Pub. L. 83-773, tit. VI, sec. 604

Sec. 604. (a) Except as otherwise provided by law, all promotions of Reserve officers shall be effected pursuant only to the recommendation of a selection board. (b) Selection boards shall be convened from time to time so that Reserve officers in the promotion zone for a particular grade will receive consideration for promotion concurrently with, or as soon as practicable after, their running mates. Separate boards may be convened to consider officers in one or more grades; or one board may be convened to consider officers in all grades, whichever is most practicable, provided that all members of such boards shall be senior to all officers to be considered by the board. (c) Each selection board, from among those officers whose names are submitted to it as determined by section 607 of this title, and without regard to existing precedence or seniority, shall recommend for promotion those officers whom it considers to be qualified to assume the duties of the next higher grade. Such officers shall receive consideration in the order of their relative seniority and when the number of officers found to be qualified equals the number of vacancies to be filled, the board need not consider any officers junior to the last officer found to be qualified and recommended for promotion. (d) Any such junior officers not considered pursuant to subsection (c) of this section shall not be considered to have failed of selection, and the names of such officers shall be again submitted to the next ensuing selection board. (e) The law and regulations now or hereafter existing relating to the selection for promotion of commissioned officers of the Coast 68 Stat. 1185 Guard to the grade of rear admiral shall apply to officers of the Reserve except that no officer in the grade of captain shall be eligible for consideration who has not completed a minimum of twenty years of total commissioned Coast Guard or Coast Guard Reserve service. Until January 1, 1963, for purposes of this subsection, in addition to actual commissioned service, a Reserve officer initially appointed in a grade above that of ensign shall be allowed a period of constructive service equal to that of the regular officer next senior to him in precedence who has served continuously on active duty and who has not lost numbers or precedence, computed from the date of such regular officer’s first appointment as ensign up to the date of original appointment of such Reserve officer. (f) The report of each promotion board shall be submitted to the Commandant for review and transmission to the President for approval. In case any officer or officers recommended by a board for promotion are not acceptable to the President, the final action by the President will disapprove their selection for promotion. (g) The recommendations of promotion boards, as approved by the President, will constitute promotion lists from which promotion of officers of the Reserve will be made, subject to establishment of physical qualification and verification that service subsequent to the convening of the promotion board has remained of satisfactory character. Officers on a promotion list will remain thereon until promoted unless removed by the President for due cause. If an existing promotion list has not been exhausted by the time a later list has been approved, all remaining officers on the older list shall be tendered appointments before use of the later list is commenced. (h) The procedure of selection boards and the procedures for effecting the promotion of those officers selected shall be as determined by the Secretary.