### Question
How is the term critical occupational specialty defined?


### Answer
The term **critical occupational specialty** is defined in *10 U.S.C. § 668* as the following:

> a military occupational specialty involving combat operations within the combat arms, in the case of the Army, or the equivalent arms, in the case of the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, that the Secretary of Defense designates as critical

#### Citation:
  - *10 U.S.C. § 668*
  - Heading: **Subtitle A-General Military Law > PART II-PERSONNEL > CHAPTER 38-JOINT OFFICER MANAGEMENT**

