---
kind: "section"
citation: "10 U.S.C. § 2390"
title: "10"
title_heading: "Armed Forces"
number: "2390"
heading: "Prohibition on the sale of certain defense articles from the stocks of the Department of Defense"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/10/2390"
units:
  - "Subtitle A — General Military Law"
  - "Part IV — Service, Supply, and Property"
  - "Chapter 141 — Miscellaneous Provisions Relating to Property"
---

# §2390. Prohibition on the sale of certain defense articles from the stocks of the Department of Defense

- (a)
  - (1) Except as provided in subsections [(b)](#b) and [(c)](#c), the sale outside the [Department](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6) of Defense of any [defense article](/usc/10/301.md?p=2) designated or otherwise classified as Prepositioned Material Configured to Unit Sets, as decrement stock, or as Prepositioned War [Reserve](/usc/10/101.md?p=c-6) Stocks for [United States](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-1) Forces is prohibited.
  - (2) In this section, the term “decrement stock” means such stock as is needed to bring the [armed forces](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-4) from a peacetime level of readiness to a combat level of readiness.
- (b) The President may authorize the sale outside the [Department](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6) of Defense of a [defense article](/usc/10/301.md?p=2) described in [subsection (a)](#a) if—
  - (1) he determines that there is an international crisis affecting the [national security](/usc/10/801.md?p=16) of the [United States](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-1) and the sale of such article is in the best interests of the [United States](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-1); and
  - (2) he reports to the Congress not later than 60 days after the transfer of such article a plan for the prompt replenishment of the stocks of such article and the planned budget request to begin implementation of that plan.
- (c)
  - (1) Nothing in this section shall preclude the sale of stocks which have been designated for replacement, substitution, or elimination or which have been designated for sale to provide funds to procure higher priority stocks.
  - (2) Nothing in this section shall preclude the transfer or sale of equipment to other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

## Source credit

(Added Pub. L. 95–485, title VIII, § 815(a), Oct. 20, 1978, 92 Stat. 1625, § 975; amended Pub. L. 100–26, § 7(k)(3), Apr. 21, 1987, 101 Stat. 284; renumbered § 2390, Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title XVI, § 1622(b)(1), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1604.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Prior Provisions

A prior section 2390, added Pub. L. 95–79, title VIII, § 815(a), July 30, 1977, 91 Stat. 337; amended Pub. L. 96–470, title I, § 104(a), Oct. 19, 1980, 94 Stat. 2238; Pub. L. 96–513, title V, § 511(80), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2927, directed Secretary of Defense to request each commissioned officer, and each civilian employee above grade GS–12, who was scheduled for retirement and who was or had been at any time within one year prior to such scheduled retirement, assigned to, or employed in, military procurement to submit suggestions for methods to improve procurement policies, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 98–94, title XII, § 1259(a), Sept. 24, 1983, 97 Stat. 703.

### Amendments

1989—Pub. L. 101–189 renumbered section 975 of this title as this section.

1987—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 100–26 inserted “the term” after “In this section,”.