Congressional notification of relief or early departure of certain general and flag officers

Chapter 35 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

606.

Notification of relief or early departure of certain general and flag officers

(a)

Covered officer defined

In this section, the term covered officer means an officer serving in the grade of general, admiral, lieutenant general, or vice admiral in—(1)a position of importance and responsibility under section 601 of this title; or(2)any other position designated by the Secretary of Defense for purposes of this section.(b)

Notice required

Not later than 5 days after the relief, removal, reassignment, resignation, retirement, request for retirement, or other separation from position of a covered officer before the expected completion of service in that position, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives written notice of such action.(c)

Early departure

For purposes of this section, a covered officer shall be considered to separate from a position before the expected completion of service in that position if the officer departs before—(1)the date of a publicly announced or officially scheduled change of command, retirement, reassignment, or end date for a tour of duty;(2)the date on which a successor is scheduled to assume the position; or(3)if no such date has been established, 24 months after the officer assumed the position.(d)

Applicability to resignation or retirement

The notice requirement under subsection (b) applies regardless of whether the resignation, retirement, or request for retirement—(1)was initiated by the Department or by the officer;(2)occurred in lieu of relief, removal, or reassignment; or(3)occurred without a formal written direction to depart the position.(e)

Contents of notice

A notice under subsection (b) shall include—(1)the name, grade, and position of the covered officer;(2)the effective date of the action;(3)the nature of the action, including whether the action was a relief, removal, reassignment, resignation, retirement, request for retirement, or other departure;(4)whether the action was initiated by the Department or by the officer;(5)a statement of the stated basis for the action; and(6)whether any investigation, command inquiry, Inspector General review, or other fact-finding has been initiated in connection with the action.(f)

Detailed report

Not later than 30 days after submitting a notice under subsection (b), the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the committees specified in subsection (b) a detailed report on the action, which may be submitted in whole or in part in classified form consistent with subsection (g), including—(1)a statement of the basis for the action signed by the Secretary of Defense, or by the Secretary of the military department concerned if designated by the Secretary of Defense;(2)any findings of investigation, command inquiry, Inspector General review, or other fact-finding completed as of the date of the report;(3)whether the covered officer was afforded an opportunity to provide a written statement for inclusion in the report, and any such statement if provided;(4)a certification by the Secretary of Defense whether the action was taken principally on the basis of misconduct, performance, loss of confidence, force management, reorganization, or other legitimate military or civilian leadership considerations, and not principally in retaliation for the good-faith provision, in the course of official duties, of military, operational, intelligence, readiness, legal, or risk assessments to civilian or military superiors; and(5)whether the Joint Staff, the Secretary of the military department concerned, the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Chief of Space Operations, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, or the commander of the combatant command concerned recommended the action.(g)

Classified annex

If the Secretary of Defense determines that any information required under subsection (e) or (f) cannot be provided in unclassified form without harm to national security, the Secretary may submit such information in classified form, provided that—(1)the Secretary submits concurrently an unclassified notice or report containing the maximum amount of information that may be provided in unclassified form; and(2)the classified submission is provided as a classified annex to the notice or report otherwise required under this section.(h)

Rule of construction

Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the constitutional authority of the President as Commander in Chief or the authority of the Secretary of Defense to assign, reassign, or relieve officers. The exercise of such authority shall remain subject to the notification and reporting requirements of this section.