10 U.S.C. § 152 — Chairman: appointment; grade and rank

(a) Appointment; Term of Office. (1) The President appoints the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with the advice and consent of the Senate, choosing from officers of the regular armed forces components. The Chairman serves at the President's pleasure for a four-year term, beginning October 1 of an odd-numbered year. This term limit does not apply in time of war. (2) If the officer serving as Chairman dies, retires, resigns, or is reassigned before the term ends, whoever is appointed to fill the vacancy serves only for the rest of that original term, though that officer may later be reappointed under paragraph (1). (3) The President may extend to eight years the combined time an officer serves as Chairman and Vice Chairman, if the President determines that doing so is in the national interest. This limit also does not apply in time of war. (b) Requirement for Appointment. (1) The President may appoint an officer as Chairman only if that officer has previously served as: the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, or the Chief of Space Operations; or the commander of a unified or specified combatant command. (2) The President may waive this requirement for a particular officer if the President determines doing so is necessary in the national interest. (c) Grade and Rank. While serving, the Chairman holds the grade of general, or, for a Navy officer, admiral, and outranks every other officer of the armed forces. However, the Chairman may not exercise military command over the Joint Chiefs of Staff or any part of the armed forces.