Pay and allowances; continuance while in a missing status; limitations
37 U.S.C. § 552
in effect(a) A member of a uniformed service who is on active duty or performing inactive-duty training, and who is in a missing status, is—(1) for the period he is in that status, entitled to receive or have credited to his account the same pay and allowances, as defined in this chapter, to which he was entitled at the beginning of that period or may thereafter become entitled; and (2) for the period, not to exceed one year, required for his hospitalization and rehabilitation after termination of that status, under regulations prescribed by the Secretaries concerned, with respect to incentive pay, considered to have satisfied the requirements of section 301 or section 351(a)(2) of this title so as to entitle him to a continuance of that pay. However, a member who is performing full-time training duty or other full-time duty without pay, or inactive-duty training with or without pay, is entitled to the pay and allowances to which he would have been entitled if he had been on active duty with pay. Notwithstanding section 1523 of title 10 or any other provision of law, the promotion of a member while he is in a missing status is fully effective for all purposes.
(b) The expiration of a member’s term of service while he is in a missing status does not end his entitlement to pay and allowances under subsection (a). Notwithstanding the death of a member while in a missing status, entitlement to pay and allowances under subsection (a) ends on the date—(1) the Secretary concerned receives evidence that the member is dead; or (2) that his death is prescribed or determined under section 555 of this title or under chapter 76 of title 10.
(c) A member is not entitled to pay and allowances under subsection (a) for a period during which he is officially determined to be absent from his post of duty without authority, and he is indebted to the United States for payments from amounts credited to his account for that period.
(d) A member who is performing full-time training duty or inactive-duty training is entitled to the benefits of this section only when he is officially determined to be in a missing status that results from the performance of duties prescribed by competent authority.
(e) A member in a missing status who is continued in that status under section 555 of this title or under chapter 76 of title 10 is entitled to be credited with pay and allowances under subsection (a).
Source: OLRC USLMURL: https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/95/xml_usc37@119-95.zipFetched: 6/5/2026