Marine Corps Times reports:
Thirty-five percent of first lieutenants vying for promotion this year were instead sent packing by a board tasked with tightening junior-officer ranks.
. . .
The February Career Designation Officer Review Board, the first of two that met in 2011, offered 449 first lieutenants, or 65 percent, a continuing career on active duty. More than 200 first lieutenants were not selected for promotion. It’s part of the career designation program, a force-shaping effort that assesses Marine officers in five career categories: combat arms, combat service support, aviation support, aviation and law.
Lieutenants in aviation and law fields are designated “all fully qualified” because they are in high-demand military occupational specialties, and with the time invested in their training, they are difficult to grow.