Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 70A.djvu/427

369 369 higher grade under section 5769, 5772, 5773, or 5784 of this title, he must be examined by a board of officers and certified— (1) physically fit to perform all his duties at sea, if an officer of the Navy, or at sea and in the field, if an officer of the Marine Corps; or (2) physically disqualified by wounds received in the line of duty that do not incapacitate him for other duties in the grade to which he is to be promoted. Only officers of the Medical Corps or Dental Corps are eligible to serve on these boards. § 5862. Mental, moral, and professional examination: examining boards; board members (a) Before an officer on the active list of the Navy or the Marine Corps may be permanently promoted to a higher grade, he must, except as provided in subsection (c), be examined by an examining board and certified, under section 5863 of this title, to be qualified. (b) Before an officer on the active list of the Navy below the grade of rear admiral or an officer on the active list of the Marine Corps below the grade of major general may be temporarily promoted to a higher grade under section 5769, 5772, 5773, or 5784 of this title, he must be examined by an examining board and certified, under section 5863 of this title, to be qualified. (c) An officer who has successfully passed the mental, moral, and professional examination for temporary promotion to a grade under subsection (b) may not again be examined for permanent appointment in that irrade. (d) Each board for the mental, moral, and professional examination of officers shall be convened by the President or, when authorized by the Secretary of the Navy, by the senior officer present, or other commanding officer, on a foreign station. A board convened by a senior officer present, or other commanding officer, on a foreign station may only examine officers who are under the command of the convening authority and who are directed to appear before the board. (e) Each examining board convened under this section shall be composed of commissioned officers of the naval service. A t least three members must act in each case. No member may act in the case of any officer senior to him. § 5863. Examining boards: procedure (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), an examining board convened under section 5862 of this title may take testimony and may examine all matter in the records of the executive part of the Department of the Navy relating to the case of any officer that it is considering. The president of a board shall administer the oath to all witnesses who testify in person before the board. A record shall be made of the examination and statement of the officer and of the testimony of the witnesses. (b) The report of an examining board convened under section 5862 of this title, recommending an officer for promotion, is conclusive, after its approval, as to any fact concerning that officer that was considered and decided upon by the examining board. Such a fact may not again be considered by a later examining board unless it is a continuing one and shows the unfitness of the officer to perform his

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