What This Field Means
The documented date the unit was inactivated or a commissioned command ended.
This records the formal date the unit was inactivated, disestablished, dissolved, or a commissioned command was decommissioned. It provides a defensible endpoint for an organizational life rather than relying on disappearance from later sources.
How to Read It Correctly
The date is not the last source mention, the end of one deployment, a temporary stand-down, or necessarily the end of official lineage. Some lineages are later reactivated or carried by successors.
Example
An official inactivation, disestablishment, dissolution, or decommissioning date.
Technical Specification
The database column is [USMIL-Unit].[Unit].[InactivationOrDecommissionDate]. Optional cessation-event date. It requires explicit evidence and must not be inferred merely because later records are absent.
Use the exact cessation event and date stated by authoritative evidence. Preserve the event type and do not infer formal inactivation solely because current status cannot be confirmed.
| Property | Definition or current value |
|---|---|
| Database column | InactivationOrDecommissionDate |
| Column order | 46 |
| SQL data type | date |
| Kind of information | Calendar date |
| Cardinality | One stored value per Unit row. |
| Required | No; NULL is permitted |
| Database default | No database default |
| Key or relationship | None |
| Database check constraint | ([CurrentStatus]=N'Planned' OR [CurrentStatus]=N'Status unknown' OR [CurrentStatus]=N'Historical' OR [CurrentStatus]=N'Inactive' OR [CurrentStatus]=N'Current') |
| Live population | 167 of 9341 Unit records (1.79%) |
| Distinct nonblank values in the live table | 145 |
| Live profile measured | September 2, 2026, 20:43 UTC |
Allowed Values and Definitions
No preset menu applies to this field. It stores an identifier, relationship, measurement, date, timestamp, or evidence-derived narrative. Valid content is governed by the SQL type, key relationship, nullability, retained evidence, and the field-specific recording rule above. A list of observed contents would be data, not a list of allowed options.
Missing, Unknown, and Conflicting Information
A database NULL is permitted and means that no value is presently stored. It does not prove that the fact never existed, that the answer is no, or that the concept does not apply. Missing information must remain visibly different from a supported negative or inapplicable conclusion.
Connections to Other Fields
- Activation or Commission Date — The documented date the unit was activated or a ship or cutter command was commissioned.
- Current Status — Whether the unit is currently operating, belongs to history, was formally inactivated, is planned, or has an unresolved present status.
- Effective To — The date through which the represented facts are known to apply.
- Successor Unit — The later unit identity officially connected to this unit through succession, redesignation, consolidation, or another supported lineage event.
- Lineage Continuity — What the evidence says about whether two names or organizations belong to the same official lineage.