§20239 Promotions: How Made

Summary

When the President approves a selection board’s report, the Secretary of the Air Force must put all officers approved for promotion in that competition on one promotion list. The list shows the order of names by seniority or by merit as the board decided or as the Secretary changed. The list becomes official on the date the President approves the report. Officers on the list are promoted by formal appointment and follow the order on the list, unless special rules apply. First lieutenants are promoted under rules set by the Secretary. If the Secretary makes an “all‑fully‑qualified” list of first lieutenants and the President approves it, those officers may be promoted to captain when they are needed; the Secretary can add names later if an administrative error left someone off. The rank date for a promoted officer is set by existing rules and can be changed in the same ways other rank dates are adjusted; changing the rank date earlier does not give extra pay unless another law allows it. Promotions to brigadier general or major general can be put off if they would break legal limits on force size; the delay ends when the Secretary of the Air Force decides the limit is no longer at risk. Other appointment rules that already apply to officers also apply the same way to Space Force officers.