MANAGEMENT OF SENIOR GENERAL AND FLAG OFFICER POSITIONS.

SEC. 405. MANAGEMENT OF SENIOR GENERAL AND FLAG OFFICER POSITIONS. (a) In General.— Section 525(b) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(5) (A) An officer while serving in a position specified in section 604(b) of this title, if serving in the grade of general or admiral, is in addition to the number that would otherwise be permitted for that officer’s armed force for officers serving on active duty in grades above major general or rear admiral, as the case may be, under the first sentence of paragraph (1) or (2), as applicable. “(B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply in the case of an officer serving in such a position if the Secretary of Defense, when considering officers for recommendation to the President for appointment to fill the vacancy in that position which was filled by that officer, did not have a recommendation for that appointment from each Secretary of a military department who (pursuant to section 604(a) of this title) was required to make such a recommendation. “(C) This paragraph shall cease to be effective at the end of September 30, 1997.”. (b) Limitation on Number of 4-Star Positions.— (1) Chapter 32 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new section: “§528. Limitation on number of officers on active duty in grades of general and admiral “(a) Limitation.— The total number of officers on active duty after September 30, 1995, in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps in the grade of general and in the Navy in the grade of admiral may not exceed 32. “(b) Exceptions.— The limitation in subsection (a) does not apply in the case of an officer serving in the grade of general or admiral in a position that is specifically exempted by law from being counted for purposes of limitations by law on the total number of officers that may be on active duty in the grades of general and admiral or the number of officers that may be on active duty in that officer’s armed force in the grade of general or admiral.”. 108 STAT. 2745 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item: “528. Limitation on number of officers on active duty in grades of general and admiral.”. (c) Greater Service Competition for Joint 4-Star Positions.— (1) Chapter 35 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new section: “§ 604. Senior joint officer positions: recommendations to the Secretary of Defense “(a) Joint 4-Star Officer Positions.— (1) Whenever a vacancy occurs, or is anticipated to occur, in a position specified in subsection (b)— “(A) the Secretary of Defense shall require the Secretary of the Army to submit the name of at least one Army officer, the Secretary of the Navy to submit the name of at least one Navy officer and the name of at least one Marine Corps officer, and the Secretary of the Air Force to submit the name of at least one Air Force officer for consideration by the Secretary for recommendation to the President for appointment to that position; and “(B) 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 subparagraph (A)) for consideration by the Secretary for recommendation to the President for appointment to that position. “(2) Whenever the Secretaries of the military departments are required to submit the names of officers under paragraph (1)(A), 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 paragraph (and of any officer whose name the Chairman submits to the Secretary under paragraph (1)(B) for consideration for the same vacancy). The Chairman’s evaluation shall primarily consider the performance of the officer as a member of the Joint Staff and in other joint duty assignments, but may include consideration of other aspects of the officer’s performance as the Chairman considers appropriate. “(b) Covered Positions.— Subsection (a) applies to the following positions: “(1) Commander of a combatant command. “(2) Commander, United States Forces, Korea. “(3) Deputy commander, United States European Command, but only if the commander of that command is also the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. “(c) Expiration.— This section shall cease to be effective at the end of September 30, 1997.”. (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item: “604. Senior joint officer positions: recommendations to the Secretary of Defense ”. (d) Report.— Not later than March 1, 1996, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on the implementation of the amendments made by this section. The report shall include an assessment of the effectiveness of those amendments in meeting the objective of encouraging more competition among all services 108 STAT. 2746for appointment of officers to joint three-star and four-star positions. The report may include such additional recommendations concerning general and flag officer selection policy as the Secretary considers appropriate.