PROMOTION AND RETENTION OF WARRANT OFFICERS.

SEC. 1112. PROMOTION AND RETENTION OF WARRANT OFFICERS. (a) New Warrant Officer Personnel System.—Part II of subtitle A of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking out subchapter II of chapter 33 and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 105 STAT. 1493 “CHAPTER 33A—APPOINTMENT, PROMOTION, AND INVOLUNTARY SEPARATION AND RETIREMENT FOR MEMBERS ON THE WARRANT OFFICER ACTIVE-DUTY LIST “Sec. “571. Warrant officers: grades. “572. Warrant officers: original appointment; service credit. “573. Convening of selection boards. “574. Warrant officer activeduty lists; competitive categories; number to be recommended for promotion; promotion zones. “575. Recommendations for promotion by selection boards. “576. Information furnished to selection boards; selection procedures. “577. Promotions: effect of failure of selection for. “578. Promotions; how made; effective date. “579. Removal from a promotion list. “580. Regular warrant officers twice failing of selection for promotion: involuntary retirement or separation. “581. Selective retirement. “582. Warrant officer activeduty list: exclusions. “583. Definitions. “§ 571. Warrant officers: grades “(a) The regular warrant officer grades in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps corresponding to the pay grades prescribed for warrant officers by section 201(b) of title 37 are as follows: “Warrant officer grade: “Chief warrant officer, W–5 “Chief warrant officer, W–4 “Chief warrant officer, W–3 “Chief warrant officer, W–2 “Warrant officer, W–1 “(b) Appointments in the grade of regular warrant officer, W–1, shall be made by warrant by the Secretary concerned. Appointments in regular chief warrant officer grades shall be made by commission by the President. “(c) An appointment may not be made in any of the armed forces in the regular warrant officer grade of chief warrant officer, W–5, if the appointment would result in more than 5 percent of the warrant officers of that armed force on active duty being in the grade of chief warrant officer, W–5. In computing the limitation prescribed in the preceding sentence, there shall be excluded warrant officers described in section 582 of this title. “§ 572. Warrant officers: original appointment; service credit “For the purposes of promotion, persons originally appointed in regular or reserve warrant officer grades shall be credited with such service as the Secretary concerned may prescribe. However, such a person may not be credited with a period of service greater than the period of active service performed in the grade, or pay grade corresponding to the grade, in which so appointed, or in any higher grade or pay grade. “§ 573. Convening of selection boards “(a)(1) Whenever the Secretary of a military department determines that the needs of the service so require, he shall convene a selection board to recommend for promotion to the next higher warrant officer grade warrant officers on the warrant officer active-105 STAT. 1494duty list who are in the grade of chief warrant officer, W–2, chief warrant officer, W–3, or chief warrant officer, W–4. “(2) Warrant officers serving on the warrant officer active duty list in the grade of warrant officer, W–1, shall be promoted to the grade of chief warrant officer, W–2, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the military department concerned. Such regulations shall require that an officer have served not less than 18 months on active duty in the grade of warrant officer, W–1, before promotion to the grade of warrant officer, W–2. “(b) A selection board shall consist of five or more officers who are on the activeduty list of the same armed force as the warrant officers under consideration by the board. At least five members of a selection board must be serving in a permanent grade above major or lieutenant commander. The Secretary concerned may appoint warrant officers, senior in grade to those under consideration, as additional members of the selection board. If warrant officers are appointed members of the selection board and if competitive categories have been established by the Secretary under section 574(b) of this title, at least one must be appointed from each warrant officer competitive category under consideration by the board, unless there is an insufficient number of warrant officers in the competitive category concerned who are senior in grade to those under consideration and qualified, as determined by the Secretary concerned, to be appointed as additional members of the board. “(c) The Secretary concerned may convene selection boards to recommend regular warrant officers for continuation on active duty under section 580 of this title and for retirement under section 581 of this title. “(d) When reserve warrant officers of one of the armed forces are to be considered by a selection board convened under subsection (a), the membership of the board shall, if practicable, include at least one reserve officer of that armed force, with the exact number of reserve officers to be determined by the Secretary concerned. “(e) No officer may serve on two consecutive boards under this section, if the second board considers any warrant officer who was considered by the first board. “(f) The Secretary concerned shall prescribe all other matters relating to the functions and duties of the boards, including the number of members constituting a quorum, and instructions concerning notice of convening of boards and communications with boards. “§ 574. Warrant officer activeduty lists; competitive categories; number to be recommended for promotion; promotion zones “(a) The Secretary of each military department shall maintain