DD-214 Reentry Code
RE Code 6
What an RE-6 code recorded on a DD Form 214 means depends on the service that issued the form and, for older forms, on when it was issued.
Each entry below separates two questions: the meaning recorded by the issuing service, shown only where a same-service official source grounds it, and any separately published recruiting guidance, each with its own source and period. Air Force codes print without the RE prefix, for example 6C rather than RE-6C. The block this code prints in varies by form printing, so the DD-214 worksheet asks for your form's title before using block numbers.
Navy (1 entry)
RE-6
Grounded in the current tables · Grounded in public official records
Meaning recorded by the issuing service
Entered for members in pay grades E-5 and below separating at high year tenure who are otherwise fully retainable.
Source: MILPERSMAN 1160-120 (CH-84, 13 July 2023), High Year Tenure Program · official text
Separate recruiting guidance published by the Army
The cited Army guidance classifies this code as follows:
Grounded in the current tables
Persons eligible for reenlistment. Qualified for enlistment if all other applicable criteria are met.
This is a classification in that service's own enlistment table. It cannot determine how current rules apply to an individual case, it is not the meaning printed by the issuing service, and it is not an eligibility decision.
Source: AR 601-210 (20 March 2026), table 3-2 (Navy and Coast Guard) · official text
Coast Guard (1 entry)
RE-6
Grounded in the current tables · Evidence limited; no meaning is claimed
No meaning published by the Coast Guard for this code appears in our sources yet, so none is shown here.
Separate recruiting guidance published by the Army
The cited Army guidance classifies this code as follows:
Grounded in the current tables
Persons eligible for reenlistment. Qualified for enlistment if all other applicable criteria are met.
This is a classification in that service's own enlistment table. It cannot determine how current rules apply to an individual case, it is not the meaning printed by the issuing service, and it is not an eligibility decision.
Source: AR 601-210 (20 March 2026), table 3-2 (Navy and Coast Guard) · official text
Reading an RE code
An RE code is recorded on the DD Form 214 at separation. What the code means is one question; what a recruiting table says about enlisting later is another, and on this page the two answers can come from different services. Neither section is an eligibility decision: waiver practice changes with the recruiting climate, and a recruiter for the branch you want to join is the authority on what your code means today. An incorrect code can be challenged through the service's Board for Correction of Military Records.