U.S. Code » Title 10 » Subtitle Subtitle E— Reserve Components › Part PART II— PERSONNEL GENERALLY › Chapter CHAPTER 1221— SEPARATION

10 U.S.C. § 12686

Reserves on active duty within two years of retirement eligibility: limitation on release from active duty

Read at: OLRCuscode.house.gov CornellLII GovInfogovinfo.gov JustiaTitle 10 CasesGoogle Scholar
(a)Limitation.—Under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary concerned, which shall be as uniform as practicable, a member of a reserve component who is on active duty (other than for training) and is within two years of becoming eligible for retired pay or retainer pay under a purely military retirement system (other than the retirement system under chapter 1223 of this title), may not be involuntarily released from that duty before he becomes eligible for that pay, unless the release is approved by the Secretary.(b)Waiver.—With respect to a member of a reserve component who is to be ordered to active duty (other than for training) under section 12301 of this title pursuant to an order to active duty that specifies a period of less than 180 days and who (but for this subsection) would be covered by subsection (a), the Secretary concerned may require, as a condition of such order to active duty, that the member waive the applicability of subsection (a) to the member for the period of active duty covered by that order. In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary concerned may require that a waiver under the preceding sentence be executed before the period of active duty begins.(Added Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title XVI, § 1662(i)(1), Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2998; amended Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title V, § 533, Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2520; Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title V, § 522, Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 1888.)Editorial NotesPrior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 1163(d) of this title, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–337, § 1662(i)(2).

Amendments

2004—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 108–375 inserted “(other than the retirement system under chapter 1223 of this title)” after “retirement system”.

1996—Pub. L. 104–201 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, and added subsec. (b).

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date

Section effective Dec. 1, 1994, except as otherwise provided, see section 1691 of Pub. L. 103–337, set out as a note under section 10001 of this title.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 14 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 2000–2025 · leading case: Brookins v. Untied States, 75 Fed. Cl. 133 (Fed. Cl. 2007).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Brookins v. Untied States, 75 Fed. Cl. 133 (Fed. Cl. 2007). · cites it 35× “Plaintiff requests the court to set aside the Secretary of the Navy’s (SECNAV) decision rejecting the Board for Correction of Naval Records’ (BCNR’s) recommendation to permit plaintiff to claim “sanctuary,” pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 12686 (a) (2000 & Supp. I 2005), thereby…”
Vellanti v. United States, 119 Fed. Cl. 570 (Fed. Cl. 2015). · cites it 13× “§ 204 ; 10 U.S.C. § 12686 ; AFI 36-2619; AFI 36-2131; Involuntary Retirement OPINION AND ORDER ELAINE D.”
Donald L. Wagner v. United States, 365 F.3d 1358 (Fed. Cir. 2004). · cites it 2× “”); see also 10 U.S.C. § 12686 . The July 9 notice from the Army Reserve Command to Wagner informing him of the pending DAADB proceedings indicated that he would be processed under the discharge procedures applying to officers with less than eighteen *1360 years of active…”
McMullen v. United States, 50 Fed. Cl. 718 (Fed. Cl. 2001). · cites it 4× “and is within two years of becoming eligible for retired pay .”
Bond v. United States, 47 Fed. Cl. 641 (Fed. Cl. 2000). · cites it 3× “2998, this section was recodified at 10 U.S.C. § 12686 (1994 & Supp. II 1996).”
McDermott v. United States, 95 Fed. Cl. 70 (Fed. Cl. 2010). · cites it 2× “Plaintiffs length of service and proximity to retirement eligibility qualify him for the sanctuary zone. In accordance with this instruction, plaintiff must be retained on full-time active service until he is eligible for retirement, unless he becomes eligible for disability…”
Wagner v. Geren, 614 F. Supp. 2d 12 (D.D.C. 2009). “Section 1163 has since been repealed and substantially recreated in 10 U.S.C. § 12686 (a). During the relevant period 10 U.”
Carmichael v. United States, 66 Fed. Cl. 115 (Fed. Cl. 2005). “10 U.S.C. § 12686 (establishing a sanctuary provision which provides that "a member of a reserve component who is on active duty .”
Faerber v. United States (Fed. Cl. 2021). · cites it 10× “As part of the requisite certification, Plaintiff acknowledged that he “may become eligible for sanctuary zone protection” under 10 U.S.C. § 12686 (a). Id. at 433 . 1 Although not at issue in Plaintiff’s case, the “1095 Rule” pertains to reservists who serve more than 1,095 days…”
Campbell v. United States (Fed. Cl. 2018). · cites it 5× “Under the sanctuary statute, 10 U.S.C. § 12686 , "a member of a reserve component who is on active duty (other than for training) and is within two years of becoming eligible for retired pay or retainer pay under a purely military retirement system .”
Marshall v. United States (Fed. Cl. 2023). · cites it 2× “That claim alleges that when Plaintiff refused to execute a waiver of the sanctuary protection provided in 10 U.S.C. § 12686 the Marine Corps unlawfully withheld further active duty orders to facilitate Plaintiff’s ongoing medical treatment.”
Thomas v. United States (Fed. Cl. 2025). · cites it 2× “His active-duty service ended in May 2016 when, based on the decision of the Active Guard Reserve Review Board (the “AGR Review Board”), his request to be retained was rejected, and he was involuntarily separated from the AGR, just a few months before he would have reached…”
Show all 14 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.