10 U.S.C. § 8135Section
§ 8135. Regular Marine Corps: order of filling vacancies in grade of second lieutenant
Vacancies on the active-duty list of the Marine Corps in the grade of second lieutenant shall be filled, so far as practicable, first, from members of the graduating class of the Naval Academy; second, from meritorious noncommissioned officers of the Regular Marine Corps; and third, from other persons.
(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 324, §5585; Pub. L. 96–513, title V, §503(29), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2913; renumbered §8135, Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, §807(b)(4), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1834.)