THE UNIVERSITY OF THE ARMY NATIONAL GUARD ATTENDEES
Headquarters
Department of the Army
Washington, DC
29 May 2025
*Army Regulation 135–175
Effective 29 June 2025

Army National Guard and Reserve

Separation of Officers

By Order of the Secretary of the Army:

RANDY A. GEORGE
General, United States Army
Chief of Staff

MARK F. AVERILL
Administrative Assistant to the
Secretary of the Army

History. This publication is a major revision. The portions affected by this major revision are listed in the summary of change.

Authorities. The authority for this regulation is DoDI 1332.30.

Applicability. This regulation applies to all officers of the Army National Guard of the United States and the U.S. Army Reserve, except for officers serving on active duty or on active duty for training for a period in excess of 30 consecutive days.

Proponent and exception authority. The proponent of this regulation is the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1. The proponent has the authority to approve exceptions or waivers to this regulation that are consistent with controlling law and regulations. The proponent may delegate this approval authority, in writing, to a division chief within the proponent agency or its direct reporting unit or field operating agency, in the grade of colonel or the civilian equivalent. Activities may request a waiver to this regulation by providing justification that includes a full analysis of the expected benefits and must include formal review by the activity's senior legal officer. All waiver requests will be endorsed by the commander or senior leader of the requesting activity and forwarded through their higher headquarters to the policy proponent. Refer to AR 25-30 for specific requirements.

Army internal control process. This regulation contains internal control provisions in accordance with AR 11-2 and identifies key internal controls that must be evaluated (see app B).

Suggested improvements. Users are invited to send comments and suggested improvements on DA FormDA FormDepartment of the Army form 2028 (Recommended Changes to Publications and Blank Forms) directly to usarmy.pentagon.hqda-dcs-g-1.mbx.publishing-team@army.mil.

Distribution. This publication is available in electronic media only and is intended for all command levels of the Regular Army, Army National Guard/Army National Guard of the United States, and the U.S. Army Reserve.

*This regulation supersedes AR 135-175, dated 30 March 2020.

AR 135–175 • 29 May 2025

UNCLASSIFIED

Reserve Officers

Active duty Full-time duty in the active military service of the United States, including AD or full-time training duty in the RC (see DoD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms).

Active status The status of a member of an RC who is not in the inactive ARNGARNGArmy National Guard or inactive Air National Guard, on an inactive status list, or in the Retired Reserve (see 10 USCUSCUnited States Code 101(d)(4)).

Board of officers A board of officers convened to give fair and impartial hearing to evidence concerning the fitness of an officer who has been required to show cause for retention and make findings and recommendations whether the officer will be retained or eliminated. Also called a board of inquiry.

Characterizations of service A determination reflecting a Soldier’s military behavior and performance of duty during a specific period of service. The three characterizations are: Honorable, General (Under Honorable Conditions), and Under Other Than Honorable Conditions (see DoDI 1332.30).

Convening authority The Secretary of the military department concerned of other official to whom the authority to convene a board of inquiry was delegated (see DoDI 1332.30).

Counsel A judge advocate qualified pursuant to 10 USCUSCUnited States Code 827(b) or a civilian lawyer retained at the commissioned officer’s expense (see DoDI 1332.30).

Deployable A Servicemember who does not have a Service-determined reason that precludes him or her from de- ployment (see DoDI 1332.45).

Deployment The movement of personnel into and out of an operational area or in support of operations. Deployment encompasses all activities from origin or home station through destination, specifically including inter-the- ater, and intra-theater movement legs, staging, and holding areas (see DoDI 1332.45).

Entry level training Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training or One Station Unit Training (see 38 USCUSCUnited States Code 3301).

Individual Ready Reserve See DoD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms.

Involuntary separation Separation from commissioned or warrant status as a Reserve of the Army based on cause (for example, substandard performance of duty, moral or professional dereliction, or for national security reasons).

Member An officer or enlisted member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, Coast Guard, or U.S. Public Health Service (see DoDI 1336.01).

Moral or professional dereliction Conduct within the control of the individual concerned that tends to bring the individual or the Army into disrepute.

Non-deployable A Servicemember who has a Service-determined reason that precludes him or her from deployment (see DoDI 1332.45).

Non-obligated officer Officers who have completed their statutory MSO and are serving on a contractual obligation, or were ap- pointed under circumstances in which a statutory obligation was not incurred (see AR 135 – 91).

