Michael J. Jacobs v. The United States and Commandant, U. S. Coast Guard, Admiral John B. Hayes, Uscg and His Successors

Michael Jacobs, an officer in the United States Coast Guard, contends that the four years he spent as a cadet at the Coast Guard Academy should be counted in satisfying the 20 years of active service required for voluntary retirement under 14 U.S.C. § 291 . After exhausting his administrative remedies, Jacobs sought a declaratory judgment that he had completed 22 years of active service — four years as a Coast Guard Academy cadet and 18 years as a commissioned officer — and was therefore entitled to retire. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court held for the Government. We affirm.

The controlling question in this case is whether cadet time may be credited in computing length of service for retirement eligibility under 14 U.S.C. § 291 . The critical statute is 10 U.S.C. § 971 (b). Section 971(b) prohibits any officer of the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, or Air Force from counting “for any purpose” time spent as a cadet or midshipman (pre-commission status) in any of the service schools, including the Coast Guard Academy. Relying on the maxim expressio unius est exclusio alterius, Jacobs argues that because § 971(b) applies, on its face, to every branch of the armed…