10 USC § 9217 - Duties: chaplains; assistance required of commanding officers

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t10/s9217"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "10 USC § 9217 - Duties: chaplains; assistance required of commanding officers"
title_number: 10
title_name: "ARMED FORCES"
section_number: "9217"
section_name: "Duties: chaplains; assistance required of commanding officers"
chapter_number: 923
chapter_name: "SPECIAL APPOINTMENTS, ASSIGNMENTS, DETAILS, AND DUTIES"
part_number: "II"
part_name: "PERSONNEL"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 528, § 8547; renumbered § 9217, Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 806(b)(6), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1832; amended Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title IX, § 923(c)(5), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3811.)"
---


# § 9217. Duties: chaplains; assistance required of commanding officers

**(a)** Each chaplain shall, when practicable, hold appropriate religious services at least once on each Sunday for the command to which he is assigned, and shall perform appropriate religious burial services for members of the Air Force or the Space Force who die while in that command.

**(b)** Each commanding officer shall furnish facilities, including necessary transportation, to any chaplain assigned to his command, to assist the chaplain in performing his duties.

---

**Source Credit**: (Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 528, § 8547; renumbered § 9217, Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 806(b)(6), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1832; amended Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title IX, § 923(c)(5), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3811.)

| Revised section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 8547(a) | 10:238. | R.S. 1125. |
| 8547(b) | 10:239. | R.S. 1127. |
|  | [Uncodified: Feb. 2, 1901, ch. 192, § 12 (last sentence), 31 Stat. 750]. | Feb. 2, 1901, ch. 192, § 12 (last sentence), 31 Stat. 750. |

In subsection (a), the words “members of the Air Force” are substituted for the words “officers and soldiers”.

In subsection (b), the words “regiments, hospitals, and posts”, in 10:239, are omitted, since at the time of the enactment of section 1127 of the Revised Statutes, chaplains were authorized only for regiments, hospitals, and posts. The revised section preserves the broad coverage of the original statute. The words “each commanding officer shall” are substituted for the words “It shall be the duty of commanders”, in 10:239. The word “furnish” is substituted for the words “to afford”, in 10:239. The words “including necessary transportation” are substituted for the last sentence of , . The words “his command” are substituted for the words “the same”, in 10:239. The words “to assist” are substituted for the words “as may aid them”, in 10:239.

## Editorial Notes

### Amendments

2021—Subsec. (a).  inserted “or the Space Force” after “the Air Force”.

2018— renumbered  as this section.

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 2018 Amendment

Amendment by  effective , with provision for the coordination of amendments and special rule for certain redesignations, see , set out as a note preceding .