§20231 — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

Summary

Only officers on the Space Force officer list can be picked for promotion by the selection boards. The Secretary of the Air Force can make rules that keep an officer from being considered for up to one year after they move on or off sustained duty. The Secretary can also bar an otherwise eligible officer if their scheduled removal from the list is within 90 days of the board meeting. A board may not consider officers already on a promotion list from earlier boards, officers recommended by an earlier board but not yet approved by the President, officers nominated for the same grade and waiting in the Senate, certain first lieutenants on a specific qualified list, officers excluded by other rules, or officers who have used up their allowed promotion attempts. The Secretary of Defense can let the Secretary of the Air Force stop some colonels from being considered for brigadier general if they were passed over by at least two boards and are found not exceptionally well qualified. That action needs DoD-wide rules, SecDef approval for each board, a recommending preselection board of at least three higher-ranking officers, advance written notice to the officer with the records to be reviewed, time for the officer to comment, and limits on what the preselection board may use to decide. A brigadier general who is off the list can still be considered for major general if, when the board meets, they have been inactive for less than the minimum time the Secretary sets (up to one year) and they had served continuously on the list for at least one year before their last move to inactive. A brigadier general who is on the list but short of the participation threshold can still be considered if they moved from inactive to reserve active status within the year before the board, were inactive for less than one year before that move, and had at least one continuous year on an active-status list before their last move to inactive. Officers on the list are not considered for promotion while in an approved graduate-education delay and getting financial help. The Secretary of the Air Force may also require some officers in certain duty statuses to serve two years there before they can be considered, but they can remain on the Space Force officer list.

Title 10, §20231

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)An officer is eligible under this chapter for consideration for promotion by a selection board convened under section 14101(a) of this title only if the officer is on the Space Force officer list.

(2)The Secretary of the Air Force—

(A)may, by regulation, prescribe a period of time, not to exceed one year, from the time an officer on the Space Force officer list transfers on or off of sustained duty during which the officer shall be ineligible for consideration for promotion; and

(B)may, by regulation, provide for the exclusion from consideration for promotion by a selection board of an officer otherwise eligible to be considered by the board who has an established date for removal from the Space Force officer list that is not more than 90 days after the date on which the board is to be convened.

(b)A selection board convened under section 20211 of this title may not consider for promotion to the next higher grade any of the following officers:

(1)An officer whose name is on a promotion list for that grade as a result of recommendation for promotion to that grade by an earlier selection board convened under that section or section 20151 of this title, under section 14101 or 14502 of this title, or under chapter 36 of this title.

(2)An officer who is recommended for promotion to that grade in the report of an earlier selection board convened under a provision referred to in paragraph (1), in the case of such a report that has not yet been approved by the President.

(3)An officer who has been nominated by the President for promotion to that grade under any other provision of law, if that nomination is pending before the Senate.

(4)An officer in the grade of first lieutenant who is on an approved all-fully-qualified-officers list under section 20239(c)(4) of this title.

(5)An officer excluded under section 20232 of this title.

(6)An officer who has failed of promotion to a higher grade the maximum number of times specified for opportunities for promotion for such grade within the competitive category concerned pursuant to section 20234 of this title.

(c)(1)The Secretary of Defense may authorize the Secretary of the Air Force to preclude from consideration by selection boards for promotion to the grade of brigadier general, officers in the grade of colonel who—

(A)have been considered and not selected for promotion to the grade of brigadier general or by at least two selection boards; and

(B)are determined, in accordance with standards and procedures prescribed pursuant to paragraph (2), as not being exceptionally well qualified for promotion.

(2)If the Secretary of Defense authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force to have the authority described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall prescribe by regulation the standards and procedures for the exercise of such authority. Those regulations shall apply uniformly among the military departments and shall include the following provisions:

(A)A requirement that the Secretary of the Air Force may exercise such authority in the case of a particular selection board only if the Secretary of Defense approves the exercise of that authority for that board.

(B)A requirement that an officer may be precluded from consideration by a selection board under this paragraph only upon the recommendation of a preselection board of officers convened by the Secretary of the military department concerned and composed of at least three officers all of whom are serving in a grade higher than the grade of such officer.

(C)A requirement that such a preselection board may not recommend that an officer be precluded from such consideration unless the Secretary of the Air Force has given the officer advance written notice of the convening of such board and of the military records that will be considered by the board and has given the officer a reasonable period before the convening of the board in which to submit comments to the board.

(D)A requirement that the Secretary of the Air Force shall provide general guidance to the board in accordance with standards and procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense in those regulations.

(E)A requirement that the preselection board may recommend that an officer be precluded from consideration by a selection board only on the basis of the general guidance provided by the Secretary of the Air Force, information in the officer’s official military personnel records that has been described in the notice provided the officer as required pursuant to subparagraph (C), and any communication to the board received from that officer before the board convenes.

(d)(1)A brigadier general who is not eligible for consideration for promotion because the officer is not on the Space Force officer list (as required by paragraph (1) of subsection (a) for such eligibility) is nevertheless eligible for consideration for promotion to the grade of major general by a selection board convened under section 20211(a) of this title if—

(A)as of the date of the convening of the promotion board, the officer has been in an inactive status for less than the minimum threshold established in paragraph (2) of subsection (a); and

(B)immediately before the date of the officer’s most recent transfer to an inactive status, the officer had continuously served on the Space Force officer list for at least one year.

(2)A brigadier general who is on the Space Force officer list but who is not eligible for consideration for promotion because the officer’s service does not meet the minimum participation threshold established under subsection (a)(2) is nevertheless eligible for consideration for promotion to the grade of major general by a promotion board convened under section 20211(a) of this title if—

(A)the officer was transferred from an inactive status to the reserve active-status list during the one-year period preceding the date of the convening of the promotion board;

(B)immediately before the date of the officer’s most recent transfer to an active status, the officer had been in an inactive status for less than one year; and

(C)immediately before the date of the officer’s most recent transfer to an inactive status, the officer had continuously served for at least one year on the reserve active-status list or the active-duty list (or a combination of the reserve active-status list and the active-duty list).

(e)An officer on the Space Force officer list is ineligible for consideration for promotion, but shall remain on the Space Force officer list, while the officer—

(1)is pursuing a program of graduate level education in an educational delay status approved by the Secretary concerned; and

(2)is receiving from the Secretary financial assistance in connection with the pursuit of that program of education while in that status.

(f)The Secretary of the Air Force may provide that an officer who is in a space force active status, but is in a duty status in which the only points the officer accrues under section 12732(a)(2) of this title are pursuant to subparagraph (C)(i) of that section, shall not be considered for selection for promotion until completion of two years of service in such duty status. Any such officer may remain on the Space Force officer list.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2024—Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 118–159, § 521(q)(1)(A), substituted “20239(c)(4)” for “20238(a)(4)”. Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 118–159, § 521(q)(1)(B), substituted “section 20232” for “20232”. Subsec. (c)(2)(E). Pub. L. 118–159, § 521(q)(2), substituted “Secretary of the Air Force” for “Secretary Air Force”.

§20231 Eligibility for Consideration for Promotion: General Rules

Summary

Title 10, §20231

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Citations & Metadata