Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 52.djvu/992

 52 STAT.] 75TH CONG. , 3D SESS.-CH. 598-JUNE 23, 1938 (1) All line officers of the Navy who have been specially com- mended for their performance of duty in actual combat by the head of the executive department under whose jurisdiction such duty was performed, when retired, except as provided in section 12 (h) of this Act, shall, upon retirement, be placed upon the retired list with the rank of the next higher grade and with three-fourths of the active-duty pay of the grade in which serving at the time of retirement. SEC. 13. (a) Should it be found in time of peace at the end of any fiscal year that the average number of vacancies in the grade of rear admiral for the fiscal years subsequent to the passage of this Act has been less than eight, the Secretary of the Navy shall convene a board consisting of the Chief of Naval Operations, the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, and the Commander, Battle Force, to recom- mend for retirement a sufficient number of rear admirals to cause the aforesaid average number of vacancies. (b) The report of the board shall be submitted to the President for approval or disapproval; if the President shall disapprove the recommendations of the board in whole or in part, the board shall then recommend additional officers for retirement equal in number to those disapproved by the President. (c) Officers so recommended for retirement and approved by the President shall be placed upon the retired list on June 30 of the fiscal year of the approval of the report of the board, with retired pay at the rate of 75 per centum of their active-duty pay. PROBATIONARY APPOINTMENTS OF OFFICERS SEC. 14. (a) The Secretary of the Navy, under such regulations as he may prescribe, may hereafter revoke the commission of any officer on the active list, initially commissioned after the date of this Act, who, at the date of said revocation has had less than seven years of continuous service as a commissioned officer of the line of the Navy or of the Marine Corps, and each officer whose commission is so revoked shall be discharged from the naval service: Provided, That the selection boards considering lieutenant (junior grade) shall report the name of officers of that grade whom they consider lacking in aptitude for the naval service, and the commissions of officers so reported shall be revoked: Provided further, That no officer dis- charged by reason of revocation of commission within a period of probation shall receive advanced pay or allowances upon such discharge. (b) If there be in any year an excess number of graduates of the Naval Academy available for commission in the line of the Navy over that number which in the opinion of the Secretary of the Navy, will satisfactorily meet the needs of the Navy for commissioned officers, such excess number of graduates shall be given a certificate of gradu- ation and an honorable discharge with one year's pay if they are designated by the academic board of the Naval Academy as having an aptitude for the naval service: Provided, That only those mid- shipmen who are designated by the academic board of the Naval Academy as having an aptitude for the naval service shall be ini- tially commissioned, all other graduates to be given a certificate of graduation and an honorable discharge without pay. MARINE CORPS SEC. 15. (a) The rank among themselves of officers of the Marine Corps appointed from sources other than the Naval Academy with the same date of commission shall be determined on promotion to first lieutenant by boards of officers under such rules as may be 951 Officers specially commended for com- bat duty. Rear admirals. Maintenance of av- erage annual number of vacancies. Report to dent. Presi- Retirement of rec- ommended, etc., offi- cers. Probationary ap- pointments. Revocation of com- mission; discharge. Provisoa. Officers lacking in aptitude to be re- ported. No advanced pay, etc. Naval Academy surplus graduates, cer- tificates of graduation and an honorable dis- charge. Proviso. Aptitude require- mentforcommission. Marine Corps. Determination of rank, officers appoint- ed from sources other than Naval Academy.

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