---
kind: "section"
citation: "10 U.S.C. § 20233"
title: "10"
title_heading: "Armed Forces"
number: "20233"
heading: "Eligibility for consideration for promotion: designation as joint qualified officer required before promotion to brigadier general; exceptions"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/10/20233"
units:
  - "Subtitle F — Alternative Military Personnel Systems"
  - "Part I — Space Force"
  - "Chapter 2005 — Officers"
  - "Subchapter III — Promotions"
---

# §20233. Eligibility for consideration for promotion: designation as joint qualified officer required before promotion to brigadier general; exceptions

- (a) **General Rule.—** An [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) on the Space Force [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) list may not be appointed to the [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) of brigadier general unless the [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) has been designated as a joint qualified [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) in accordance with [section 661 of this title](/usc/10/661.md).
- (b) **Exceptions.—** Subject to [subsection (c)](#c), the Secretary of Defense may waive [subsection (a)](#a) in the following circumstances:
  - (1) When necessary for the good of the service.
  - (2) In the case of an [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) 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 an [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) selected by a promotion board for appointment to the [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) of brigadier general while serving in a joint duty assignment if—
    - (A) the [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1)’s total consecutive service in joint duty assignments is not less than two years; and
    - (B) the [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) has successfully completed a program of education described in subsections (b) and (c) of [section 2155 of this title](/usc/10/2155.md).
  - (4) In the case of an [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) who—
    - (A) is selected by a promotion board for appointment to the [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) of brigadier general;
    - (B) is not exempted under [subsection (g)](#g); and
    - (C) has successfully completed the education requirements prescribed in subparagraph (A) of [section 661(c)(1) of this title](/usc/10/661.md?p=c-1) but has not been afforded the opportunity to complete the experience requirements described in [subparagraph (B)](/usc/10/661.md?p=c-1-B) of that section.
- (c) **Waiver to Be Individual.—** A waiver may be granted under [subsection (b)](#b) only on a case-by-case basis in the case of an individual [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1).
- (d) **Special Rule for Good-of-the-service Waiver.—** In the case of a waiver under [subsection (b)(1)](#b-1), the Secretary of Defense shall provide that the first duty assignment as a [general officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-4) of the [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) 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)(4)](#b-4) may only be delegated as provided in [section 619a(e) of this title](/usc/10/619a.md?p=e).
- (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)](#b-2) those categories of [officers](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) for which selection for promotion to brigadier general is based primarily upon scientific and technical qualifications for which joint requirements do not exist.
- (g) **Exemption.—** [Subsection (a)](#a) shall not apply to an [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) who transfers to the Space Force from a [reserve](/usc/10/101.md?p=c-6) component before the first day of the sixth fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this section, and who, as of the date of the transfer, is serving in the [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) of major, lieutenant colonel, or colonel or, in the case of the Navy or Coast Guard, lieutenant commander, commander, or captain.

## Source credit

(Added Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XVII, § 1716(c), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 642.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### References in Text

The date of the enactment of this section, referred to in subsec. (g), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 118–31, which was approved Dec. 22, 2023.