(a) Years of Active Service.—For the purpose of determining whether an officer of the Space Force may be retired under section 20601 of this title, the officer's years of service are computed by adding all active service in the armed forces.

(b) Reference to Section Excluding Service During Certain Periods.—Section 972(b) of this title excludes from computation of an officer's years of service for purposes of this section any time identified with respect to that officer under that section.