10 U.S.C. § 531 — Original appointments of commissioned of-

Page 558 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 531 Director of CIA for Military Affairs’’ in heading and ‘‘Associate Director of Military Affairs, Central Intel- ligence Agency, or any successor position’’ for ‘‘Asso- ciate Director of the Central Intelligence Agency for Military Affairs’’ in text. 2008—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 110–417 substituted ‘‘Mili- tary Affairs’’ for ‘‘Military Support’’ in heading and text. 2006—Pub. L. 109–364, § 501(b)(1), amended section catchline generally, substituting ‘‘Officers serving in certain intelligence positions: military status; exclu- sion from distribution and strength limitations; pay and allowances’’ for ‘‘Exclusion: officers serving in cer- tain intelligence positions’’. Pub. L. 109–163 amended section catchline and text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘(a) When none of the individuals serving in a posi- tion specified in subsection (b) is an officer of the armed forces, an officer of the armed forces assigned to the position of Associate Director of Central Intel- ligence for Military Support, while serving in that posi- tion, shall not be counted against the numbers and per- centages of officers of the grade of that officer author- ized for that officer’s armed force. ‘‘(b) The positions referred to in subsection (a) are the following: ‘‘(1) Director of Central Intelligence. ‘‘(2) Deputy Director of Central Intelligence. ‘‘(3) Deputy Director of Central Intelligence for Community Management.’’ Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 109–364, § 501(a)(1), added sub- secs. (a) and (b) and struck out former subsecs. (a) and (b) which read as follows: ‘‘(a) EXCLUSION OF OFFICER SERVING IN CERTAIN CIA POSITIONS.—When either of the individuals serving in a position specified in subsection (b) is an officer of the armed forces, one of those officers, while serving in that position, shall be excluded from the limitations in sections 525 and 526 of this title. ‘‘(b) COVERED POSITIONS.—The positions referred to in this subsection are the following: ‘‘(1) Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. ‘‘(2) Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.’’ Subsecs. (e) to (g). Pub. L. 109–364, § 501(a)(2), added subsecs. (e) to (g). CHAPTER 33—ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS OF REGULAR OFFICERS IN GRADES ABOVE WARRANT OFFICER GRADES Sec. 531. Original appointments of commissioned offi- cers. 532. Qualifications for original appointment as a commissioned officer. 533. Service credit upon original appointment as a commissioned officer. 541. Graduates of the United States Military, Naval, and Air Force Academies. [555 to 565. Repealed.] Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1991—Pub. L. 102–190, div. A, title XI, § 1112(b)(1), Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 1501, substituted ‘‘ORIGINAL AP- POINTMENTS OF REGULAR OFFICERS IN GRADES ABOVE WARRANT OFFICER GRADES’’ for ‘‘AP- POINTMENTS IN REGULAR COMPONENTS’’ as chap- ter heading, struck out analysis of subchapters listing subchapter I ‘‘Original Appointments of Regular Offi- cers in Grades above Warrant Officer Grades’’ and sub- chapter II ‘‘Appointments of Regular Warrant Offi- cers’’, and struck out subchapter I heading. 1980—Pub. L. 96–513, title I, § 104(a), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2845, inserted an analysis of subchapters imme- diately following chapter heading, added subchapter I heading, and, in analysis of sections following sub- chapter I heading, added items 531, 532, and 533 pre- ceding item 541, re-enacted item 541 without change, and struck out, following item 541, items 555 to 565. The items 555 to 565 formerly set out in the analysis of sec- tions immediately following chapter heading were transferred to a position following a new heading for subchapter II preceding section 555. § 531. Original appointments of commissioned of- ficers (a)(1) Original appointments in the grades of second lieutenant, first lieutenant, and captain in the Regular Army, Regular Air Force, Reg- ular Marine Corps, and Space Force, and in the grades of ensign, lieutenant (junior grade), and lieutenant in the Regular Navy shall be made by the President alone. (2) Original appointments in the grades of major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel in the Regular Army, Regular Air Force, Regular Ma- rine Corps, and Space Force, and in the grades of lieutenant commander, commander, and captain in the Regular Navy shall be made by the Presi- dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. (b) The grade of a person receiving an appoint- ment under this section who at the time of ap- pointment (1) is credited with service under sec- tion 533 of this title, and (2) is not a commis- sioned officer of a reserve component shall be determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense based upon the amount of service credited. The grade of a person receiving an appointment under this section who at the time of the appointment is a commissioned offi- cer of a reserve component is determined under section 533(f) of this title. (c) Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the President, an original appoint- ment as a commissioned officer in the Regular Army, Regular Air Force, Regular Navy, Reg- ular Marine Corps, or Space Force may be made by the Secretary of Defense in the case of a re- serve commissioned officer upon the transfer of such officer from the reserve active-status list of a reserve component of the armed forces to the active-duty list of an armed force, notwith- standing the requirements of subsection (a). (Added Pub. L. 96–513, title I, § 104(a), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2845; amended Pub. L. 97–22, § 3(a), July 10, 1981, 95 Stat. 124; Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title V, § 501(a)(4), (c)(5), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 1873, 1874; Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title V, § 501(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1343; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title IX, § 924(b)(4)(A), (13), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3822, 3823; Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XVII, § 1716(b)(2), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 633; Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title V, § 521(c)(1), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 1880.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2024—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 118–159, § 521(c)(1)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘Regular Marine Corps, and Space Force, and in the grades of ensign, lieutenant (junior grade), and lieutenant in the Regular Navy’’ for ‘‘and Regular Ma- rine Corps in the grades of ensign, lieutenant (junior grade), and lieutenant in the Regular Navy, and in the equivalent grades in the Space Force’’. