§20233 Eligibility for Consideration for Promotion: Designation as Joint Qualified Officer Required Before Promotion to Brigadier General; Exceptions

Summary

An officer on the Space Force officer list cannot be promoted to brigadier general unless they are named a joint qualified officer under section 661. The Secretary of Defense can grant a one-off waiver in a few cases: when needed for the good of the service; for officers promoted mainly for scientific or technical skills where joint rules do not apply; for officers already in a joint duty job with at least two consecutive years there who have finished the education program in section 2155(b) and (c); or for officers picked for promotion who finished the education part of section 661(c)(1)(A) but have not had the chance to finish the experience part in section 661(c)(1)(B), and who are not otherwise exempt. Waivers must be decided case by case. If the waiver is for the good of the service, the officer’s first job as a general must be a joint duty assignment. The waiver in the last case can only be delegated as allowed in section 619a(e). The Secretary of Defense must write rules and must list which science/technical officer types fit that exception. The joint-qualification rule does not apply to an officer who transfers to the Space Force from a reserve component before the first day of the sixth fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this section and who, at the time of transfer, is a major, lieutenant colonel, or colonel, or a Navy/Coast Guard lieutenant commander, commander, or captain.