Sec. 501. Reform of distribution and authorized strength of general and flag officers
3,757 words·~17 min read·
/bill/114/s/2943/pcs/section-501A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Chapter 32 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 525 the following new section: For purposes of the applicable limitation in section 526a(a) of this title on general and flag officers on active duty, no appointment of an officer on the active duty list may be made after December 31, 2017, as follows: In the Army, if that appointment would result in more than— 4 officers in the grade of general; 23 officers in a grade above the grade of major general; or 62 officers in the grade of major general.
In the Air Force, if that appointment would result in more than— 4 officers in the grade of general; 20 officers in a grade above the grade of major general; or 52 officers in the grade of major general. In the Navy, if that appointment would result in more than— 4 officers in the grade of admiral; 17 officers in a grade above the grade of rear admiral; or 42 officers in the grade of rear admiral. In the Marine Corps, if that appointment would result in more than— 2 officers in the grade of general; 9 officers in a grade above the grade of major general; or 16 officers in the grade of major general.
The limitations of subsection
(a)do not include the following: An officer released from a joint duty assignment, but only during the 60-day period beginning on the date the officer departs the joint duty assignment, except that the Secretary of Defense may authorize the Secretary of a military department to extend the 60-day period by an additional 120 days, but no more than three officers from each armed forces may be on active duty who are excluded under this paragraph. The number of officers required to serve in joint duty assignments as authorized by the Secretary of Defense under section 526a(b) of this title for each armed force. Subject to paragraph (3), the President— may make appointments in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps in the grades of lieutenant general and general in excess of the applicable numbers determined under this section if each such appointment is made in conjunction with an offsetting reduction under paragraph (2); and may make appointments in the Navy in the grades of vice admiral and admiral in excess of the applicable numbers determined under this section if each such appointment is made in conjunction with an offsetting reduction under paragraph (2). For each appointment made under the authority of paragraph
(1)in the Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps in the grade of lieutenant general or general, or in the Navy in the grade of vice admiral or admiral, the number of appointments that may be made in the equivalent grade in one of the other armed forces (other than the Coast Guard) shall be reduced by one. When such an appointment is made, the President shall specify the armed force in which the reduction required by this paragraph is to be made. The number of officers that may be serving on active duty in the grades of general and admiral by reason of appointment made under the authority of paragraph
(1)may not exceed 1. The number of officers that may be serving on active duty in the grades of lieutenant general and vice admiral by reason of appointments made under the authority of paragraph
(1)may not exceed 4. Upon the termination of the appointment of an officer in the grade of lieutenant general or vice admiral or general or admiral that was made in connection with an increase under paragraph
(1)in the number of officers that may be serving on active duty in that armed force in that grade, the reduction made under paragraph
(2)in the number of appointments permitted in such grade in another armed force by reason of that increase shall no longer be in effect. An officer continuing to hold the grade of general or admiral under section 601(b)(5) of this title after relief from the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chief of Staff of the Army, Chief of Naval Operations, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, or Commandant of the Marine Corps shall not be counted for purposes of this section. The following officers shall not be counted for purposes of this section: An officer of that armed force in the grade of brigadier general or above or, in the case of the Navy, in the grade of rear admiral (lower half) or above, who is on leave pending the retirement, separation, or release of that officer from active duty, but only during the 60-day period beginning on the date of the commencement of such leave of such officer. At the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, an officer of that armed force who has been relieved from a position designated under section 601(a) of this title or by law to carry one of the grades specified in such section, but only during the 60-day period beginning on the date on which the assignment of the officer to the first position is terminated or until the officer is assigned to a second such position, whichever occurs first. The limitations of this section do not apply to a reserve component general or flag officer who is on active duty for a period in excess of 365 days, but not to exceed three years, except that the number of officers from each reserve component who are covered by this subsection and are not serving in a position that is a joint duty assignment for purposes of chapter 38 of this title may not exceed 5 per component, unless authorized by the Secretary of Defense. Not later than 30 days after authorizing a number of reserve component general or flag officers in excess of the number specified in paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense shall notify the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives of such authorization, and shall include with such notice a statement of the reason for such authorization. . Section 525 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: The provisions of this section shall not apply to appointments in general officer grades and flag officer grades made after December 31, 2017. For provisions applicable to the distribution of appointments in such grades after that date, see section 525a of this title. . Chapter 32 of title 10, United States Code, is further amended by inserting after section 526 the following new section: The number of general officers on active duty in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, and the number of flag officers on active duty in the Navy, after December 31, 2017, may not exceed the number specified for the armed force concerned as follows: For the Army, 173. For the Navy, 121. For the Air Force, 148. For the Marine Corps, 47. The Secretary of Defense may designate up to 232 general officer and flag officer positions that are joint duty assignments for purposes of chapter 38 of this title for exclusion from the limitations in subsection (a). The Secretary shall allocate those exclusions to the armed forces based on the number of general or flag officers required from each armed force for assignment to these designated positions. Unless the Secretary of Defense determines that a lower number is in the best interest of the Department of Defense, the minimum number of officers serving in positions designated under paragraph
