2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-FIVE - Internal Security (§§ 1 — 3356) › Subtitle 2 - Military Matters (§§ 2001 — 3051s) › PART I - Military Code of Puerto Rico (§§ 2001 — 2929) › Chapter 201 - Preliminary Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2002) › Subchapter I - Short Title and Definitions (§§ 2001 — 2002) › § 2002 - Definitions

The following words or terms shall have, for the purposes of the application of this part, the meaning hereinbelow expressed, unless otherwise clearly indicated in the context:
(a) Military Forces of Puerto Rico.— Means the Militias of Puerto Rico, to wit, the National Guard of Puerto Rico and any other military force organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(b) Officer.— Means the Commissioned or Warrant Officer.
(c) Commissioned Officer.— Includes the Commissioned Warrant Officers.
(d) Commanding Officer.— Includes only Commissioned Officers.
(e) Superior Commissioned Officer.— Means a Commissioned Officer superior in rank, authority or command.
(f) Subofficer.— Means corporals, sergeants and technical personnel which compose the ranks of Noncommissioned Officers.
(g) Enlisted man.— Means a soldier without the rank of an officer.
(h) Grade.— Means the rank or hierarchy of the officer or subofficer.
(i) Rank.— Means the order or precedence among the members of the Military Forces of Puerto Rico.
(j) Federal recognition.— Acceptance and approval of a unit as such or of the rank of an officer of the National Guard of Puerto Rico by the United States Department of Defense.
(k) Commonwealth active military duty.— Means full-time duty rendered by the Military Forces of Puerto Rico under an order of the Governor of Puerto Rico issued under authority vested in him by law, and includes travel to and from such duty.
(l) Federal active military duty.— Means full-time duty rendered by the National Guard of Puerto Rico under an order of the Governor of Puerto Rico issued in compliance with a requirement for such duty by the President of the United States, for the purpose of serving under the direction, supervision and command of the United States authorities or for the purpose of calling the National Guard of Puerto Rico to be a part of the Armed Forces of the United States. It also means the full-time duty rendered by the National Guard of Puerto Rico under the supervision and command of the United States authorities by an order or call for such duty issued by said authorities, as well as the service rendered during the periods comprised by the annual encampments and any other service covered by § 2 of the United States Law No. [70A Stat.] 596 of August 10, 1956. (Title 32, United States Code, §§ 101—174.)
(m) Military service or active military service.— Any military service included in this part other than active Commonwealth military service or active federal military duty, including that service rendered by officers and enlisted men in the Military Armed Forces of Puerto Rico in the discharge of their duties when military exercises are performed or when they receive training or perform full-time special duties, shall be considered active duty or active military duty.
Services and duties performed by members of the Military Forces of Puerto Rico when they are on the lists of the inactive members thereof, as same are defined in the National Guard Federal Act, United States Law No. [70A Stat.] 596 of August 10, 1956 (Title 32, United States Code, § 303), shall not be considered active duty. Such inactive members shall be subject to the provisions of this part, but may not avail themselves of the benefits of buying in the post exchanges and military canteens of the Military Forces of Puerto Rico.
(n) Military court.— Means courts-martial, courts of inquiry, Military Courts of Review, Court of Military Appeals and any other court created in accordance with this part.
(o) Military judge.— Law Officer with a lawyer’s degree admitted to practice his profession before the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico or a federal court, designated as an officer in a military court.
(p) Judge Advocate of Puerto Rico.— Means the officer with a lawyer’s degree, admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico or before a federal court, responsible for supervising the administration of the military justice in the Military Forces of Puerto Rico.
(q) Military.— Refers to any or all of the Military Forces.
(r) Convening authority.— Includes, in addition to the person who appointed a military court, the acting commanding officer or successor of a commanding officer.
(s) Code.— Means this part.
(t) May.— Is used in this part in a permissive sense.
(u) Shall.— Is used in this part in the mandatory or imperative sense.
(v) Commonwealth.— Means or refers to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(w) President.— Means the President of the United States.
(x) Full-time duty or full time.— Is the time devoted to the rendering of every effort or duty during working hours or extraordinary hours of work of one day or days in the discharge of military duties or in the service of the Military Forces of Puerto Rico.
—June 23, 1969, No. 62, p. 117, § 101; June 1, 1971, No. 20, p. 37, § 1.
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