§14111 Reports of Selection Boards: Transmittal to President

Summary

After a promotion board finishes its report, the military department secretary must send that report and their recommendations to the Secretary of Defense, who forwards it to the President to approve or disapprove. If the President gives the approval power to the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary can only pass that power on to someone in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Only the President can remove an officer’s name from a promotion report, except for officers being promoted to ranks below brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half); those names can also be removed by the Secretary of Defense or the Deputy Secretary of Defense. If a name is removed for any reason other than misconduct, the Secretary of Defense must notify the congressional defense committees within 30 days and before sending the promotion list to the Senate. If a removal recommendation uses information that the board did not see, that information must be given to the officer and the officer must be allowed a fair chance to reply; if the information is classified, the officer should be given an appropriate summary when possible.