32 U.S.C. § 322
Section 322 · Discharge of enlisted members
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case Schultz v. Wellman (1983)
Most recently applied in 827 F. Supp. 1258 - Dillon v. STATE OF MISS., MILITARY DEPT. (May 1993)
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) An enlisted member of the National Guard shall be discharged when—
(1) he becomes 64 years of age; or
(2) his Federal recognition is withdrawn.
(b) An enlisted member who is discharged from the National Guard is entitled to a discharge certificate similar in form and classification to the corresponding certificate prescribed for members of the Regular Army or the Regular Air Force, as the case may be.
(c) In time of peace, an enlisted member of the National Guard may be discharged before his enlistment expires, under such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Army or the Secretary of the Air Force, as the case may be.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
322(b)322(c) 32:154 (last par., less 1st 26, and last 26, words).32:125 (less last 27 words).32:125 (last 27 words). June 3, 1916, ch. 134, §72; restated June 4, 1920, ch. 227, subch. I, §40; restated June 15, 1933, ch. 87, §10, 48 Stat. 157; July 9, 1952, ch. 608, §806(d), 66 Stat. 507. June 3, 1916, ch. 134, §110 (last par., less 1st 30, and last 25, words); restated Sept. 22, 1922, ch. 423, §6 (last par., less 1st 30, and last 137, words); restated May 12, 1928, ch. 529 (less 1st 30, and last 25, words), 45 Stat. 500. Subsection (a) is substituted for 32:154 (last par., less 1st 26, and last 26, words) to reflect an opinion of the Judge Advocate General of the Army (JAGA 1953/9033, 3 Dec. 1953).
In subsection (b), the words “is entitled to a discharge certificate similar in form and classification to the corresponding certificate” are substituted for the words “shall receive a discharge in writing in such form and with such classification as is or shall be”. The words “service in” are omitted as surplusage.
In subsection (c), the words “his enlistment expires” are substituted for the words “the expiration of terms of enlistment”.
Cross References
Army and Air Force enlisted members, limitations on discharge, see section 1169 of Title 10, Armed Forces.