(a) The pay of an officer of an armed force may be withheld, under section
5512 of title
5, only for an indebtedness to the United States admitted by the officer or shown by the judgment of a court, or upon a special order issued in the discretion of the Secretary of Defense (or the Secretary of Homeland Security, in the case of an officer of the Coast Guard when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Navy), or upon the denial of relief of an officer pursuant to section
3527 of title
31.
(b) An amount due to the United States from an enlisted member of the Army or the Air Force for articles sold to him on credit under section
4621 (a)(1) or
9621 (a)(1) of title
10, as the case may be, shall be deducted from the next pay due him after the sale is reported.
(c)
(1) Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned, an amount that a member of the uniformed services is administratively determined to owe the United States or any of its instrumentalities may be deducted from the members pay in monthly installments.
(2) After the deduction of pay forfeited by the sentence of a court-martial, if any, or otherwise authorized by law to be withheld, the deductions authorized by this section may not reduce the pay actually received by a member of the uniformed services for any month to less than one-third of the members pay for that month.
(3) If the indebtedness of a member of the uniformed services to the United States is due to the overpayment of pay or allowances to the member through no fault of the member, the amount of the overpayment shall be recovered in monthly installments. The amount deducted from the pay of the member for a month to recover the overpayment amount may not exceed 20 percent of the members pay for that month unless the member requests or consents to collection of the overpayment at an accelerated rate.
(4) If a member of the uniformed services is injured or wounded under the circumstances described in section
310 (a)(2)(C) of this title or, while in the line of duty, incurs a wound, injury, or illness in a combat operation or combat zone designated by the Secretary of Defense, any overpayment of pay or allowances made to the member while the member recovers from the wound, injury, or illness may not be deducted from the members pay until
(A) the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date on which the member is notified of the overpayment; or
(B) such earlier date as may be requested or agreed to by the member.
(d) Subject to subsection (c), an amount due the United States from an enlisted member of the Army or the Air Force may be deducted from his pay on final statement, or from his savings on his clothing allowance.
(e) The amount of any damage, or cost of repairs, to arms or equipment caused by the abuse or negligence of a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, as the case may be, who had the care of, or was using, the property when it was damaged, shall be deducted from his pay.
(f) If, upon final settlement of the accounts of an officer of the Army or the Air Force charged with the issue of an article of military supply, there is a deficiency of that article, or if an article of military supply with whose issue an officer is charged is damaged, the value of the lost article or the amount of the damage shall be charged against the officer and deducted from his monthly pay, unless he shows to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Army or the Secretary of the Air Force, as the case may be, by one or more affidavits setting forth the circumstances, that he was not at fault.
(g) An amount due the United States from an officer of the Army or the Air Force for rations bought on credit, and for articles bought on credit under section
4621 (a)(1) or
9621 (a)(1) of title
10, shall be deducted from the next pay due that officer after the sale is reported.
(h)
(1) Upon request by a service relief society and subject to paragraph (2), an amount owed by a member of the uniformed services to the relief society may be deducted from the pay on final statement of such member and paid to that relief society.
(2) An amount may not be deducted under paragraph (1) from the pay of a member unless the Secretary concerned makes a determination of the amount owed in accordance with the regulations prescribed under subsection (c). Any amount determined to be owed to a service relief society under this paragraph shall be considered an amount that the member is administratively determined to owe the United States under subsection (c) and shall be collectible in accordance with such subsection.
(3) The Secretaries concerned shall prescribe regulations to carry out this subsection.
(4) In this subsection, the term service relief society means the Army Emergency Relief, the Air Force Aid Society, the Navy Relief Society, or the Coast Guard Mutual Assistance.
(i)
(1) There shall be deducted each month from the pay of each enlisted member, warrant officer, and limited duty officer of the armed forces on active duty an amount (determined under paragraph (3)) not to exceed $1.00.
(2) Amounts deducted under paragraph (1) shall be deposited in the Armed Forces Retirement Home Trust Fund.
(3) The Secretary of Defense, after consultation with the Armed Forces Retirement Home Board, shall determine from time to time the amount to be deducted under paragraph (1) from the pay of enlisted members, warrant officers, and limited duty officers on the basis of the financial needs of the Armed Forces Retirement Home. The amount to be deducted may be fixed at different amounts on the basis of grade or length of service, or both.
(4) In this subsection, the term armed forces does not include the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy.
(5) This subsection does not apply to an enlisted member, warrant officer, or limited duty officer of a reserve component.
