### §20231. Eligibility for consideration for promotion: general rules

(a) In General.—

(1) Requirement to be on space force officer list.—An officer is eligible under this chapter for consideration for promotion by a selection board convened under section 14101(a) of this title only if the officer is on the Space Force officer list.

(2) Authority to preclude from consideration certain officers based on time of entry on or departure from sustained duty.—The Secretary of the Air Force—

(A) may, by regulation, prescribe a period of time, not to exceed one year, from the time an officer on the Space Force officer list transfers on or off of sustained duty during which the officer shall be ineligible for consideration for promotion; and

(B) may, by regulation, provide for the exclusion from consideration for promotion by a selection board of an officer otherwise eligible to be considered by the board who has an established date for removal from the Space Force officer list that is not more than 90 days after the date on which the board is to be convened.

(b) Certain Officers Not to Be Considered.—A selection board convened under section 20211 of this title may not consider for promotion to the next higher grade any of the following officers:

(1) An officer whose name is on a promotion list for that grade as a result of recommendation for promotion to that grade by an earlier selection board convened under that section or section 20151 of this title, under section 14101 or 14502 of this title, or under chapter 36 of this title.

(2) An officer who is recommended for promotion to that grade in the report of an earlier selection board convened under a provision referred to in paragraph (1), in the case of such a report that has not yet been approved by the President.

(3) An officer who has been nominated by the President for promotion to that grade under any other provision of law, if that nomination is pending before the Senate.

(4) An officer in the grade of first lieutenant who is on an approved all-fully-qualified-officers list under section 20238(a)(4) 1 of this title.

(5) An officer excluded under 20232 2 of this title.

(6) An officer who has failed of promotion to a higher grade the maximum number of times specified for opportunities for promotion for such grade within the competitive category concerned pursuant to section 20234 of this title.

(c) Certain Colonels.—

(1) Authority to preclude from consideration.—The Secretary of Defense may authorize the Secretary of the Air Force to preclude from consideration by selection boards for promotion to the grade of brigadier general, officers in the grade of colonel who—

(A) have been considered and not selected for promotion to the grade of brigadier general or by at least two selection boards; and

(B) are determined, in accordance with standards and procedures prescribed pursuant to paragraph (2), as not being exceptionally well qualified for promotion.

(2) Regulations.—If the Secretary of Defense authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force to have the authority described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall prescribe by regulation the standards and procedures for the exercise of such authority. Those regulations shall apply uniformly among the military departments and shall include the following provisions:

(A) A requirement that the Secretary of the Air Force may exercise such authority in the case of a particular selection board only if the Secretary of Defense approves the exercise of that authority for that board.

(B) A requirement that an officer may be precluded from consideration by a selection board under this paragraph only upon the recommendation of a preselection board of officers convened by the Secretary of the military department concerned and composed of at least three officers all of whom are serving in a grade higher than the grade of such officer.

(C) A requirement that such a preselection board may not recommend that an officer be precluded from such consideration unless the Secretary of the Air Force has given the officer advance written notice of the convening of such board and of the military records that will be considered by the board and has given the officer a reasonable period before the convening of the board in which to submit comments to the board.

(D) A requirement that the Secretary of the Air Force shall provide general guidance to the board in accordance with standards and procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense in those regulations.

(E) A requirement that the preselection board may recommend that an officer be precluded from consideration by a selection board only on the basis of the general guidance provided by the Secretary 3 Air Force, information in the officer's official military personnel records that has been described in the notice provided the officer as required pursuant to subparagraph (C), and any communication to the board received from that officer before the board convenes.

(d) Brigadier Generals.—

(1) Officers not on space force officer list.—A brigadier general who is not eligible for consideration for promotion because the officer is not on the Space Force officer list (as required by paragraph (1) of subsection (a) for such eligibility) is nevertheless eligible for consideration for promotion to the grade of major general by a selection board convened under section 20211(a) of this title if—

(A) as of the date of the convening of the promotion board, the officer has been in an inactive status for less than the minimum threshold established in paragraph (2) of subsection (a); and

(B) immediately before the date of the officer's most recent transfer to an inactive status, the officer had continuously served on the Space Force officer list for at least one year.

(2) Officers not meeting minimum participation threshold.—A brigadier general who is on the Space Force officer list but who is not eligible for consideration for promotion because the officer's service does not meet the minimum participation threshold established under subsection (a)(2) is nevertheless eligible for consideration for promotion to the grade of major general by a promotion board convened under section 20211(a) of this title if—

(A) the officer was transferred from an inactive status to the reserve active-status list during the one-year period preceding the date of the convening of the promotion board;

(B) immediately before the date of the officer's most recent transfer to an active status, the officer had been in an inactive status for less than one year; and

(C) immediately before the date of the officer's most recent transfer to an inactive status, the officer had continuously served for at least one year on the reserve active-status list or the active-duty list (or a combination of the reserve active-status list and the active-duty list).

(e) Officers on Educational Delay.—An officer on the Space Force officer list is ineligible for consideration for promotion, but shall remain on the Space Force officer list, while the officer—

(1) is pursuing a program of graduate level education in an educational delay status approved by the Secretary concerned; and

(2) is receiving from the Secretary financial assistance in connection with the pursuit of that program of education while in that status.

(f) Certain Officers Not to Be Considered for Selection for Promotion.—The Secretary of the Air Force may provide that an officer who is in a space force active status, but is in a duty status in which the only points the officer accrues under section 12732(a)(2) of this title are pursuant to subparagraph (C)(i) of that section, shall not be considered for selection for promotion until completion of two years of service in such duty status. Any such officer may remain on the Space Force officer list.

(Added Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XVII, §1716(c), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 638.)

#### **Editorial Notes**

#### References in Text

Section 20238(a) of this title, referred to in subsec. (b)(4), does not contain a par. (4). However, section 20239(c) of this title relates to promotion of first lieutenants on an all-fully-qualified officers list and does contain a par. (4) defining such a list.

1 See References in Text note below.

2 So in original. Probably should be preceded by "section".

3 So in original. The words "of the" probably should appear.