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Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-102

§645 Definitions

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 V — ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO PROMOTION, SEPARATION, AND RETIREMENT › § 645

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Tells who counts as being in the promotion zone, and who is above or below it, when active-duty officers are being considered for the next higher rank. Promotion zone is the group of active-duty officers in the same grade and competitive category who are eligible for promotion, who have not been passed over or removed from promotion recommendation lists (with limited exceptions); for officers below colonel (captain in the Navy) the rule refers to not failing selection or being removed, and for colonel or brigadier general (captain or rear admiral, lower half, in the Navy) it refers to being recommended when considered and not removed from the recommended list. Officers above the promotion zone are those in the same grade and category who are eligible and are senior to the senior officer in the promotion zone. Officers below the promotion zone are those in the same grade and category who are eligible and are junior to the junior officer in the promotion zone.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §645

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

In this chapter:
(1)The term “promotion zone” means a promotion eligibility category consisting of the officers on an active-duty list in the same grade and competitive category—
(A)who—
(i)in the case of officers in grades below colonel, for officers of the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force, or captain, for officers of the Navy, have neither (I) failed of selection for promotion to the next higher grade, nor (II) been removed from a list of officers recommended for promotion to that grade (other than after having been placed on that list after a selection from below the promotion zone); or
(ii)in the case of officers in the grade of colonel or brigadier general, for officers of the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force, or captain or rear admiral (lower half), for officers of the Navy, have neither (I) not been recommended for promotion to the next higher grade when considered in the promotion zone, nor (II) been removed from a list of officers recommended for promotion to that grade (other than after having been placed on that list after a selection from below the promotion zone); and
(B)are senior to the officer designated by the Secretary of the military department concerned to be the junior officer in the promotion zone eligible for consideration for promotion to the next higher grade.
(2)The term “officers above the promotion zone” means a group of officers on an active-duty list in the same grade and competitive category who—
(A)are eligible for consideration for promotion to the next higher grade;
(B)are in the same grade as those officers in the promotion zone for that competitive category; and
(C)are senior to the senior officer in the promotion zone for that competitive category.
(3)The term “officers below the promotion zone” means a group of officers on the active-duty list in the same grade and competitive category who—
(A)are eligible for consideration for promotion to the next higher grade;
(B)are in the same grade as the officers in the promotion zone for that competitive category; and
(C)are junior to the junior officer in the promotion zone for that competitive category.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2024—Par. (1)(A). Pub. L. 118–159 substituted “Marine Corps, and Space Force,” for “and Marine Corps,” in cls. (i) and (ii). 1991—Pars. (1) to (3). Pub. L. 102–25 inserted “The term” after par. designations and lowercased initial letter of quoted phrases. 1985—Par. (1)(A)(ii). Pub. L. 99–145 substituted “rear admiral (lower half)” for “commodore”. 1984—Par. (1)(A)(i)(II), (ii)(II). Pub. L. 98–525, § 533(a)(1), inserted “(other than after having been placed on that list after a selection from below the promotion zone)”. Par. (1)(B). Pub. L. 98–525, § 533(a)(2), inserted “in the promotion zone” after “the junior officer” and struck out “in the promotion zone” after “higher grade”. 1981—Par. (1)(A)(ii). Pub. L. 97–86 substituted “commodore” for “commodore admiral”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1981 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 97–86 effective Sept. 15, 1981, see section 405(f) of Pub. L. 97–86, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

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. § 645

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102