§526. Authorized strength: general and flag officers on active duty

(a) Limitations.-The number of general officers on active duty in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, and the number of flag officers on active duty in the Navy, may not exceed the number specified for the armed force concerned as follows:

(1) For the Army, 386 before October 1, 1995, and 302 on and after that date.

(2) For the Navy, 250 before October 1, 1995, and 216 on and after that date.

(3) For the Air Force, 326 before October 1, 1995, and 279 on and after that date.

(4) For the Marine Corps, 68.

(b) Transfers Between Services.-During the period before October 1, 1995, the Secretary of Defense may increase the number of general officers on active duty in the Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps, or the number of flag officers on active duty in the Navy, above the applicable number specified in subsection (a) by a total of not more than five. Whenever any such increase is made, the Secretary shall make a corresponding reduction in the number of such officers that may serve on active duty in general or flag officer grades in one of the other armed forces.

(c) Limited Exclusion for Joint Duty Requirements.-(1) The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff may designate up to 12 general officer and flag officer positions that are joint duty assignments for purposes of chapter 38 of this title for exclusion from the limitations in subsection (a) that are applicable on and after October 1, 1995. Officers in positions so designated shall not be counted for the purposes of those limitations.

(2) This subsection shall cease to be effective on October 1, 1998.

(d) Notice to Congress Upon Change in Grade for Certain Positions.-(1) Not later than 60 days before an action specified in paragraph (2) may become effective, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a report providing notice of the intended action and an analytically based justification for the intended action.

(2) Paragraph (1) applies in the case of the following actions:

(A) A change in the grade authorized as of July 1, 1994, for a general officer position in the National Guard Bureau, a general or flag officer position in the Office of a Chief of a reserve component, or a general or flag officer position in the headquarters of a reserve component command.

(B) Assignment of a reserve component officer to a general officer position in the the ¹ National Guard Bureau, to a general or flag officer position in the Office of a Chief of a reserve component, or a ² general or flag officer position in the headquarters of a reserve component command in a grade other the ³ grade authorized for that position as of July 1, 1994.

(C) Assignment of an officer other than a general or flag officer as the military executive to the Reserve Forces Policy Board.

(e) Exclusion of Certain Officers.-The limitations of this section do not apply to a reserve component general or flag officer who is on active duty for training or who is on active duty under a call or order specifying a period of less than 180 days.

(Added Pub. L. 100–370, §1(b)(1)(B), July 19, 1988, 102 Stat. 840 ; amended Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title IV, §403(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1545 ; Pub. L. 102–484, div. A, title IV, §403, Oct. 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 2398 ; Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title IV, §404, title V, §512, Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2744 , 2752.)

Historical and Revision Notes

Section is based on Pub. L. 95–79, title VIII, §811(a), July 30, 1977, 91 Stat. 335 , as amended by Pub. L. 96–107, title VIII, §817, Nov. 9, 1979, 93 Stat. 818 ; Pub. L. 96–342, title X, §1003, Sept. 8, 1980, 94 Stat. 1120 ; Pub. L. 97–86, title VI, §602, Dec. 1, 1981, 95 Stat. 1110 .

Present law (section 811(a) of Public Law 95–79, as amended) provides that the authority to suspend the limitation on the number of general and flag officers who may be serving on active duty applies during war or national emergency. In codifying the limitation (in section 526 of title 10 as proposed to be added by section 1(b) of the bill), the committee determined that the same war and emergency waiver authority as applies to other limitations on the number of officers on active duty under the existing 10 U.S.C. 526 (redesignated as 10 U.S.C. 527 by the bill) should apply with respect to this limitation and accordingly amended the suspension authority in present law to include the codified general and flag officer limitation. This authority is slightly different from the waiver authority in the source law in that the suspension would expire 2 years after it takes effect or 1 year after the end of the war or national emergency, whichever occurs first, rather than upon termination of the war or emergency.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 526 was renumbered section 527 of this title.

Amendments

1994-Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 103–337, §404, struck out "before October 1, 1995, and 61 on and after that date" after "Corps, 68".

Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 103–337, §512, added subsecs. (d) and (e).

1992-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102–484, §403(b), inserted heading.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–484, §403(a), added subsec. (c).

1990-Pub. L. 101–510 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: "The total number of general officers on active duty in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps and flag officers on active duty in the Navy may not exceed 1,073."

Change of Name

Committee on Armed Services of House of Representatives changed to Committee on National Security of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Fourth Congress, Jan. 4, 1995.

Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

Section 403(a) of Pub. L. 101–510 provided that the amendment made by that section is effective Sept. 30, 1991.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 527, 3210, 5150, 8210, 12004 of this title.

¹ So in original.

² So in original. Probably should be preceded by "to".

³ So in original. Probably should be preceded by "than".