for each armed force under the jurisdiction of that Secretary a single list of all warrant officers (other than warrant officers described in section 582 of this title) who are on active duty. “(b) The Secretary of each military department may establish competitive categories for promotion. Warrant officers in the same competitive category shall compete among themselves for promotion. “(c) Before convening a selection board under section 573 of this title, the Secretary concerned shall determine for each grade (or grade and competitive category) to be considered by the board the 105 STAT. 1495 “(1) The maximum number of warrant officers to be recommended for promotion. “(2) A promotion zone for warrant officers on the warrant officer activeduty list. “(d) The position of a warrant officer on the warrant officer activeduty list shall be determined as follows: “(1) Warrant officers shall be carried in the order of seniority of the grade in which they are serving on active duty. “(2) Warrant officers serving in the same grade shall be carried in the order of their rank in that grade. “(3) A warrant officer on the warrant officer activeduty list who receives a temporary appointment or a temporary assignment in a grade other than a warrant officer grade or chief warrant officer grade shall retain his position on the warrant officer active duty list while so serving. “(e) A chief warrant officer may not be considered for promotion to the next higher grade under this chapter until the officer has completed three years of service on active duty in the grade in which the officer is serving. “§ 575. Recommendations for promotion by selection boards “(a) A selection board convened under section 573(a) of this title shall recommend for promotion to the next higher grade those warrant officers considered by the board whom the board, giving due consideration to the needs of the armed force concerned for warrant officers with particular skills, considers best qualified for promotion within each grade (or grade and competitive category) considered by the board. “(b)(1) In the case of a selection board to consider warrant officers for selection for promotion to the grade of chief warrant officer, W–4, or chief warrant officer, W–5, the Secretary concerned shall establish the number of warrant officers that the selection board may recommend from among warrant officers being considered from below the promotion zone within each grade (or grade and competitive category). The number of warrant officers recommended for promotion from below the promotion zone does not increase the maximum number of warrant officers which the board is authorized under section 574 of this title to recommend for promotion. “(2) The number of officers recommended for promotion from below the promotion zone may not exceed 10 percent of the total number recommended, except that the Secretary of Defense may authorize such percentage to be increased to not more than 15 percent. “(c) A selection board convened under section 573(a) of this title may not recommend a warrant officer for promotion unless— “(1) the officer receives the recommendation of a majority of the members of the board; and “(2) a majority of the members of the board find that the officer is fully qualified for promotion. “(d) Each time a selection board is convened under section 573(a) of this title to consider warrant officers in a competitive category for promotion to the next higher grade, each warrant officer in the promotion zone, and each warrant officer above the promotion zone, for the grade and competitive category under consideration shall be considered for promotion. 105 STAT. 1496 “§ 576. Information to be furnished to selection boards; selection procedures “(a) The Secretary of the military department concerned shall furnish to each selection board convened under section 573 of this title the following: “(1) The maximum number of warrant officers that may be recommended for promotion from those serving in any grade (or grade and competitive category) to be considered, as determined in accordance with section 574 of this title. “(2) The names and pertinent records of all officers in each grade (or grade and competitive category) to be considered. “(3) Such information or guidelines relating to the needs of the armed force concerned for warrant officers having particular skills, including guidelines or information relating to the need for either a minimum number or a maximum number of officers with particular skills within a grade or competitive category, as the Secretary concerned determines to be relevant in relation to the requirements of that armed force. “(b) From each promotion zone for a grade (or grade and competitive category), the selection board shall recommend for promotion to the next higher warrant officer grade those warrant officers whom it considers best qualified for promotion, but no more than the number specified by the Secretary concerned. “(c) The names of warrant officers selected for promotion under this section shall be arranged in the board’s report in order of the seniority on the warrant officer activeduty list. “(d) Under such regulations as the Secretary concerned may prescribe, the selection board shall report the names of those warrant officers considered by it whose records establish, in its opinion, their unfitness or unsatisfactory performance. A regular warrant officer whose name is so reported shall be considered, under regulations provided by the Secretary concerned, for retirement or separation under section 1166 of this title. “(e) The report of the selection board shall be submitted to the Secretary of the military department concerned. The Secretary