(a) A selection board convened to recommend officers for promotion shall recommend those eligible officers whom the board, giving due consideration to the needs of the Coast Guard for officers with particular skills so noted in specific direction furnished to the board by the Secretary under section 2115 of this title, considers best qualified of the officers under consideration for promotion. No officer may be recommended for promotion unless he receives the recommendation of at least a majority of the members of a board composed of five members, or at least two-thirds of the members of a board composed of more than five members.

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(b) The number of officers that a board convened under section 2106 of this title may recommend for promotion to a grade below rear admiral (lower half) from among eligible officers junior in rank to the junior officer in the appropriate promotion zone may not exceed—

(1) 5 percent of the total number of officers that the board is authorized to recommend for promotion to the grade of lieutenant or lieutenant commander;

(2) 7½ percent of the total number of officers that the board is authorized to recommend for promotion to the grade of commander; and

(3) 10 percent of the total number of officers that the board is authorized to recommend for promotion to the grade of captain;

unless such percentage is a number less than one, in which case the board may recommend one such officer for promotion.

(c)(1) In selecting the officers to be recommended for promotion, a selection board may recommend officers of particular merit, from among those officers chosen for promotion, to be placed at the top of the list of selectees promulgated by the Secretary under section 2121(a) of this title. The number of officers that a board may recommend to be placed at the top of the list of selectees may not exceed three times the percentages set forth in subsection (b) unless such a percentage is a number less than one, in which case the board may recommend one officer for such placement. No officer may be recommended to be placed at the top of the list of selectees unless he or she receives the recommendation of at least a majority of the members of a board composed of five members, or at least two-thirds of the members of a board composed of more than five members.

(2) The Secretary shall conduct a survey of the Coast Guard officer corps to determine if implementation of this subsection will improve Coast Guard officer retention. A selection board may not make any recommendation under this subsection before the date on which the Secretary publishes a finding, based upon the results of the survey, that implementation of this subsection will improve Coast Guard officer retention.

(3) The Secretary shall submit any finding made by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (2) to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.