are substituted for 10:1092c (last 29 words of clause (3)). The last sentence is substituted for the words “with the consent of his parents or guardian if he be a minor, and if any he have”.

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