10 U.S.C. § 14108 — Recommendations by promotion boards

(a) Recommendation of Best Qualified Officers. A promotion board convened under section 14101(a) must recommend for promotion the officers it considers "best qualified," within each competitive category it reviews (or, for a vacancy promotion board, among officers being considered to fill the vacancy). When deciding who is best qualified, the board must properly weigh the armed force's need for officers with particular skills, as noted in the guidelines given it under section 14107. (b) Actions Required. A board cannot recommend an officer for promotion unless three things all happen: a majority of the board's members recommend that officer; a majority finds the officer fully qualified for promotion; and, after weighing any adverse information provided under section 14107, a majority finds the officer is among those best qualified to meet the armed force's needs -- consistent with the "exemplary conduct" requirement in section 7233, 8167, or 9233, whichever applies. (c) Board Recommendation Required for Promotion. Unless another law says otherwise, a reserve officer on the reserve active-status list cannot be promoted under chapter 1405 unless a promotion board convened under section 14101(a) -- or a special selection board under section 14502 -- has considered and recommended that officer. (d) Disclosure of Board Recommendations. A board's recommendations can only be disclosed following Defense Secretary regulations. They cannot be shared with anyone outside the board (or its assigned administrative staff) until every board member has signed the board's written report required by section 14109. (e) Prohibition of Coercion and Unauthorized Influence of Actions of Board Members. Neither the Secretary who convened the board, nor any officer or official with authority over a board member, may censure, reprimand, or admonish the board or any member over its recommendations or its lawful work. They also can't try to coerce or improperly influence any board action or any member's role in shaping the board's recommendations. (f) Higher Placement of Officers of Particular Merit on Promotion List. (1) When the department's Secretary authorizes it, a board can recommend that officers of particular merit -- chosen from those already selected for promotion -- be placed higher on the promotion list the Secretary sets under section 14308(a). (2) The board can only make that higher-placement recommendation if the officer gets either a majority of the board's votes, or meets an alternative standard the Secretary set and gave the board as part of its guidelines under section 14107. (3) For officers who do get this higher-placement recommendation, the board must also recommend the specific order they should appear on the promotion list.