Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 35 — TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS IN OFFICER GRADES › § 604
When a top joint officer job will open or has opened, the Secretary of Defense must make the military department secretaries send names of candidates so the Secretary can consider them and recommend someone to the President. The Army must send at least one Army officer. The Navy must send at least one Navy officer and at least one Marine Corps officer. The Air Force must send at least one Air Force officer and at least one Space Force officer. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff may also send one or more additional names. The Chairman must give the Secretary of Defense an evaluation of each officer sent by the services and of any officers the Chairman sends. The evaluation should mainly look at the officer’s work in joint duty roles, especially on the Joint Staff, but can include other performance matters the Chairman deems relevant. These rules cover commanders of combatant commands and the Commander, United States Forces, Korea.
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Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 604
Title 10, Armed Forces
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110