
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document affected by Public Law 107-107 Section 525(a),]
[Document affected by Public Law 107-107 Section 525(c)]
[CITE: 10USC619a]

 
                         TITLE 10--ARMED FORCES
 
                    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
 
Sec. 619a. Eligibility for consideration for promotion: joint 
        duty assignment required before promotion to general or flag 
        grade; exceptions
        
    (a) General Rule.--An officer on the active-duty list of the Army, 
Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps may not be appointed to the grade of 
brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half) unless the officer has 
completed a full tour of duty in a joint duty assignment (as described 
in section 664(f) of this title).
    (b) Exceptions.--Subject to subsection (c), the Secretary of Defense 
may waive subsection (a) in the following circumstances:
        (1) When necessary for the good of the service.
        (2) In the case of an officer whose proposed selection for 
    promotion is based primarily upon scientific and technical 
    qualifications for which joint requirements do not exist.
        (3) In the case of--
            (A) a medical officer, dental officer, veterinary officer, 
        medical service officer, nurse, or biomedical science officer;
            (B) a chaplain; or
            (C) a judge advocate.

        (4) In the case of an officer selected by a promotion board for 
    appointment to the grade of brigadier general or rear admiral (lower 
    half) while serving in a joint duty assignment if--
            (A) at least 180 days of that joint duty assignment have 
        been completed on the date of the convening of that selection 
        board; and
            (B) the officer's total consecutive service in joint duty 
        assignments within that immediate organization is not less than 
        two years.

        (5) In the case of an officer who served in a joint duty 
    assignment that began before January 1, 1987, if the officer served 
    in that assignment for a period of sufficient duration (which may 
    not be less than 12 months) for the officer's service to have been 
    considered a full tour of duty under the policies and regulations in 
    effect on September 30, 1986.

    (c) Waiver To Be Individual.--A waiver may be granted under 
subsection (b) only on a case-by-case basis in the case of an individual 
officer.
    (d) Special Rule for Good-of-the-Service Waiver.--In the case of a 
waiver under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall provide that the 
first duty assignment as a general or flag officer of the officer for 
whom the waiver is granted shall be in a joint duty assignment.
    (e) Limitation on Delegation of Waiver Authority.--The authority of 
the Secretary of Defense to grant a waiver under subsection (b) (other 
than under paragraph (1) of that subsection) may be delegated only to 
the Deputy Secretary of Defense, an Under Secretary of Defense, or an 
Assistant Secretary of Defense.
    (f) Regulations.--The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe 
regulations to carry out this section. The regulations shall 
specifically identify for purposes of subsection (b)(2) those categories 
of officers for which selection for promotion to brigadier general or, 
in the case of the Navy, rear admiral (lower half) is based primarily 
upon scientific and technical qualifications for which joint 
requirements do not exist.
    (g) Limitation for General and Flag Officers Previously Receiving 
Joint Duty Assignment Waiver.--A general officer or flag officer who 
before January 1, 1999, received a waiver of subsection (a) under the 
authority of this subsection (as in effect before that date) may not be 
appointed to the grade of lieutenant general or vice admiral until the 
officer completes a full tour of duty in a joint duty assignment.
    (h) Special Transition Rules for Nuclear Propulsion Officers.--An 
officer of the Navy designated as a qualified nuclear propulsion officer 
who before January 1, 1997, is appointed to the grade of rear admiral 
(lower half) without regard to subsection (a) may not be appointed to 
the grade of rear admiral until the officer completes a full tour of 
duty in a joint duty assignment.

(Added Pub. L. 103-160, div. A, title IX, Sec. 931(a), Nov. 30, 1993, 
107 Stat. 1732; amended Pub. L. 104-106, div. A, title XV, 
Sec. 1502(a)(1), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 502; Pub. L. 106-65, div. A, 
title V, Sec. 508, Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 591.)


                               Amendments

    1999--Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 106-65, Sec. 508(a), amended heading and 
text of subsec. (g) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (g) 
authorized the Secretary until Jan. 1, 1999, to waive subsecs. (a) and 
(d) for certain officers and contained restrictions on appointments of 
those officers.
    Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 106-65, Sec. 508(b), substituted ``An officer 
of the Navy'' for ``(1) Until January 1, 1997, an officer of the Navy'' 
and ``who before January 1, 1997, is'' for ``may be'' and struck out ``. 
An officer so appointed'' before ``may not be appointed'' and par. (2) 
which read as follows: ``Not later than March 1 of each year from 1994 
through 1997, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committee on 
Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of 
the House of Representatives a report on the implementation during the 
preceding calendar year of the transition plan developed by the 
Secretary pursuant to section 1305(b) of Public Law 100-180 (10 U.S.C. 
619a note) with respect to service by qualified nuclear propulsion 
officers in joint duty assignments.''
    1996--Subsec. (h)(2). Pub. L. 104-106 substituted ``Committee on 
Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of 
the House of Representatives'' for ``Committees on Armed Services of the 
Senate and House of Representatives''.


