§20215 Recommendations for promotion by selection boards

Summary

Selection boards must pick the officers they think are best qualified for promotion, while taking into account the Space Force’s needs and any guidelines given to the board. The Secretary of the Air Force decides how many officers the board may recommend. A board can only recommend an officer if a majority of its members vote for that officer, a majority says the officer is fully qualified, and a majority, after seeing any negative information given under section 615, finds the officer among the best qualified and meets the exemplary conduct rule in section 9233. Except as allowed by other law or for officers moving into the Space Force under chapter 36 or chapter 1403, an officer cannot be promoted without a board’s recommendation. Board recommendations are kept confidential under rules set by the Secretary of Defense and cannot be shared with outsiders until every board member signs the board’s written report. The Secretary of the Air Force and other officials may not punish or try to improperly influence a board or its members about their recommendations. When the Secretary allows it, the board can also mark certain promoted officers as having special merit to be placed higher on the promotion list; doing that generally requires a majority vote unless the Secretary gives a different rule, and the board must recommend the order for those officers.