Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§573 Convening of selection boards

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART II— - PERSONNEL › Chapter CHAPTER 33A— - APPOINTMENT, PROMOTION, AND INVOLUNTARY SEPARATION AND RETIREMENT FOR MEMBERS ON THE WARRANT OFFICER ACTIVE-DUTY LIST › § 573

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must call selection boards when the service needs them to recommend promotions for warrant officers on the active-duty warrant officer list who are W‑2, W‑3, or W‑4 to the next higher warrant grade. W‑1 warrant officers are promoted to W‑2 under rules the Secretary sets, and they must have at least 18 months of active duty as W‑1 before promotion. Each board must have five or more officers from the same service, and at least five members must hold a permanent rank above major or lieutenant commander. The Secretary may add senior warrant officers as extra members and, if competitive categories exist, include at least one from each category when possible. Boards should reflect the force’s diversity. The Secretary can also form boards for continuation or retirement. If reservists are considered, include at least one reserve officer when practical. No officer may serve on two back-to-back boards that consider the same warrant officer. The Secretary sets other rules like quorum, notice, and communications.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §573

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Whenever the Secretary concerned determines that the needs of the service so require, he shall convene a selection board to recommend for promotion to the next higher warrant officer grade warrant officers on the warrant officer active-duty list who are in the grade of chief warrant officer, W–2, chief warrant officer, W–3, or chief warrant officer, W–4.
(2)Warrant officers serving on the warrant officer active-duty list in the grade of warrant officer, W–1, shall be promoted to the grade of chief warrant officer, W–2, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned. Such regulations shall require that an officer have served not less than 18 months on active duty in the grade of warrant officer, W–1, before promotion to the grade of warrant officer, W–2.
(b)A selection board shall consist of five or more officers who are on the active-duty list of the same armed force as the warrant officers under consideration by the board. At least five members of a selection board must be serving in a permanent grade above major or lieutenant commander. The Secretary concerned may appoint warrant officers, senior in grade to those under consideration, as additional members of the selection board. If warrant officers are appointed members of the selection board and if competitive categories have been established by the Secretary under section 574(b) of this title, at least one must be appointed from each warrant officer competitive category under consideration by the board, unless there is an insufficient number of warrant officers in the competitive category concerned who are senior in grade to those under consideration and qualified, as determined by the Secretary concerned, to be appointed as additional members of the board. The members of a selection board shall represent the diverse population of the armed force concerned to the extent practicable.
(c)The Secretary concerned may convene selection boards to recommend regular warrant officers for continuation on active duty under section 580 of this title and for retirement under section 581 of this title.
(d)When reserve warrant officers of one of the armed forces are to be considered by a selection board convened under subsection (a), the membership of the board shall, if practicable, include at least one reserve officer of that armed force, with the exact number of reserve officers to be determined by the Secretary concerned.
(e)No officer may serve on two consecutive boards under this section, if the second board considers any warrant officer who was considered by the first board.
(f)The Secretary concerned shall prescribe all other matters relating to the functions and duties of the boards, including the number of members constituting a quorum, and instructions concerning notice of convening of boards and communications with boards.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 558 of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 102–190, § 1112(a).

Amendments

2021—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–283 inserted at end “The members of a selection board shall represent the diverse population of the armed force concerned to the extent practicable.” 1996—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 104–106 substituted “active-duty list” for “active duty list”. 1994—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 103–337, § 541(b)(1)(A), substituted “Secretary concerned” for “Secretary of a military department”. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 103–337, § 541(b)(1)(B), struck out “of the military department” after “Secretary”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1994 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 103–337 effective on the first day of the fourth month beginning after Oct. 5, 1994, see section 541(h) of Pub. L. 103–337, set out as a note under section 571 of this title.

Effective Date

Section effective Feb. 1, 1992, see section 1132 of Pub. L. 102–190, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1991 Amendment note under section 521 of this title. Other Selection Boards Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title V, § 503(c), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3565, provided that: “(1) In general.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the members of each selection board described in paragraph (2) represent the diverse population of the Armed Force concerned to the extent practicable. “(2) Selection board described.—A selection board described in this paragraph (1) is any selection board used with respect to the promotion, education, or command assignments of members of the Armed Forces that is not covered by the

Amendments

made by this section [amending this section and section 612 and 14102 of this title].”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 573

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73