may approve or disapprove all or part of the report. “(f)(1) Upon receipt of the report of a selection board submitted to him under subsection (e), the Secretary concerned shall review the report to determine whether the board has acted contrary to law or regulation or to guidelines furnished the board under this section. Following such review, unless the Secretary concerned makes a determination as described in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall submit the report as required by subsection (e). “(2) If, on the basis of a review of the report under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the military department concerned determines that the board acted contrary to law or regulation or to guidelines furnished the board under this section, the Secretary shall return the report, together with a written explanation of the basis for such determination, to the board for further proceedings. Upon receipt of a report returned by the Secretary concerned under this paragraph, the selection board (or a subsequent selection board convened under section 573 of this title for the same grade and competitive category) shall conduct such proceedings as may be necessary in order to revise the report to be consistent with law, regulation, and such guidelines and shall resubmit the report, as revised, to the Secretary in accordance with subsection (e). 105 STAT. 1497 “§ 577. Promotions: effect of failure of selection for “A warrant officer who has been considered for promotion by a selection board convened under section 573 of this title, but not selected, shall be considered for promotion by each subsequent selection board that considers officers in his grade (or grade and competitive category) until he is retired or separated or he is selected for promotion. However, the Secretary concerned may, by regulation, preclude from consideration by a selection board by which he would otherwise be eligible to be considered, a warrant officer who has an established separation date that is within 90 days after the date on which the board is convened. “§ 578. Promotions; how made; effective date “(a) When the report of a selection board convened under this chapter is approved by the Secretary concerned, the Secretary shall place the names of the warrant officers approved for promotion on a single promotion list for each grade (or grade and competitive category), in the order of the seniority of such officers on the warrant officer activeduty list. “(b) Promotions of warrant officers on the warrant officer promotion list shall be made when, in accordance with regulations issued by the Secretary concerned, additional warrant officers in that grade (or grade and competitive category), are needed. “(c) A regular warrant officer who is promoted is appointed in the regular grade to which promoted, and a reserve warrant officer who is promoted is appointed in the reserve grade to which promoted. The date of appointment in that grade and date of rank shall be prescribed by the Secretary concerned. A warrant officer is entitled to the pay and allowances for the grade to which appointed from the date specified in the appointment order. “(d) Promotions shall be made in the order in which the names of warrant officers appear on the promotion list and after warrant officers previously selected for promotion in the applicable grade (or grade and competitive category) have been promoted. “§ 579. Removal from a promotion list “(a) The name of a warrant officer recommended for promotion by a selection board convened under this chapter may be removed from the report of the selection board by the President. “(b) The Secretary concerned may remove the name of a warrant officer who is on a promotion list as a result of being recommended for promotion by a selection board convened under this chapter at any time before the promotion is effective. “(c) An officer whose name is removed from the list of officers recommended for promotion by a selection board continues to be eligible for consideration for promotion. “(d) If the next selection board that considers the warrant officer for promotion under this chapter selects the warrant officer for promotion and the warrant officer is promoted, the Secretary concerned may, upon his promotion, grant him the same effective date for pay and allowances and the same date of rank, and the same position on the warrant officer activeduty list as the warrant officer would have had if his name had not been so removed. “(e) If the next selection board does not select the warrant officer for promotion, or if his name is again removed under subsection (a) from the list of officers recommended for promotion by the selection 105 STAT. 1498board or under subsection (b) from the warrant officer promotion list, he shall be treated for all purposes as if he has twice failed of selection for promotion. “§ 580. Regular warrant officers twice failing of selection for promotion: involuntary retirement or separation “(a)(1) Unless retired or separated sooner under some other provision of law, a regular chief warrant officer who has twice failed of selection for promotion to the next higher regular warrant officer grade shall be retired under paragraph (2) or (3) or separated from active duty under paragraph (4). “(2) If a warrant officer described in paragraph (1) has more than 20 years of creditable active service on (A) the date on which the Secretary concerned approves the report of the board under section 576(e) of this title, or (B) the date on which his name was removed from the recommended list under section 579 of this title, whichever applies, the warrant officer shall be retired. The date of such retirement shall be