Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-102
§621 Competitive Categories for Promotion
Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 36 — PROMOTION, SEPARATION, AND INVOLUNTARY RETIREMENT OF OFFICERS ON THE ACTIVE-DUTY LIST › SUBCHAPTER II — PROMOTIONS › § 621
Summary
The Secretary of each military department must create promotion groups, following rules set by the Secretary of Defense. Every officer on an active-duty list must be placed in one of those groups. Officers in the same group compete for promotion against each other.
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §621
Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of each military department shall establish competitive categories for promotion. Each officer whose name appears on an active-duty list shall be carried in a competitive category of officers. Officers in the same competitive category shall compete among themselves for promotion.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Section effective Sept. 15, 1981, but the authority to prescribe
Regulations
under this section effective on Dec. 12, 1980, see section 701 of Pub. L. 96–513, set out as an
Effective Date
of 1980 Amendment note under section 101 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 621
Title 10, Armed Forces
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102