§2113 Eligibility of Officers for Consideration for Promotion

Summary

Officers on the active-duty promotion list can be considered for the next rank once they have served a set number of years in their current rank from their date of rank: 2 years for lieutenant (junior grade), 3 years for lieutenant, 4 years for lieutenant commander, 4 years for commander, and 3 years for captain. Time in a rank includes qualifying time spent in that rank or any higher rank, whether the appointment was temporary or permanent, except special temporary appointments under section 2125 count only as the rank the officer would have held without that appointment. No one can be made eligible before all officers senior to them are also eligible. An officer stays eligible to be considered as long as they stay on active duty and are not promoted, unless their name is already on a list of selectees. If an officer’s involuntary retirement or separation is postponed under section 2156, they cannot be considered during that postponement. The Secretary can relax the time rules so officers get at least two chances for promotion below the promotion zone. The Commandant can allow an officer to skip a selection board if the officer asks and the Commandant agrees. That approval must be for reasons like special training, advanced education, a valuable assignment, a delayed career step, or a similar personal or professional reason, must be in the Coast Guard’s best interest, and the officer must not have failed selection for that grade before.