not later than the first day of the seventh calendar month beginning after the applicable date under the preceding sentence, except as provided by section 8301 of title 5. A warrant officer retired under this paragraph shall receive retired pay computed under section 1401 of this title. “(3) If a warrant officer described in paragraph (1) has at least 18 but not more than 20 years of creditable active service on (A) the date on which the Secretary concerned approves the report of the board under section 576(e) of this title, or (B) the date on which his name was removed from the recommended list under section 579 of this title, whichever applies, the warrant officer shall be retired not later than the date determined under the next sentence unless he is selected for promotion to the next higher regular warrant officer grade before that date. The date of the retirement of a warrant officer under the preceding sentence shall be on a date specified by the Secretary concerned, but not later than the first day of the seventh calendar month beginning after the date upon which he completes 20 years of active service, except as provided by section 8301 of title 5. A warrant officer retired under this paragraph shall receive retired pay computed under section 1401 of this title. “(4)(A) If a warrant officer described in paragraph (1) has less than 18 years of creditable active service on (i) the date on which the Secretary concerned approves the report of the board under section 576(e) of this title, or (ii) the date on which his name was removed from the recommended list under section 579 of this title, whichever applies, the warrant officer shall be separated. The date of such separation shall be not later than the first day of the seventh calendar month beginning after the applicable date under the preceding sentence. “(B) A warrant officer separated under this paragraph shall receive separation pay computed under section 1174 of this title except in a case in which— “(i) upon his request and in the discretion of the Secretary concerned, he is enlisted in the grade prescribed by the Secretary; or “(ii) he is serving on active duty in a grade above chief warrant officer, W–5, and he elects, with the consent of the Secretary concerned, to remain on active duty in that status. 105 STAT. 1499 “(5) A warrant officer who is subject to retirement or discharge under this subsection is not eligible for further consideration for promotion. “(6) In this subsection, the term ‘creditable active service’ means active service that could be credited to a warrant officer under section 511 of the Career Compensation Act of 1949, as amended (70 Stat. 114). “(b) The Secretary concerned may defer, for not more than four months, the retirement or separation under this section of a warrant officer if, because of unavoidable circumstances, evaluation of his physical condition and determination of his entitlement to retirement or separation for physical disability require hospitalization or medical observation that cannot be completed before the date on which he would otherwise be required to retire or be separated under this section. “(c) The Secretary concerned may defer, until such date as he prescribes, the retirement under subsection (a) of a warrant officer who is serving on active duty in a grade above chief warrant officer, W–5, and who elects to continue to so serve. “(d) If a warrant officer who also holds a grade above chief warrant officer, W–5, is retired or separated under subsection (a), his commission in the higher grade shall be terminated on the date on which he is so retired or separated. “(e)(1) A regular warrant officer subject to discharge or retirement under this section may, subject to the needs of the service, be continued on active duty if he is selected for continuation on active duty by a selection board convened under section 573(c) of this title. “(2) A warrant officer who is selected for continuation on active duty under this subsection but declines to continue on active duty shall be discharged, retired, or retained on active duty, as appropriate, in accordance with this section. “(3) Each warrant officer who is continued on active duty under this subsection, not subsequently promoted or continued on active duty, and not on a list of warrant officers recommended for continuation or for promotion to the next higher regular grade shall, unless sooner retired or discharged under another provision of law— “(A) be discharged upon the expiration of his period of continued service; or “(B) if he is eligible for retirement under any provision of law, be retired under that law on the first day of the first month following the month in which he completes his period of continued service. Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a warrant officer who would otherwise be discharged under such subparagraph and who is within two years of qualifying for retirement under section 1293 of this title shall, unless he is sooner retired or discharged under some other provision of law, be retained on active duty until he is qualified for retirement under that section and then be retired. “(4) The retirement or discharge of a warrant officer pursuant to this subsection shall be considered to be an involuntary retirement or discharge for purposes of any other provision of law. “(5) Continuation of a warrant officer on active duty under this subsection pursuant to the action of a selection board convened under section 573(c) of this title is subject to the approval of the Secretary concerned. “(6) The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations for the administration of this subsection. 