                     Report on Plans for Compliance

    Section 931(d) of Pub. L. 103-160 provided that: ``Not later than 
February 1, 1994, the Secretary of Defense shall certify to Congress 
that the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps have each developed and 
implemented a plan for their officer personnel assignment and promotion 
policies so as to ensure compliance with the requirements of section 
619a of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a). Each 
such plan should particularly ensure that by January 1, 1999, the 
service covered by the plan shall have enough officers who have 
completed a full tour of duty in a joint duty assignment so as to permit 
the orderly promotion of officers to brigadier general or, in the case 
of the Navy, rear admiral (lower half) pursuant to the requirements of 
chapter 38 of title 10, United States Code.''


                       Revision of Transition Plan

    Section 931(f)(2) of Pub. L. 103-160, as amended by Pub. L. 103-337, 
div. A, title X, Sec. 1070(b)(8)(A), Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2857, 
provided that: ``The Secretary of Defense, after consultation with the 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shall revise the transition plan 
developed pursuant to section 1305(b) of Public Law 100-180 [set out 
below] to take account of the amendments made by subsection (a) and by 
paragraph (1) of this subsection [enacting this section and amending 
provisions set out below]. The Secretary shall include with the next 
report of the Secretary after the date of the enactment of this Act 
[Nov. 30, 1993] under section 619a(h)(2) of title 10, United States 
Code, as added by subsection (a), a report on the actions of the 
Secretary in revising such transition plan.''
    Section 515(a)(3) of Pub. L. 100-456 provided that: ``The Secretary 
of Defense, after consultation with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 
Staff, shall revise the transition plan developed pursuant to section 
1305(b) of Public Law 100-180 [set out below] to take account of the 
amendments made by paragraphs (1) and (2) [amending section 619 of this 
title and provisions set out below]. The Secretary shall include with 
the first report of the Secretary under section 619(e)(5) of title 10, 
United States Code, as added by paragraph (1)(B), a report on the 
actions of the Secretary in revising such transition plan.''


Plan for Service by Qualified Nuclear Propulsion Officers in Joint Duty 
         Assignments by January 1, 1997; Implementation; Report

    Section 1305(b)-(d) of Pub. L. 100-180, as amended by Pub. L. 100-
456, div. A, title V, Sec. 515(a)(2), Sept. 29, 1988, 102 Stat. 1970; 
Pub. L. 103-160, div. A, title IX, Sec. 931(f)(1), (3), Nov. 30, 1993, 
107 Stat. 1734; Pub. L. 103-337, div. A, title X, Sec. 1070(b)(8), Oct. 
5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2857, provided that:
    ``(b) Transition Plan.--(1) The Secretary of Defense, after 
consultation with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shall 
develop and carry out a plan for ensuring that--
        ``(A) during the period before January 1, 1997, the maximum 
    practicable number of officers of the Navy who are qualified nuclear 
    propulsion officers serve in joint duty assignments and otherwise 
    fulfill the provisions of chapter 38 of title 10, United States 
    Code; and
        ``(B) by January 1, 1997, the maximum practicable number of 
    qualified nuclear propulsion officers in the grade of captain have 
    qualified for appointment to the grade of rear admiral (lower half) 
    by completing a full tour of duty in a joint duty assignment.
    ``(2) The plan shall include milestones for each calendar year 
beginning with 1989 requiring that a progressively greater proportion of 
qualified nuclear propulsion officers fulfill the various requirements 
of chapter 38 of title 10, United States Code, and other provisions of 
law enacted by title IV of the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense 
Reorganization Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-433) [sections 401-406 of Pub. 
L. 99-433, see Tables for classification] so that after January 1, 1997, 
the nuclear propulsion community will be capable of complying with the 
requirements of that chapter without undue reliance on waivers granted 
by the Secretary of Defense.
    ``(c) Implementation.--The plan required to be developed under 
subsection (b) shall be implemented at the earliest practicable date, 
but in no event later than six months after the date of enactment of 
this Act [Dec. 4, 1987]. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall 
monitor the implementation of such plan.
    ``(d) Report.--On the date on which the plan required to be 
developed under subsection (b) is implemented, the Secretary of Defense 
shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House 
of Representatives--
        ``(1) a copy of the plan; and
        ``(2) a report explaining how the plan fulfills the objectives 
    prescribed in subsection (b).''
