Emerging Options for Field-Grade Officer Promotions in the U.S. Air Force

The Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act established an alternative framework for setting promotion policies for military officers in competitive categories. The authors examine whether a shift to alternative promotion authority (APA) would be beneficial to the U.S. Air Force, how it would be implemented, and the use of related policy options--merit sequencing and lineal zone management--under either conventional or APA.