10 U.S.C. § 628 - Special selection boards

• Cite as: 10 U.S.C. § 628

(a) PERSONS NOT CONSIDERED BY PROMOTION BOARDS DUE TO ADMINISTRATIVE ERROR.-

(1) If the Secretary of the military department concerned determines that because of administrative error a person who should have been considered for selection for promotion from in or above the promotion zone by a promotion board was not so considered, the Secretary shall convene a special selection board under this subsection to determine whether that person (whether or not then on active duty) should be recommended for promotion.

(2) A special selection board convened under paragraph (1) shall consider the record of the person whose name was referred to it for consideration as that record would have appeared to the board that should have considered him. That record shall be compared with a sampling of the records of those officers of the same competitive category who were recommended for promotion, and those officers who were not recommended for promotion, by the board that should have considered him.

(3) If a special selection board convened under paragraph (1) does not recommend for promotion a person whose name was referred to it for consideration for selection for appointment to a grade other than a general officer or flag officer grade, the person shall be considered to have failed of selection for promotion.

(b) PERSONS CONSIDERED BY PROMOTION BOARDS IN UNFAIR MANNER.-

(1) If the Secretary of the military department concerned determines, in the case of a person who was considered for selection for promotion by a promotion board but was not selected, that there was material unfairness with respect to that person, the Secretary may convene a special selection board under this subsection to determine whether that person (whether or not then on active duty) should be recommended for promotion. In order to determine that there was material unfairness, the Secretary must determine that-

(A) the action of the promotion board that considered the person was contrary to law in a matter material to the decision of the board or involved material error of fact or material administrative error; or

(B) the board did not have before it for its consideration material information.

(2) A special selection board convened under paragraph (1) shall consider the record of the person whose name was referred to it for consideration as that record, if corrected, would have appeared to the board that considered him. That record shall be compared with the records of a sampling of those officers of the same competitive category who were recommended for promotion, and those officers who were not recommended for promotion, by the board that considered him.

(3) If a special selection board convened under paragraph (1) does not recommend for promotion a person whose name was referred to it for consideration, the person incurs no additional failure of selection for promotion.

(c) REPORTS OF BOARDS.-

(1) Each special selection board convened under this section shall submit to the Secretary of the military department concerned a written report, signed by each member of the board, containing the name of each person it recommends for promotion and certifying that the board has carefully considered the record of each person whose name was referred to it.

(2) The provisions of sections 617(b) and 618 of this title apply to the report and proceedings of a special selection board convened under this section in the same manner as they apply to the report and proceedings of a selection board convened under section 611(a) of this title. However, in the case of a board convened under this section to consider a warrant officer or former warrant officer, the provisions of sections 576(d), 576(f),and 613a of this title (rather than the provisions of sections 617(b) and 618 of this title) apply to the report and proceedings of the board in the same manner as they apply to the report and proceedings of a selection board convened under section 573 of this title.

(d) APPOINTMENT OF PERSONS SELECTED BY BOARDS.-

(1) If the report of a special selection board convened under this section, as approved by the President, recommends for promotion to the next higher grade a person whose name was referred to it for consideration, that person shall, as soon as practicable, be appointed to that grade in accordance with subsections (b), (c), and (d) of section 624 of this title. However, in the case of a board convened under this section to consider a warrant officer or former warrant officer, if the report of that board, as approved by the Secretary concerned, recommends that warrant officer or former warrant officer for promotion to the next higher grade, that person shall, as soon as practicable, be appointed to the next higher grade in accordance with provisions of section 578(c) of this title (rather than subsections (b), (c), and (d) of section 624 of this title).