Us Code § 272 - Use of military equipment and facilities

Full text of Us Code United States Code § 272 — Use of military equipment and facilities, with citation guidance and answers to common questions.

§ 272. Use of military equipment and facilities

The Secretary of Defense may, in accordance with other applicable law, make available any equipment (including associated supplies or spare parts), base facility, or research facility of the Department of Defense to any Federal, State, or local civilian law enforcement official for law enforcement purposes.

(Added Pub. L. 97–86, title IX, §905(a)(1), Dec. 1, 1981, 95 Stat. 1115, §372; amended Pub. L. 100–456, div. A, title XI, §1104(a), Sept. 29, 1988, 102 Stat. 2043; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title III, §378, Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 284; Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title XIV, §1416(b), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2723; Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title III, §351, Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1701; renumbered §272, Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title XII, §1241(a)(2), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2497.)


Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 272, added Pub. L. 85–861, §1(5)(A), Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1438; amended Pub. L. 96–513, title V, §511(8), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2920, related to transfers back from Standby Reserve to Ready Reserve, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title XVI, §§1661(a)(2)(A), 1691, Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2979, 3026, effective Dec. 1, 1994. See section 10150 of this title.

Amendments

2016—Pub. L. 114–328 renumbered section 372 of this title as this section.

2013—Pub. L. 112–239 struck out "(a) In General.—" before "The Secretary" and subsec. (b) which related to emergencies involving chemical and biological agents.

1996—Pub. L. 104–106 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, and added subsec. (b).

Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 104–201 inserted at end "The requirement for a determination that an item is not reasonably available from another source does not apply to assistance provided under section 382 of this title pursuant to a request of the Attorney General for the assistance."

1988—Pub. L. 100–456 amended section generally, inserting "(including associated supplies or spare parts)" and substituting "Department of Defense" for "Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps".


Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Support for Non-Federal Development and Testing of Material for Chemical Agent Defense

Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title X, §1034, Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 308, as amended by Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title X, §1043, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2393; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, §813(b)(2), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1851, provided that:

"(a) Authority to Provide Toxic Chemicals or Precursors.—

"(1) In general.—The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the heads of other elements of the Federal Government, may make available, to a State, a unit of local government, or a private entity incorporated in the United States, small quantities of a toxic chemical or precursor for the development or testing, in the United States, of material that is designed to be used for protective purposes.

"(2) Terms and conditions.—Any use of the authority under paragraph (1) shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary considers appropriate.

"(b) Payment of Costs and Disposition of Funds.—

"(1) In general.—The Secretary shall ensure, through the advance payment required by paragraph (2) and through any other payments that may be required, that a recipient of toxic chemicals or precursors under subsection (a) pays for all actual costs, including direct and indirect costs, associated with providing the toxic chemicals or precursors.

"(2) Advance payment.—In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall require each recipient to make an advance payment in an amount that the Secretary determines will equal all such actual costs.

"(3) Credits.—A payment received under this subsection shall be credited to the account that was used to cover the costs for which the payment was provided. Amounts so credited shall be merged with amounts in that account, and shall be available for the same purposes, and subject to the same conditions and limitations, as other amounts in that account.

"(c) Chemical Weapons Convention.—The Secretary shall ensure that toxic chemicals and precursors are made available under this section for uses and in quantities that comply with the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, signed at Paris on January 13, 1993, and entered into force with respect to the United States on April 29, 1997.

"(d) Definitions.—In this section:

"(1) The terms 'precursor', 'protective purposes', and 'toxic chemical' have the meanings given those terms in the convention referred to in subsection (c), in paragraph 2, paragraph 9(b), and paragraph 1, respectively, of article II of that convention.

"(2) The term 'biological select agent or toxin' means any agent or toxin identified under any of the following:

"(A) Section 331.3 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations.

"(B) Section 121.3 or section 121.4 of title 9, Code of Federal Regulations.

"(C) Section 73.3 or section 73.4 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations."

About This Section

10 U.S.C. § 272 is part of Title 10 of the United States Code. The United States Code is the official codification of federal statutes maintained by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress amends the Code through new public laws, which are eventually incorporated into the relevant title.

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Sources

Source: official Us Code text · Last verified 2026-08-27

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