§ 619a — Eligibility For Consideration For Promotion: Designation As Joint Qualified Officer Required Before Promotion To General Or Flag Grade; Exceptions

(a) An officer on the active-duty list of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Space Force may not be appointed to the grade of brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half) unless the officer has been designated as a joint qualified officer in accordance with section 661 of this title. (b) 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 the officer’s total consecutive service in joint duty assignments is not less than two years and the officer has successfully completed a program of education described in subsections (b) and (c) of section 2155 of this title. (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) A waiver may be granted under subsection (b) only on a case-by-case basis in the case of an individual officer. (d) 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) 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) 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) 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.