--- kind: "section" citation: "10 U.S.C. § 20215" title: "10" title_heading: "Armed Forces" number: "20215" heading: "Recommendations for promotion by selection boards" release: "119-102" date: "2026-07-12" url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/10/20215" units: - "Subtitle F — Alternative Military Personnel Systems" - "Part I — Space Force" - "Chapter 2005 — Officers" - "Subchapter II — Selection Boards" --- # §20215. Recommendations for promotion by selection boards - (a) **Board to Recommend Officers Best Qualified for Promotion.—** A selection board convened under [section 20211 of this title](/usc/10/20211.md) shall recommend for promotion to the next higher [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) those [officers](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) considered by the board whom the board, giving due consideration to the needs of the Space Force for [officers](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) with particular skills (as noted in the guidelines or information furnished the board under [section 615(b) of this title](/usc/10/615.md?p=b)), considers best qualified for promotion within each competitive category considered by the board. - (b) **Number to Be Recommended.—** The Secretary of the Air Force shall establish the number of [officers](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) such a selection board may recommend for promotion from among [officers](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) being considered. - (c) **Board Procedures for Recommendations; Limitations.—** A selection board convened under [section 20211 of this title](/usc/10/20211.md) may not recommend an [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) for promotion unless— - (1) the [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) receives the recommendation of a majority of the members of the board; - (2) a majority of the members of the board finds that the [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) is fully qualified for promotion; and - (3) a majority of the members of the board, after consideration by all members of the board of any adverse information about the [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) that is provided to the board under [section 615 of this title](/usc/10/615.md), finds that the [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) is among the [officers](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) best qualified for promotion to meet the needs of the Space Force consistent with the requirement of exemplary conduct set forth in [section 9233 of this title](/usc/10/9233.md). - (d) **Limitation on Promotions Under Other Authority.—** Except as otherwise provided by law, a Space Force [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) may not be promoted to a higher [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) under this chapter unless the [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) is considered and recommended for promotion to that [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) by a selection board convened under this chapter or, in the case of an [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) transferring into the Space Force from another armed force, [chapter 36](/usc/10/chstA/ptII/ch36.md) or [chapter 1403](/usc/10/chstE/ptIII/ch1403.md) of this title. - (e) **Disclosure of Board Recommendations.—** The recommendations of a selection board may be disclosed only in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. Those recommendations may not be disclosed to a person not a member of the board (or a member of the administrative staff designated by the Secretary of the Air Force to assist the board) until the written report of the recommendations of the board, required by [section 617 of this title](/usc/10/617.md), is signed by each member of the board. - (f) **Prohibition on Attempting to Influence Members of a Board.—** The Secretary of the Air Force, and an [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) or other official exercising authority over any member of a selection board, may not— - (1) censure, reprimand, or admonish the selection board or any member of the board with respect to the recommendations of the board or the exercise of any lawful function within the authorized discretion of the board; or - (2) attempt to coerce or, by any unauthorized means, influence any action of a selection board or any member of a selection board in the formulation of the board’s recommendations. - (g) **Higher Placement on Promotion List of Officer of Particular Merit.—** - (1) In selecting the [officers](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) to be recommended for promotion, a selection board shall, when authorized by the Secretary of the Air Force, recommend [officers](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) of particular merit, pursuant to guidelines and procedures prescribed by the Secretary, from among those [officers](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) selected for promotion, to be placed higher on the promotion list established by the Secretary under [section 624(a)(1) of this title](/usc/10/624.md?p=a-1). - (2) An [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) may be recommended to be placed higher on a promotion list under [paragraph (1)](#g-1) only if the [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) receives the recommendation of at least a majority of the members of the board, unless the Secretary of the Air Force establishes an alternative requirement. Any such alternative requirement shall be furnished to the board as part of the guidelines furnished to the board under [section 615 of this title](/usc/10/615.md). - (3) For the [officers](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) recommended to be placed higher on a promotion list under [paragraph (1)](#g-1), the board shall recommend, pursuant to guidelines and procedures prescribed by the Secretary, the order in which those [officers](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) should be placed on the list. ## Source credit (Added Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XVII, § 1716(c), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 636.)