§14312 Delay of Promotion: Voluntary

Summary

The Secretary of a military department may let an officer who was picked for promotion by a mandatory or special selection board ask to delay that promotion. The delay can be for up to three years. The officer must ask for the delay before it can be allowed. If the request is turned down, that denial is not counted as a failure to be selected unless the officer then refuses the promotion under the rules below. If a delay is approved, the officer stays on the promotion list while waiting and can accept the promotion any time during the delay or when it ends. The promotion becomes effective on the day the officer accepts it. If an officer refuses a promotion, their name is taken off the list and, if they are below colonel (or below captain in the Navy), they are treated as not having been selected when delays were not allowed for that grade, when their delay request was denied, or when their approved delay ended and they then refused.