Notification The initiation of an administrative separation process in which the respondent is notified in writing of the proposed separation, the bases thereof, the results of separation, and their rights.

Obligated officer An officer who has an obligation incurred by operation of law or by execution of a contractual agreement to serve in a Reserve status for a specified period of time (see AR 135 – 91).

Officer Includes commissioned officers, WOs (warrant officer one), and commissioned WOs (CW2–chief warrant officer five), unless otherwise specified (see AR 135 – 91).

Original appointment With respect to the appointment of a member of the armed forces in a regular or RC, refers to that mem- ber's most recent appointment in that component that is neither a promotion nor a demotion (see 10 USCUSCUnited States Code 101(b)(10)).

Permanently non-deployable A Servicemember who has a reason that precludes them from deployment, and there is a Service expec- tation that the reason will not be resolved and the Servicemember will never be deployable (see DoDI 1332.45).

Ready Reserve The Selected Reserve and IRRIRRIndividual Ready Reserve liable for AD as prescribed by law (10 USCUSCUnited States Code 10142, 12301, and 12302) (see DoD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms).

Regular Army Consists of Active Component Soldiers on AD; ARNGUSARNGUSArmy National Guard of the United States and AR Soldiers on AD; ARNGARNGArmy National Guard Soldiers in the service of the United States pursuant to a call; and all persons appointed, enlisted, or inducted into the Army without component. Excluded are Soldiers serving on ADTADTActive duty for training; Active Guard Reserve status; AD for special work (which includes temporary tours of AD for 180 days or less; and AD pursuant to the call of the President (10 USCUSCUnited States Code 12304)). See AR 135 – 91.

Reserve Component See DoD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms.

Reserve of the Army A member of the ARNGUSARNGUSArmy National Guard of the United States and the USARUSARUnited States Army Reserve (see AR 135 – 91).

Respondent A commissioned officer required to show cause for retention on AD (see DoDI 1332.30).

Retired pay Pay granted to members and former members of RCs under 10 USCUSCUnited States Code Chapter 3 after completion of 20 or more years of qualifying service and on attaining age 60, or earlier when authorized an age reduction un- der 10 USCUSCUnited States Code 12731. This pay is based on the highest grade satisfactorily held at any time during an indi- vidual’s entire period of service, other than in an inactive section of an RC.

Selected Reserve See DoD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms.

Separation A general term that includes discharge, release from AD, release from custody and control of the military Services, transfer to the IRRIRRIndividual Ready Reserve, DFR, and similar changes in Active and Reserve status (see DoDI 1332.30).

Separation authority An officer authorized to take final action on discharge, release from AD, release from custody and control of the military Services, transfer to the IRRIRRIndividual Ready Reserve, and similar changes in Active and Reserve status (see DoDI 1332.45).

Show cause What the respondent must do by a preponderance of the evidence to justify his or her retention in the ser- vice after the government has made a prima facie showing that one or more of the reasons for discharge in the letter of notification exists (see DoDI 1332.30).

Standby Reserve Units or members, or both, of the RCs, other than those in the Ready Reserve or Retired Reserve, who are liable for AD only as provided in 10 USCUSCUnited States Code 12301 and 10 USCUSCUnited States Code 12306 (see 10 USCUSCUnited States Code 10151).

Temporarily non-deployable A Servicemember who has a reason or reasons that precludes him or her from deployment, and there is a Service expectation that the reason or reasons will be resolved and the Servicemember will be deploya- ble (see DoDI 1332.45).

Troop program unit A table of organization and equipment or table of distribution and allowances unit of the USARUSARUnited States Army Reserve organiza- tion that serves as a unit on mobilization, is assigned a mobilization, or is assigned a mobilization mis- sion. The “unit” in this case is the largest separate unit prescribed by the table of organization and equip- ment or table of distribution and allowances.

U.S. Army Reserve Includes all Reserves of the Army who are not members of the ARNGUSARNGUSArmy National Guard of the United States and who are in a Ready, Standby, or Retired Reserve category. It is a Federal force, consisting of individual reinforcements and combat, combat support, and training type units organized and maintained to provide military training in peacetime, and a reservoir of trained units and individual reservists to be ordered to AD in the event of a national emergency (see AR 135 – 91).

Unsatisfactory participant See AR 135 – 91.

Warrant officers See 10 USCUSCUnited States Code 12241.