§ 8459. Midshipmen: service obligation

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(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.

(1)Subject to paragraph (4), 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)Each academic year, the Secretary of the Navy may transfer not more than five midshipmen, who obtain employment in violation of paragraph

(5)of subsection (a), to the Selected Reserve of the Navy or the Selected Reserve of the Marine Corps. Each midshipman so transferred shall—

(A)serve as a commissioned officer—

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

(ii)for a period, determined by the Secretary of the Navy, 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 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);

(2)that a midshipman 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 midshipman receives a transfer under paragraph

(4)of subsection (b); and

(B)at least two years after the midshipman 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, “commissioned service obligation”, with respect to a midshipman, means the period beginning on the date of the midshipman’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 midshipman who is not a citizen or national of the United States.

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

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

(f)A midshipman or former midshipman 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. 432, § 6959; Pub. L. 88–276, § 5(a), Mar. 3, 1964, 78 Stat. 153; Pub. L. 88–647, title III, § 301(19), Oct. 13, 1964, 78 Stat. 1072; Pub. L. 98–525, title V, §§ 541(b), 542(c), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2529; Pub. L. 99–145, title V, § 512(b), Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 624; Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title V, § 511(c), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1439; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title V, § 531(b), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 314; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title V, § 515(b)(1)(S), title VI, § 687(c)(10), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3233, 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(b), Jan. 7, 2011, 124 Stat. 4221; Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title V, § 543(b), title VI, § 618(a)(1)(L), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1395, 1426; renumbered § 8459, Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 807(c)(1), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1836; Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title V, § 554(b), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1388; Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title V, § 553(b), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2593;

Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title V, § 557(b), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 1897; Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title V, § 556(b), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 878.)

The words “Hereafter” and “appointed to the United States Naval Academy” are omitted as surplusage. The words “an agreement that * * * he will” are substituted for the words “articles * * * by which he shall engage”. The word “separated” is substituted for the words “discharged by competent authority”. The words “if tendered an appointment”, “upon graduation from the United States Naval Academy”, and “consecutive” are omitted as surplusage. 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 if accepted. The first 43 words of clause

(3)are substituted for 34 U.S.C. 1048 (last 30 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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