§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, 302.

(2) For the Navy, 216.

(3) For the Air Force, 279.

(4) For the Marine Corps, 80.

(b) 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). Officers in positions so designated shall not be counted for the purposes of those limitations.

(2)(A) The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff may designate up to 10 general and flag officer positions on the staffs of the commanders of the unified and specified combatant commands, and a general and flag officer position on the Joint Staff, as positions to be held only by reserve component officers who are in a general or flag officer grade below lieutenant general or vice admiral. Each position so designated shall be considered to be a joint duty assignment position for purposes of chapter 38 of this title.

(B) A reserve component officer serving in a position designated under subparagraph (A) while on active duty under a call or order to active duty that does not specify a period of 180 days or less shall not be counted for the purposes of the limitations under subsection (a) and under section 525 of this title if the officer was selected for service in that position in accordance with the procedures specified in subparagraph (C).

(C) Whenever a vacancy occurs, or is anticipated to occur, in a position designated under subparagraph (A)-

(i) the Secretary of Defense shall require the Secretary of the Army to submit the name of at least one Army reserve component officer, the Secretary of the Navy to submit the name of at least one Navy Reserve officer and the name of at least one Marine Corps Reserve officer, and the Secretary of the Air Force to submit the name of at least one Air Force reserve component officer for consideration by the Secretary for assignment to that position; and

(ii) 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 clause (i)) for consideration by the Secretary for assignment to that position.

(D) Whenever the Secretaries of the military departments are required to submit the names of officers under subparagraph (C)(i), 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 subparagraph (and of any officer whose name the Chairman submits to the Secretary under subparagraph (C)(ii) for consideration for the same vacancy).

(E) Subparagraph (B) does not apply in the case of an officer serving in a position designated under subparagraph (A) if the Secretary of Defense, when considering officers for assignment to fill the vacancy in that position which was filled by that officer, did not have a recommendation for that assignment from each Secretary of a military department who (pursuant to subparagraph (C)) was required to make such a recommendation.

[(3) Repealed. Pub. L. 108–136, div. A, title V, §504(c), Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1457 .]

[(c) Repealed. Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title X, §1041(a)(3), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2645 .]

(d) Exclusion of Certain Reserve 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.

(e) Exclusion of Certain Officers Pending Separation or Retirement or Between Senior Positions.-The limitations of this section do not apply to a general or flag officer who is covered by an exclusion under section 525(e) of this title.

(f) Exclusion of Attending Physician to the Congress.-The limitations of this section do not apply to the general or flag officer who is serving as Attending Physician to the Congress.

(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; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title XV, §§1502(a)(1), 1503(a)(3), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 502 , 510; Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title IV, §405, Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2506 ; Pub. L. 105–261, div. A, title IV, §405, Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 1996 ; Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title V, §553, title X, §1067(1), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 615 , 774; Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title IV, §405(c), title X, §1041(a)(3), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2526 , 2645; Pub. L. 108–136, div. A, title V, §504(c), Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1457 ; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title V, §§503(b), 510, 515(b)(1)(C), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3226 , 3231, 3233; Pub. L. 109–364, div. A, title V, §507(c), Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2180 .)

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

2006-Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 109–163, §510, inserted ", and a general and flag officer position on the Joint Staff," after "combatant commands".

Subsec. (b)(2)(C)(i). Pub. L. 109–163, §515(b)(1)(C), substituted "Navy Reserve" for "Naval Reserve".

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 109–163, §503(b)(2), substituted "Certain Reserve Officers" for "Certain Officers" in heading.

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 109–163, §503(b)(1), added subsec. (e).

Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 109–364 added subsec. (f).

2003-Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 108–136 struck out par. (3) which read as follows: "This subsection shall cease to be effective on December 31, 2004."

2002-Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 107–314, §405(c), substituted "December 31, 2004" for "October 1, 2002".

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 107–314, §1041(a)(3), struck out heading and text of subsec. (c). Text read as follows:

"(1) Not later than 60 days before an action specified in paragraph (2) may become effective, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the 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 National Guard Bureau, to a general or flag officer position in the Office of a Chief of a reserve component, or to a general or flag officer position in the headquarters of a reserve component command in a grade other than the 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."

1999-Subsec. (b)(2), (3). Pub. L. 106–65, §553, added par. (2) and redesignated former par. (2) as (3).

Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 106–65, §1067(1), substituted "and the Committee on Armed Services" for "and the Committee on National Security".

1998-Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 105–261 substituted "October 1, 2002" for "October 1, 1998".

1996-Subsec. (a)(1) to (3). Pub. L. 104–106, §1503(a)(3)(A), added pars. (1) to (3) and struck out former pars. (1) to (3) which read 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."

Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 104–201 substituted "80" for "68".

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–106, §1503(a)(3)(B)–(D), redesignated subsec. (c) as (b), struck out "that are applicable on and after October 1, 1995" after "limitations in subsection (a)", and struck out former subsec. (b) which read as follows: "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."

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–106, §1503(a)(3)(C), (E), redesignated subsec. (d) as (c) and, in par. (2)(B), struck out "the" after "general officer position in the" and inserted "to" after "reserve component, or" and "than" after "in a grade other". Former subsec. (c) redesignated (b).

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–106, §1503(a)(3)(C), redesignated subsec. (e) as (d). Former subsec. (d) redesignated (c).

Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 104–106, §1502(a)(1), substituted "Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives" for "Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives".

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 104–106, §1503(a)(3)(C), redesignated subsec. (e) as (d).

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."

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.