Page:Legislative History of the AAF and USAF.djvu/57

 �This Page Declassified lAW EO12958 the National Guard, and of the Army of the United States) could be appointed to higher temporary grade, not above that of colonel, without vacating his existing permanent commsion. Such appointment was to be for the duration of the war and sx months thereafter unless termmated sooner by or- der of the President, or until relieved from his duty asmgnment. Officers thug ap- pointed would be entitled to the pay, flying pay, and allowances perttuning to the rank to which they were temporarfiy appointed. Such officers were not to be ehgible to command outside of the Ar Corps, except by seniority under their permanent com- m/ssions. The advantage of the Air Corps Promotion Act lay m the blanket authority it gave the AAF to make all the promotions necessary to meet its needs, separate and apart from the authorization for promotion in other branches of the Army. It also pro- vided uniforrmty in promotion among the various components of the AAF. Without these promotions t would have been impos- sible to have provided he officer persormel in the grades needed for the successlul car- tying out of the expansion programJ Few changes were made in the laws fecting Air Corps personnel retirenent be- tween 1941 and 1944. One of these resulted from legislation strongly urged by the Air Reserve officers and passed despite War Department opposition. This act extended to a// Air Corps Reserve officers disabled while on active duty subsequent to 28 Feb- ruary 1925 the same retirement priwleges as were provided by law for officers of the Regular Army3 In 1945 Congress passed a bill providing that "Any officer who shall have served as chief or assistant chief of a branch or as commanding general of the General Head- quarters Air Force and who may subse- quently be retired, shall be retired with the rank, pay, and allowances authorized by law for the highest grade held by him as such chief, assistant chief, or commanding general." This bill became Public Law 92, 79 Cong., I Sess. on 29 June 1945J - Flying pay has aIways been a subject of great aportance to flying personnel of the AAF. It is an tarman's chief compensation for the fact that his average life expec- tancy and length of career is shorter than tha of personnel in other branches of the armed serwces. This subloot was discussed m the preceding chapter where it was noted that the Act of October 4, 1940 achieved one War Department objective in regard to flying pay by broadening the definition of flying officer and making fly- ing pay availaMe to personnel other than pilots. The oher objective, the removal of dis- cnminatory dfferences between AAF per- sonnel and those of other arms and serv- ices attached to the AAF in the rate of flying pay received, was finally removed by a provlmon of the ilitary Appropriation Act for the fiscal year 1943. Also the Pay Readjustment Act of 1942, Public Law 607, 77 Cong., 2 Sess. (approved 16 June 1942), in addition to giving a general increase in the pay and allowances of personnel of the armed services, had specified that offÉcers, warrant officers, nurses, and enhsted per- sonnel of bhe Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, and personnel of other government services mentioned in the title of the act, were to receive a pay increase amounting to 50 per cent of their base pay when required to participate regularly and frequently in aeriat flight3  Another personnel action of interest to the.AAF was the enactment on 10 April 1943 by Congress of Public Law 33, 78 Cong., 1 Sess. This law prowtied for addi- tional pay at the rate of hoe less than $30 a month for officers and men of the Army of the United States engaged as chvcrs in actual salvage and repair operations. In depths of over 90 feet, or in lesser depths under extra.hazardous condotrans, there was to be an additional payment of $5 for each hour or fractxon of an hour the diver engaged in this hazardous work. The law was oI interest to the AAF because divers would be used for salvage operations, such as recovering torpedoes which sank to the bottom of the sea m the training operations of torpedo bombardment crewsJ During the war years several important changes were made in the legislation gov- erning the paymen of dsabfiity benefits THIS PAGE Declassflied lAW EO12958