(a) Requirement.—Each officer selected for promotion to the grade of brigadier general or, in the case of the Navy or the commissioned officer corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, rear admiral (lower half) shall be required, after such selection, to attend a military education course designed specifically to prepare new general and flag officers to work with the other uniformed services.

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(b) Waiver Authority.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Commerce, as applicable, may waive subsection (a)—

(A) in the case of an officer whose immediately previous assignment was in a joint duty assignment and who is thoroughly familiar with joint matters;

(B) when necessary for the good of the service;

(C) in the case of an officer whose proposed selection for promotion is based primarily upon scientific and technical qualifications for which joint requirements do not exist (as determined under regulations prescribed under section 619(e)(4) ¹ of this title); and

(D) in the case of a medical officer, dental officer, veterinary officer, medical service officer, nurse, biomedical science officer, or chaplain.

(2) The authority of the Secretary of Defense to grant a waiver under paragraph (1) may only be delegated to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, an Under Secretary of Defense, or an Assistant Secretary of Defense. Such a waiver may be granted only on a case-by-case basis in the case of an individual officer.