10 U.S.C. § 8963
Section 8963 · Highest grade held satisfactorily: Reserve enlisted members reduced in grade not as a result of the members misconduct
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 7 court decisions — leading case Brownfield v. United States (1960)
Most recently applied in Covill v. United States (March 1992)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) A Reserve enlisted member of the Air Force described in subsection (b) who is retired under section 8914 of this title shall be retired in the highest enlisted grade in which the member served on active duty satisfactorily (or, in the case of a member of the National Guard, in which the member served on full-time National Guard duty satisfactorily), as determined by the Secretary of the Air Force.
(b) This section applies to a Reserve enlisted member who—
(1) at the time of retirement is serving on active duty (or, in the case of a member of the National Guard, on full-time National Guard duty) in a grade lower than the highest enlisted grade held by the member while on active duty (or full-time National Guard duty); and
(2) was previously administratively reduced in grade not as a result of the member's own misconduct, as determined by the Secretary of the Air Force.
(c) This section applies with respect to Reserve enlisted members who are retired under section 8914 of this title after September 30, 1996.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Prior Provisions
A prior section 8963, acts Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 555; Sept. 2, 1958, Pub. L. 85–861, §1(156), (198), 72 Stat. 1513, 1541; Dec. 12, 1980, Pub. L. 96–513, title V, §504(21), 94 Stat. 2917, related to higher grade for service during certain periods for regular and reserve commissioned officers, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 99–145, title XIII, §1301(d)(2)(A), (C), Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 736, with such repeal not applicable in the case of an Air Force nurse or medical specialist described in section 8963 of this title, as such section was in effect on the day before Nov. 8, 1985.