# § 9311. Twenty years or more: regular or reserve commissioned officers
**(a)** The Secretary of the Air Force may, upon the officer’s request, retire a regular or reserve commissioned officer of the Air Force or the Space Force who has at least 20 years of service computed under section 9326 of this title, at least 10 years of which have been active service as a commissioned officer.
**(b)**
**(1)** The Secretary of Defense may authorize the Secretary of the Air Force, during the period specified in paragraph (2), to reduce the requirement under subsection (a) for at least 10 years of active service as a commissioned officer to a period (determined by the Secretary of the Air Force) of not less than eight years.
**(2)** The period specified in this paragraph is the period beginning on January 7, 2011, and ending on September 30, 2018.
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**Source Credit**: (Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 549, § 8911; Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title V, § 523(c), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1562; Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title V, § 561(c), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1667; Pub. L. 105–261, div. A, title V, § 561(e), Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 2025; Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title V, § 571(e)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–134; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title V, § 502(c), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3225; Pub. L. 109–364, div. A, title X, § 1071(a)(37), Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2400; Pub. L. 111–383, div. A, title V, § 506(c), Jan. 7, 2011, 124 Stat. 4210; Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title V, § 505(c), title X, § 1076(e)(6), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1715, 1951; renumbered § 9311 and amended Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, §§ 806(b)(13), 809(a), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1833, 1840; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title IX, § 923(c)(13), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3811.)
| Revised section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 8911 | 10:943a.10:971b (1st 100 words). | July 31, 1935, ch. 422, § 5 (1st 101 words); restated June 13, 1940, ch. 344, § 3 (1st 45 words), 54 Stat. 380; June 29, 1948, ch. 708, § 202 (1st 105 words), 62 Stat. 1084; July 16, 1953, ch. 203, 67 Stat. 175. |
The words “a regular or reserve commissioned officer of the Air Force” are substituted for the words “any officer on the active list of the * * * Regular Air Force * * * or any officer of the reserve components of the * * * Air Force of the United States”. The words “Philippine Scouts” are omitted as obsolete. The words “has at least 20” are substituted for the words “shall have completed not less than twenty”. The words “upon his request” are substituted for the words “upon his own application”. The words “service computed under ” are substituted for the words “active Federal service in the armed forces of the United States”, since that revised section makes explicit the service covered.
## Editorial Notes
### Amendments
2021—Subsec. (a). inserted “or the Space Force” after “officer of the Air Force”.
2018—, renumbered as this section.
Subsec. (a). , substituted “section 9326” for “section 8926”.
2013—Subsec. (b)(2). , substituted “,” for “the date of the enactment of the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011”.
substituted “” for “”.
2011—Subsec. (b)(2). substituted “the date of the enactment of the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 and ending on ” for “, and ending on ”.
2006—Subsec. (b). struck out second comma after “paragraph (2)” in par. (1) and substituted “,” for “the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006” in par. (2).
designated existing provisions as par. (1), substituted “during the period specified in paragraph (2),” for “during the period beginning on , and ending on ”, and added par. (2).
2000—Subsec. (b). substituted “” for “”.
1998—Subsec. (b). substituted “during the period beginning on , and ending on ” for “during the nine-year period beginning on ”.
1993—Subsec. (b). substituted “nine-year period” for “five-year period”.
1990— designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b).
## 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 .
### Temporary Early Retirement Authority
For provisions authorizing the Secretary of the Air Force, during the period beginning , and ending , to apply this section to a regular or reserve commissioned officer with at least 15 but less than 20 years of service by substituting “at least 15 years” for “at least 20 years” in subsec. (a) of this section, see , set out as a note under .