In addition to the definitions in sections 1-5 of title 1, the following definitions apply in this title:

(1) For purposes of other laws relating to the militia, the National Guard, the Army National Guard of the United States, and the Air National Guard of the United States, the term “Territory” includes Guam and the Virgin Islands.

(2) “Armed forces” means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.

(3) “National Guard” means the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard.

(4) “Army National Guard” means that part of the organized militia of the several States and Territories, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, active and inactive, that—

(A) is a land force;

(B) is trained, and has its officers appointed, under the sixteenth clause of section 8, article I, of the Constitution;

(C) is organized, armed, and equipped wholly or partly at Federal expense; and

(D) is federally recognized.


(5) “Army National Guard of the United States” means the reserve component of the Army all of whose members are members of the Army National Guard.

(6) “Air National Guard” means that part of the organized militia of the several States and Territories, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, active and inactive, that—

(A) is an air force;

(B) is trained, and has its officers appointed, under the sixteenth clause of section 8, article I of the Constitution;

(C) is organized, armed, and equipped wholly or partly at Federal expense; and

(D) is federally recognized.


(7) “Air National Guard of the United States” means the reserve component of the Air Force all of whose members are members of the Air National Guard.

(8) “Officer” means commissioned or warrant officer.

(9) “Enlisted member” means a person enlisted in, or inducted, called, or conscripted into, an armed force in an enlisted grade.

(10) “Grade” means a step or degree, in a graduated scale of office or military rank, that is established and designated as a grade by law or regulation.

(11) “Rank” means the order of precedence among members of the armed forces.

(12) “Active duty” means full-time duty in the active military service of the United States. It includes such Federal duty as full-time training duty, annual training duty, and attendance, while in the active military service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary of the military department concerned. It does not include full-time National Guard duty.

(13) “Supplies” includes material, equipment, and stores of all kinds.

(14) “Shall” is used in an imperative sense.

(15) “May” is used in a permissive sense. The words “no person may * * *” mean that no person is required, authorized, or permitted to do the act prescribed.

(16) “Includes” means “includes but is not limited to”.

(17) “Pay” includes basic pay, special pay, incentive pay, retired pay, and equivalent pay, but does not include allowances.

(18) “Spouse” means husband or wife, as the case may be.

(19) “Full-time National Guard duty” means training or other duty, other than inactive duty, performed by a member of the Army National Guard of the United States or the Air National Guard of the United States in the member’s status as a member of the National Guard of a State or territory, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia under section 316, 502, 503, 504, or 505 of this title for which the member is entitled to pay from the United States or for which the member has waived pay from the United States.

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Terms Used In 32 USC 101

  • officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
  • State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7