(a)
Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary may defer the retirement or separation of a commissioned officer, other than a commissioned warrant officer, if the evaluation of the physical condition of the officer and determination of the officer’s entitlement to retirement or separation for physical disability require hospitalization, medical observation, or other physical disability processing that cannot be completed before the date on which the officer would otherwise be retired or separated.
(Added Pub. L. 98–557, § 17(b)(2)(A), Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2867, § 295; renumbered § 2156, Pub. L. 115–282, title I, § 112(b), Dec. 4, 2018, 132 Stat. 4216.)