§20241 Removal of Officers From a List of Officers Recommended for Promotion

Summary

The President can take an officer’s name off a Space Force promotion list at any time before the officer is promoted. If the Senate does not approve an officer’s appointment to the next higher rank, that officer’s name must be removed, except when the President can make the appointment without Senate approval. If an officer on a President‑approved list is not appointed to a Senate‑confirmed rank during the promotion eligibility period, the name is removed unless the Senate approves by the end of that period. The President can extend that period once by 12 months. The Secretary of the Air Force must remove names when an officer is discharged, taken off the rolls, or placed on retired status after being recommended but before promotion. Promotion eligibility period: starts when the list is approved and ends on the first day of the 18th month after the month of approval. An officer removed under these rules can still be considered by the next selection board. If later promoted then, the Secretary of the Air Force may give the same seniority date, pay effective date, and list position as if the name had not been removed. But an officer below the rank of colonel who is not picked by the next board, is removed again, or is again not approved by the Senate will be treated as having failed selection for the next higher rank. Prior executive orders about the President’s duties in similar cases apply unless changed by the President.