active duty

noun

Military.

1. the status of full-time service.

   on active duty.

Idioms and Phrases

Full-time service, as in Julian is 81, but he still comes to the office every day and is very much on active duty. This term comes from the military, where it stands in opposition to reserve, which refers to troops still in the military but not actively engaged. It is occasionally transferred to civilian matters as well. [First half of 1800s]

Example Sentences

A large hospital was recently added, and there are various buildings for the base’s more than 42,000 active duty personnel.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Venezuela's defence minister, Vladimir Padrino, said the attacks and the US naval deployment amounted to a "non-declared war" by the US against Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro swiftly called the militia into active duty.

Read more on BBC

She’s former active duty judge advocate in the U.S.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Liu has returned to active duty and is assigned to the Temple Station, where he worked when the shooting occurred, according to Nicole Nishida, a sheriff’s department spokeswoman.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Excited by the sight of 2,000 men in military garb on the streets of an American city he hates, the president doubled the number, and then ordered 700 active duty Marines to join them.

Read more on Salon