(1)for each armed force shall be as follows: For the Army, 63. For the Navy, 45. For the Air Force, 54. For the Marine Corps, 15. The number excluded under paragraph
(1)and serving in positions designated under that paragraph— in the grade of general or admiral may not exceed the aggregate number of officers serving as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chief of Staff of the Army, Chief of Naval Operations, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Commandant of the Marine Corps, commander of any unified or specified combatant commands, Commander, United States Forces Korea, two additional officers in the grade of general or admiral arising from the limitation after the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 on the number unified combatant commands pursuant to section 161(b) of this title, and one additional officer in the grade of general or admiral designated by the President and appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; in a grade above the grade of major general or rear admiral may not exceed 42; and in the grade of major general or rear admiral may not exceed 74. Not later than 30 days after determining to raise or lower a number specified in paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense shall notify the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives of such determination. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff may designate up to 11 general and flag officer positions in the unified and specified combatant commands, and up to three general and flag officer positions on the Joint Staff, as positions to be held only by reserve component officers who are in a general or flag officer grade below lieutenant general or vice admiral. Each position so designated shall be considered to be a joint duty assignment position for purposes of chapter 38 of this title. Except as provided in subparagraph (E), a reserve component officer serving in a position designated under subparagraph
(A)while on active duty under a call or order to active duty that does not specify a period of 180 days or less shall not be counted for the purposes of the limitations under subsection
(a)and under section 525a of this title if the officer was selected for service in that position in accordance with the procedures specified in subparagraph (C). Whenever a vacancy occurs, or is anticipated to occur, in a position designated under subparagraph (A)— the Secretary of Defense shall require the Secretary of the Army to submit the name of at least one Army reserve component officer, the Secretary of the Navy to submit the name of at least one Navy Reserve officer and the name of at least one Marine Corps Reserve officer, and the Secretary of the Air Force to submit the name of at least one Air Force reserve component officer for consideration by the Secretary for assignment to that position; and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff may submit to the Secretary of Defense the name of one or more officers (in addition to the officers whose names are submitted pursuant to clause (i)) for consideration by the Secretary for assignment to that position. Whenever the Secretaries of the military departments are required to submit the names of officers under subparagraph (C)(i), the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall submit to the Secretary of Defense the Chairman's evaluation of the performance of each officer whose name is submitted under that subparagraph (and of any officer whose name the Chairman submits to the Secretary under subparagraph (C)(ii) for consideration for the same vacancy). Subparagraph
(B)does not apply in the case of an officer serving in a position designated under subparagraph
(A)if the Secretary of Defense, when considering officers for assignment to fill the vacancy in that position which was filled by that officer, did not have a recommendation for that assignment from each Secretary of a military department who (pursuant to subparagraph (C)) was required to make such a recommendation. The limitations of this section do not apply to a reserve component general or flag officer who is on active duty for training or who is on active duty under a call or order specifying a period of less than 180 days. The limitations of this section also do not apply to a number, as specified by the Secretary of the military department concerned, of reserve component general or flag officers authorized to serve on active duty for a period of not more than 365 days. The number so specified for an armed force may not exceed the number equal to 10 percent of the authorized number of general or flag officers, as the case may be, of that armed force under section 12004a of this title. In determining such number, any fraction shall be rounded down to the next whole number, except that such number shall be at least one. The limitations of this section do not apply to a reserve component general or flag officer who is on active duty for a period in excess of 365 days but not to exceed three years, except that the number of such officers from each reserve component who are covered by this paragraph and not serving in a position that is a joint duty assignment for purposes of chapter 38 of this title may not exceed 5 per component, unless authorized by the Secretary of Defense. The limitations of this section do not apply to a general or flag officer who is covered by an exception under section 525a(e) of this title. The limitations in subsection
(a)and in section 525a(a) of this title do not apply to a general or flag officer assigned to a temporary joint duty assignment designated by the Secretary of Defense. A general or flag officer assigned to a temporary joint duty assignment as described in paragraph
(1)may not be excluded under this subsection from the limitations in subsection
(a)for a period of longer than one year. The limitations in subsection
(a)do not apply to an officer released from a joint duty assignment, but only during the 60-day period beginning on the date the officer departs the joint duty assignment. The Secretary of Defense may authorize the Secretary of a military department to extend the 60-day period by an additional 120 days, except that not more than three officers on active duty from each armed force may be covered by an extension under this sentence at the same time. If the Secretary of a military department proposes an action that would increase above the baseline the number of general officers or flag officers of an armed force under the jurisdiction of that Secretary who would be on active duty and would count against the statutory limit applicable to that armed force under subsection (a), the action shall not take effect until after the end of the 60-calendar day period beginning on the date on which the Secretary provides notice of the proposed action, including the rationale for the action, to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives. In paragraph (1), the term baseline for an armed force means the lower of— the statutory limit of general officers or flag officers of that armed force under subsection (a); or the actual number of general officers or flag officers of that armed force who, as of January 1, 2018, counted toward the statutory limit of general officers or flag officers of that armed force under subsection (a). If, at any time, the actual number of general officers or flag officers of an armed force who count toward the statutory limit of general officers or flag officers of that armed force under subsection
