Competitive Categories
A competitive category is a separate promotion category established by a Service Secretary for specific groups of officers whose specialized education, training, or experience and often relatively narrow utilization, makes separate career management desirable.
Federal Law
10 U.S. Code § 521: Service Secretaries may prescribe the strength of any category of active-duty officers under their authority.
10 U.S. Code § 621: Under regulations prescribed by the SECDEF, Service Secretaries shall establish competitive categories for promotion. Officers sharing a competitive category shall compete with each other for promotion opportunities.
10 U.S. Code § 623: Service Secretaries establish promotion zones for each grade and competitive category and should provide relatively similar promotion opportunities over the next five years.
10 U.S. Code § 14005: Officers on a reserve active-status list (RASL) shall be placed in competitive categories as specified by the Service Secretaries. Officers sharing a competitive category shall compete with each other for promotion opportunities.
10 U.S. Code § 14305: Service secretaries establish promotion zones for each grade and competitive category for officers on the RASL and should provide relatively similar promotion opportunities over the next five years.
DoD Policy
DODI 1320.13 and DODI 1320.14: Promotion timing and opportunity may vary by competitive category, but they should be relatively similar over a period of 5 years within a competitive category. Each competitive category is subject to a limit of 10 percent of officers selected for promotion below the zone, or 15 percent with approval of the SECDEF. For Reserve Component officers, promotions are based on force requirements.
DODI 1320.14: Service Secretaries shall establish competitive categories in order to better manage the career development and promotion of certain groups of officers whose specialized education, training, or experiences, and often relatively narrow utilization, make separate career management desirable. Service Secretaries may set the number of officers authorized for each grade of each competitive category lower than actual requirements in order to meet statutory grade limitations, or higher than actual requirements when warranted by promotion flow considerations within a competitive category. The number of officers that may be recommended for promotion to any grade within a competitive category may not exceed 95 percent of the total number of officers in the promotion zone, unless there is only one officer in the promotion zone, in which case a maximum of one officer may be recommended.
Air Force Policy
AFI 36-2501: This document continues to prescribe Air Force officer procedures for officer promotions, but it is not current. It lists the following as Air Force competitive categories:
- Line of the Air Force (LAF)
- Judge Advocate General (JAG)
- Medical Corps (MC)
- Dental Corps (DC)
- Chaplains (CHAP)
- Medical Service Corps (MSC)
- Biomedical Sciences Corps (BSC)
- Nurse Corps (NC).
Since the last revision of this document, the Air Force has adopted the term development category in place of the statutory term competitive category. It has also split the Line of the Air Force category into six separate categories: Air Operations and Special Warfare, Nuclear and Missile Operations, Space Operations, Information Warfare, Combat Support, and Force Modernization.
AFI 36-2504: Reserve of the Air Force promotions are made using the same development categories as the active force. Its prescribing directive is also pending revision.
Army Policy
AR 600-3: The competitive categories for Regular Army officers are as follows:
- Maneuver, Fires and Effects
- Operations Support
- Force Sustainment
- Special Branches
- Judge Advocate General's Corps (including first lieutenants not members of The Judge Advocate General's Corps but participating in the Army General Counsel's Honors Program)
- Chaplain's Corps
- Army Nurse Corps
- Dental Corps
- Medical Corps
- Medical Service Corps
- Army Medical Specialist Corps
- Veterinary Corps.
Army Medical Specialist Corps and Medical Corps combine into a single category for promotions above the grade of O6.
AR 135-155: The competitive categories for Reserve and Guard components of the Army are as follows:
- Army Promotion List (Includes Judge Advocates)
- Chaplains
- Army Nurse Corps
- Dental Corps
- Medical Corps
- Medical Service Corps
- Army Medical Specialist Corps
- Veterinary Corps.
Army Medical Specialist Corps and Medical Corps combine into a single category for promotions above the grade of O6.
Navy Policy
OPNAVINST 1400.1C: The competitive categories established by the Department of the Navy are as follows:
- Unrestricted Line Officer
- Restricted Line Officer
- Special Duty Officer (Human Resources)
- Permanent Military Professor
- Engineering Duty Officer Qualified as a Ship Engineering Specialist
- Aerospace Engineering Duty Officer (Engineering)
- Aerospace Engineering Duty Officer (Maintenance)
- Special Duty Officer (Information Professional)
- Special Duty Officer (Public Affairs)
- Special Duty Officer (Foreign Affairs)
- Special Duty Officer (Oceanography)
- Special Duty Officer (Cryptologic Warfare)
- Special Duty Officer (Intelligence)
- Special Duty Officer (Cyber Warfare Engineer)
- Information Warfare Community
- Acquisition Line Community
- Foreign Expertise
- Limited Duty Officer (Line)
- Limited Duty Officer (Staff)
- Medical Corps Officer
- Dental Corps Officer
- Medical Service Corps Officer
- JAG Corps Officer
- Senior Health Care Executive
- Nurse Corps Officer
- Supply Corps Officer
- Chaplain Corps Officer
- Civil Engineer Corps Officer
- Limited Duty Officer (Staff)
Marine Corps Policy
MCO P1400.31C with Change 1, Marine Corps Promotion Manual, Volume 1, Officer Promotions (MARCORPROMMAN, Vol 1, OFFPROM) (2015)
Per para 1019, p. 1-13, "Competitive categories are established under SECNAVINST 1400.1B to provide for separate promotion consideration and career development for groups of offices possessing related skills and experience necessary to meet the mission objectives of the Department of the Navy. The Commandant of the Marine Corps has divided the officers Corps into five major categories:
- Unrestricted Line
- Restricted Line (Limited Duty Officers (LDOs))
- Warrant Officers/Chief Warrant Officers (WO/CWOs)
- Active Reserve (AR)
- Specialist Officers.
Officers are considered for promotion within their own competitive category on either the active-duty list (ADL) or the reserve active-status list (RASL) as applicable. For purposes of assigning a running mate, a Reserve officer is considered to be in the same competitive category as the corresponding officer on the ADL.