Commissioned officers: effect of failure of promotion to captain, major, or lieutenant colonel

§ 3303. Commissioned officers: effect of failure of promotion to captain, major, or lieutenant colonel (a) In this subtitle, “deferred officer” means a promotion-list officer considered for promotion to the grade of captain, major, or lieutenant colonel under section 3299 of this title, but not recommended for promotion. (b) The years of service with which a deferred officer is entitled to be credited for promotion purposes shall be reduced so that one year after the date on which he would have been promoted had he been recommended by a selection board he will not have more than 7, 14, or 21 years of service, if in the grade of first lieutenant, captain, or major, as the case may be. (c) A deferred officer shall be considered again by the next selection board considering officers of his grade and promotion list. If recommended by this board, his name shall be placed on the applicable recommended list with the other officers recommended by the board, in the same order among themselves as on the promotion list, but189 below officers placed on that list by an earlier board. If a deferred officer is promoted upon the recommendation of the next board considering officers of his grade, his first failure does not count as a failure of selection when he is thereafter considered for promotion to another regular grade. (d) A deferred officer who is not recommended by the next selection board considering officers of his grade and promotion list shall— (1) if he is eligible, be retired under section 3913 of this title: (2) if he is not eligible for retirement under section 3913 of this title, but is eligible for retirement under any other provision of law, be retired under that law on the date when he would have been retired under section 3913 of this title if he were eligible; or (3) if he is not eligible for retirement under section 3913 of this title or any other provision of law, be honorably discharged on the date he would have been retired under section 3913 of this title if he were eligible, with severance pay computed by multiplying his years of service, but not more than 12, computed under section 3927 (a) of this title, by two months’ basic pay of the grade in which he is serving on the date of his discharge. (e) For the purposes of subsection (d) (3), a part of a year that is six months or more is counted as a whole year, and a part of a year that is less than six months is disregarded.