(a)exceeds such statutory limit, then no increase described in paragraph
(1)for that armed force may occur until the general officer or flag officer total for that armed force is reduced to or below such statutory limit. If the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff proposes an action that would increase above the baseline the number of general officers and flag officers of the armed forces in joint duty assignments who count against the statutory limit under subsection (b)(1), the action shall not take effect until after the end of the 60-calendar day period beginning on the date on which such Secretary or the Chairman, as the case may be, provides notice of the proposed action, including the rationale for the action, to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives. In paragraph (1), the term baseline means the lower of— the statutory limit on general officer and flag officer positions that are joint duty assignments under subsection (b)(1); or the actual number of general officers and flag officers who, as of January 1, 2016, were in joint duty assignments counted toward the statutory limit under subsection (b)(1). If, at any time, the actual number of general officers and flag officers in joint duty assignments counted toward the statutory limit under subsection (b)(1) exceeds such statutory limit, then no increase described in paragraph
(1)may occur until the number of general officers and flag officers in joint duty assignments is reduced to or below such statutory limit. Not later than March 1 each year, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report specifying the following: The numbers of general officers and flag officers who, as of January 1 of the calendar year in which the report is submitted, counted toward the service-specific limits of subsection (a). The number of general officers and flag officers in joint duty assignments who, as of such January 1, counted toward the statutory limit under subsection (b)(1). . Section 526 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: The provisions of this section shall not apply to number of general officers and flag officers in the armed forces after December 31, 2017. For provisions applicable to the number of such officers after that date, see section 526a of this title . Chapter 1201 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 12004 the following new section: The authorized strengths of the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps in reserve general officers in an active status, and the authorized strength of the Navy in reserve flag officers in an active status, after December 31, 2017, are as follows: In the Army, 155. In the Air Force, 117. In the Navy, 36. In the Marine Corps, 7. The aggregate number of general officers described in paragraph
(2)serving on active duty after December 31, 2017, may not exceed the number equal to 75 percent of the aggregate number of such officers who were serving on active duty as of December 31, 2015. The general officers described in this paragraph are the following: General officers of the National Guard of the States and territories. General officers serving in the National Guard Bureau The following Army and Air Force reserve officers shall not be counted for purposes of this section: Officers serving as adjutants general or assistant adjutants general of a State. Except as provided in subsection (b), officers serving in the National Guard Bureau. Officers counted under section 526a of this title. Officers serving in a joint duty assignment for purposes of chapter 38 of this title, except that the number of officers who may be excluded under this paragraph may not exceed the number equal to 20 percent of the number of officers authorized for the armed force concerned by subsection (a). The following Navy reserve officers shall not be counted for purposes of this section: Officers counted under section 526a of this title. Officers serving in a joint duty assignment for purposes of chapter 38 of this title, except that the number of officers who may be excluded under this paragraph may not exceed the number equal to 20 percent of the number of officers authorized for the Navy in subsection (a). Not more than 50 percent of the officers in an active status authorized under this section for the Navy may serve in a grade above the grade of rear admiral (lower half). The following Marine Corps reserve officers shall not be counted for purposes of this section: Officers counted under section 526a of this title. Officers serving in a joint duty assignment for purposes of chapter 38 of this title, except that the number of officers who may be excluded under this paragraph may not exceed the number equal to 20 percent of the number of officers authorized for the Marine Corps in subsection (a). The limitations in subsection
(a)do not apply to an officer released from a joint duty assignment or other non-joint active duty assignment, but only during the 60-day period beginning on the date the officer departs the joint duty or other active duty assignment. The Secretary of Defense may authorize the Secretary of a military department to extend the 60-day period by an additional 120 days, except that not more than three officers in an active status from each reserve component may be covered by an extension under this sentence at the same time. A reserve general officer of the Army or Air Force may not be reduced in grade because of a reduction in the number of general officers authorized under subsection (a). An officer of the Navy Reserve or the Marine Corps Reserve may not be reduced in permanent grade because of a reduction in the number authorized by this section for the officer's grade. . Section 12004 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: The provisions of this section shall not apply to authorized strengths for reserve general and flag officers after December 31, 2017. For provisions applicable to the authorized strengths of such officers after that date, see section 12004a of this title. . The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 32 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— by inserting after the item relating to section 525 the following new item: 525a. Distribution of commissioned officers on active duty in general officer grades and flag officer grades after December 31, 2017. . by inserting after the item relating to section 526 the following new item: 526a. Authorized strength after December 31, 2017: general and flag officers on active duty. . The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 1201 of such is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 12004 the following new item: 12004a. Strength in grade after December 31, 2017: reserve general and flag officers in an active status. .