What is "frocking"

vb. (present participle of frock English)

Frocking is a U.S. military term for a commissioned or non-commissioned officer selected for promotion wearing the insignia of the higher grade before the official date of promotion (the "date of rank"). An officer or NCO who has been selected for promotion may be authorized to "frock" to the next grade. The need to frock is a result of the fact that the number of people who may serve in a particular rank is restricted by federal law. Thus, even though an individual may have been selected for promotion and, for officers, confirmed by the Senate, they must often wait for a vacancy (headroom) to occur in order to be officially promoted. Frocking customs and policies vary across military services, particularly for enlisted members; in the United States Army a general officer may request authority to frock soldiers of his command; in the United States Air Force, only senior field grade and general officers are usually frocked. The United States Navy makes use of frocking much more frequently than do the Army and the Air Force. An example of this is when all new chief petty officers of the United States Navy are frocked on September 16 of each year, although their official date of rank will be at different times over the next year.