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 118–159, § 521(c)(1)(B), sub- stituted ‘‘Regular Marine Corps, and Space Force, and Page 559 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 532 in the grades of lieutenant commander, commander, and captain in the Regular Navy’’ for ‘‘and Regular Ma- rine Corps in the grades of lieutenant commander, com- mander, and captain in the Regular Navy, and in the equivalent grades in the Space Force’’. 2023—Pub. L. 118–31 struck out ‘‘Regular’’ before ‘‘Space Force’’ wherever appearing. 2021—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(13)(A), substituted ‘‘in the grades of ensign, lieutenant (junior grade), and lieutenant in the Regular Navy, and in the equivalent grades in the Regular Space Force’’ for ‘‘and in the grades of ensign, lieutenant (junior grade), and lieutenant in the Regular Navy’’. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(13)(B), sub- stituted ‘‘in the grades of lieutenant commander, com- mander, and captain in the Regular Navy, and in the equivalent grades in the Regular Space Force’’ for ‘‘and in the grades of lieutenant commander, commander, and captain in the Regular Navy’’. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(4)(A), substituted ‘‘Regular Marine Corps, or Regular Space Force’’ for ‘‘or Regular Marine Corps’’. 2019—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–92 substituted ‘‘the Sec- retary of Defense’’ for ‘‘the Secretary concerned’’. 2004—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 108–375, § 501(a)(4), amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: ‘‘Original appointments in the grades of second lieutenant through colonel in the Regular Army, Regular Air Force, and Regular Marine Corps and in the grades of ensign through captain in the Reg- ular Navy shall be made by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.’’ Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 108–375, § 501(c)(5), added subsec. (c). 1981—Pub. L. 97–22 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2004 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title V, § 501(g), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 1875, provided that: ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the amend- ments made by this section [enacting section 647 of this title, amending this section and sections 532, 619, 641, 1174, 2114, 12201, 12203, and 12731 of this title, and repeal- ing section 522 of this title] shall take effect on the first day of the first month beginning more than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 28, 2004]. ‘‘(2) The amendment made by subsection (a)(1) [amending section 532 of this title] shall take effect on May 1, 2005.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Sept. 15, 1981, but the authority to prescribe regulations under this chapter effective on Dec. 12, 1980, see section 701 of Pub. L. 96–513, set out as an Effective Date of 1980 Amendment note under sec- tion 101 of this title. TRANSITION PROVISIONS UNDER DEFENSE OFFICER PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT ACT For provisions to prevent extinction or premature termination of rights, duties, penalties, or proceedings that existed or were begun prior to the effective date of Pub. L. 96–513 and otherwise to allow for an orderly transition to the system of officer personnel manage- ment put in place under Pub. L. 96–513, see section 601 et seq. of Pub. L. 96–513, set out as a note under section 611 of this title. PROGRAM TO INCREASE USE OF CERTAIN NURSES BY MILITARY DEPARTMENTS Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title VII, § 708, Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1475, provided that: ‘‘(a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—(1) Not later than Sep- tember 30, 1991, the Secretary of each military depart- ment shall implement a program to appoint persons who have an associate degree or diploma in nursing (but have not received a baccalaureate degree in nurs- ing) as officers and to assign such officers to duty as nurses. ‘‘(2) An officer appointed pursuant to the program re- quired by subsection (a) shall be appointed in a warrant officer grade or in a commissioned grade not higher than O–3. Such officer may not be promoted above the grade of O–3 unless the officer receives a baccalaureate degree in nursing. ‘‘(b) REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than April 1, 1990, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on the actions taken by the Secretaries of the military departments to im- plement the program required by this section.’’ Executive Documents EX. ORD. NO. 13384. ASSIGNMENT OF FUNCTIONS RELATING TO ORIGINAL APPOINTMENTS AS COMMISSIONED OFFI- CERS AND CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER APPOINTMENTS IN THE ARMED FORCES Ex. Ord. No. 13384, July 27, 2005, 70 F.R. 43739, pro- vided: By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Assignment of Functions to the Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of Defense shall perform the functions of the President under the following provi- sions of title 10, United States Code: (a) subsection 531(a)(1); and (b) the second sentence of subsection 571(b). SEC. 2. Reassignment of Functions Assigned. The Sec- retary of Defense may not reassign the functions as- signed to him by this order. SEC. 3. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to limit or otherwise affect the au- thority of the President as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, or under the Con- stitution and laws of the United States to nominate or to make or terminate appointments. (b) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforce- able at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, entities, offi- cers, employees or agents, or any other person. GEORGE W. BUSH. § 532. Qualifications for original appointment as a commissioned officer (a) Under regulations prescribed by the Sec- retary of Defense, an original appointment as a commissioned officer (other than as a commis- sioned warrant officer) in the Regular Army, Regular Navy, Regular Air Force, or Regular Marine Corps may be given only to a person who— (1) is a citizen of the United States; (2) is of good moral character; (3) is physically qualified for active service; and (4) has such other special qualifications as the Secretary of the military department con- cerned may prescribe by regulation. (b)(1) Original appointments in the Regular Army in the Medical Corps or Dental Corps, and original appointments in the Regular Air Force with a view to designation of an officer as a medical or dental officer, may be made in the grades of first lieutenant through colonel. Origi- nal appointments in the Regular Navy in the Medical Corps or Dental Corps may be made in