105 STAT. 1500 “§ 581. Selective retirement “(a) A regular warrant officer in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps who holds a warrant officer grade above warrant officer, W–1, and whose name is not on a list of warrant officers recommended for promotion and who is eligible to retire under any provision of law may be considered for retirement by a selection board convened under section 573(c) of this title. The Secretary concerned shall specify the maximum number of warrant officers that such a board may recommend for retirement. “(b) A warrant officer who is recommended for retirement under this section and whose retirement is approved by the Secretary concerned shall be retired, under any provision of law under which he is eligible to retire, on the date requested by him and approved by the Secretary concerned, which date shall be not later than the first day of the seventh calendar month beginning after the month in which the Secretary concerned approves the report of the board which recommended the officer for retirement. “(c) The retirement of a warrant officer pursuant to this section shall be considered to be an involuntary retirement for purposes of any other provision of law. “(d)(1) The Secretary concerned shall prescribe regulations for the administration of this section. Such regulations shall require that when the Secretary concerned submits a list of regular warrant officers to a selection board convened under section 573(c) of this title to consider regular warrant officers for selection for retirement under this section, the list shall include each warrant officer on the activeduty list in the same grade or same grade and competitive category whose position on the active-duty list is between that of the most junior regular warrant officer in that grade whose name is submitted to the board and that of the most senior regular warrant officer in that grade whose name is submitted to the board. “(2) Such regulations shall establish procedures to exclude from consideration by the Board any warrant officer who has been approved for voluntary retirement, or who is to be mandatorily retired under any other provision of law, during the fiscal year in which the Board is convened or during the following fiscal year. An officer not considered by a selection board convened under section 573(c) of this title under such regulations because the officer has been approved for voluntary retirement shall be retired on the date approved for the retirement of such officer as of the convening date of such selection board unless the Secretary concerned approves a modification of such date in order to prevent a personal hardship for the officer or for other humanitarian reasons. “§ 582. Warrant officer activeduty list: exclusions “Warrant officers in the following categories are not subject to this chapter: “(1) Reserve warrant officers— “(A) on active duty for training; “(B) on active duty under section 672(d) of this title in connection with organizing, administering, recruiting, instructing, or training the reserve components; “(C) on active duty to pursue special work; “(D) ordered to active duty under section 673b of this title; or “(E) on full-time National Guard duty. 105 STAT. 1501 “(2) Retired warrant officers on active duty. “(3) Students enrolled in the Army Physician’s Assistant Program. “§ 583. Definitions “In this chapter: “(1) The term ‘promotion zone’ means a promotion eligibility category consisting of officers on a warrant officer activeduty list in the same grade (or the same grade and competitive category) who— “(A) in the case of grades below chief warrant officer, W–5, have neither (i) failed of selection for promotion to the next higher grade, nor (ii) been removed from a list of warrant officers recommended for promotion to that grade (other than after having been placed on that list after a selection from below the promotion zone); and “(B) are senior to the warrant officer designated by the Secretary concerned to be the junior warrant officer in the promotion zone eligible for promotion to the next higher grade. “(2) The term ‘warrant officers above the promotion zone’ means a group of officers on a warrant officer activeduty list in the same grade (or the same grade and competitive category) who— “(A) are eligible for consideration for promotion to the next higher grade; “(B) are in the same grade as warrant officers in the promotion zone; and “(C) are senior to the senior warrant officer in the promotion zone. “(3) The term ‘warrant officers below the promotion zone’ means a group of officers on a warrant officer activeduty list in the same grade (or the same grade and competitive category) who— “(A) are eligible for consideration for promotion to the next higher grade; “(B) are in the same grade as warrant officers in the promotion zone; and “(C) are junior to the junior warrant officer in the promotion zone.”. (b) Conforming and Clerical Amendments.— (1) Chapter 33 of such title is amended by striking out the chapter heading, the table of subchapters, and the heading of subchapter I and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “CHAPTER 33—ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS OF REGULAR OFFICERS IN GRADES ABOVE WARRANT OFFICER GRADES”. (2) The tables of chapters at the beginning of subtitle A, and at the beginning of part II of subtitle A, of such title are amended by striking out the item relating to chapter 33 and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “33. Original Appointments of Regular Officers in Grades Above Warrant Officer Grades 531 105 STAT. 1502 “33A. Appointment, Promotion, and Involuntary Separation and Retirement for Members on the Warrant Officer Active-Duty List 571”.