32 U.S.C. § 302
Section 302 · Enlistments, reenlistments, and extensions
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 2 court decisions — leading case 945 F. Supp. 2d 111 - Tindal v. McHugh (2013)
Most recently applied in 945 F. Supp. 2d 111 - Tindal v. McHugh (May 2013)
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) Under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary concerned, original enlistments in the National Guard may be accepted for—
(1) any specified term, not less than three years, for persons who have not served in an armed force; or
(2) any specified term, not less than one year, for persons who have served in any armed force.
(b) Under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary concerned, reenlistment in the National Guard may be accepted for any specified period, or, if the person last served in one of the highest five enlisted grades, for an unspecified period.
(c) Enlistments or reenlistments in the National Guard may be extended—
(1) under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary concerned, at the request of the member, for any period not less than six months; or
(2) by proclamation of the President, if Congress declares an emergency, until six months after termination of that emergency.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
32:124 (1st proviso) is omitted as executed. The word “reenlistments” is substituted for the words “subsequent enlistments”.
Amendments
1961—Pub. L. 87–378 permitted original enlistments for any specified term, not less than three years, for persons who have not served in an armed force, authorized reenlistments for any specified period, or if the person last served in one of the highest five enlisted grades, for an unspecified period, extensions of enlistments or reenlistments at the request of the member for any period not less than six months after termination of the emergency.
Effective Date of 1961 Amendment
Section 6 of Pub. L. 87–378 provided that: “The amendments made by sections 3, 4, and 5 of this Act [amending this section and sections 3261 and 8261 of Title 10, Armed Forces] shall not affect any enlistment, reenlistment, or appointment entered into or made before the effective date of this Act [Oct. 4, 1961].”
Cross References
Army National Guard of United States and Air National Guard of United States, see section 12107 of Title 10, Armed Forces.