Volume 73 · 334
Public Law 86–155
To provide improved opportunity for promotion for certain officers in the naval service, and for other purposes.
Approved August 11, 1959
Statutory text
AN ACT
To provide improved opportunity for promotion for certain officers in the naval service, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That
the Secretary
Navy, officer promotions.
of the Navy may, whenever the needs of the service require, convene selection boards, or direct boards convened under chapter 543 of title 10, United States Code, to recommend for continuation on
70A Stat. 336–345.
10 USC 5701–5711.
the active list officers of the Regular Navy and the Regular Marine Corps described in subsection (c) and shall convene or direct such boards to recommend for continuation on the active list officers of the Regular Navy and the Regular Marine Corps described in subsections (e)–(g). Except as otherwise provided in this section, the provisions of chapter 543 of title 10, United States Code (other than section 5701(e)), concerning boards to recommend captains, commanders, colonels, or lieutenant colonels for promotion, apply to each board convened under this subsection.
Each board convened under subsection (a) to consider captains in the Medical Service Corps or the Nurse Corps shall consist of not less than three or more than nine officers on the active list or the retired list of the Regular Navy in the grade of captain or above, two-thirds of whom are officers in the Medical Corps and one-third of whom are officers in the corps concerned. To be eligible for membership on such a board, an officer on the active list in the Medical Service Corps or the Nurse Corps must have been recommended for continuation on the active list by an earlier board convened under this section. When there is an insufficient number of officers of the Medical Service Corps or the Nurse Corps available to serve, the Secretary shall complete the minimum required membership by appointing as members of the board officers or the Regular Navy in the Medical Corps.
Each officer of the Regular Navy or the Regular Marine Corps who has served on active duty for more than five years, who is not on a promotion list, and who will complete at least five years of service in the grade of captain in the Navy or colonel in the Marine Corps by June 30 of the fiscal year in which a board is convened under this section is eligible for consideration for continuation on the active list by that board. An officer who has once been recommended for continuation while serving in the grade of captain or colonel by such a board may not be considered by a subsequent board convened under this section and is not subject to the provisions of subsection (e) or (f). For purposes of this subsection, an officer is considered as serving in the grade of captain in the Navy or colonel in the Marine Corps from the date of rank assigned him upon appointment to that grade under
70A Stat. 320–331; 72 Stat. 1493–1495.
70A Stat. 345–368.
chapter 539 or 545 or title 10, United States Code, until the effective date of his appointment in the next higher grade under chapter 545 of title 10, United States Code.
When the Secretary convenes a board under this section to consider any category of officers described in subsection (c) or (e), he shall establish a continuation zone for that category. The continuation zone for each category shall include such number of officers as the Secretary determines to be necessary to best meet the needs of the service. The senior officer in a continuation zone, for each category of officers, shall be designated by the Secretary. When the Secretary convenes a board to consider for continuation a category of officers for which a continuation board has been previously convened, the senior officer for that category shall be the officer next junior to the most junior officer of that category considered for continuation by the preceding board. The junior officer in each continuation zone shall be designated by the Secretary. In each category, all officers junior to the senior officer and senior to the junior officer in a continuation zone shall be in the continuation zone for that category. Only officers who are in a continuation zone may be considered for continuation by a selection board.
Each officer not restricted in the performance of duty serving in the grade of captain on the active list in the line of the Regular Navy, each officer serving in the grade of captain on the active list of the Regular Navy in the Supply Corps, the Chaplain Corps, or the Civil Engineer Corps, and each officer not restricted in the per-formance of duty serving in the grade of colonel on the active list of the Regular Marine Corps who is not on a promotion list, who has not been previously recommended for continuation in the approved report of a board, and who has at least twice failed of selection to the grade of rear admiral in the Navy or brigadier general in the Marine Corps is eligible for consideration for continuation on the active list by a board convened under this section.
Each officer designated for supply duty serving in the grade of colonel on the active list of the Regular Marine Corps who is not on a promotion list, who has not been previously recommended for continuation in the approved report of a board, and who will complete at least twenty-seven years of total commissioned service, as computed under section 6387 of title 10, United States Code, by
June 30 of the fiscal year in which a board is convened under this section is eligible for consideration for continuation on the active list by that board.
Each officer on the active list of the Regular Navy or the Regular Marine Corps serving in the grade of commander or lieutenant colonel (except an officer designated for limited duty, an officer in the Nurse Corps, or a woman officer appointed under section 5590 of title 10, United States Code) who is not on a promotion list,
who has not been previously recommended for continuation in the approved report of a board, and who has at least twice failed of selection for promotion to the grade of captain in the Navy or colonel in the Marine Corps is eligible for consideration for continuation on the active list by a board convened under this section.
The Secretary shall furnish the appropriate selection board convened under this section with the names of the officers who shall be considered by the board and, based on the needs of the service, the number of these officers by categories that may be recommended for continuation on the active list. Of the officers considered for continuation by each selection board, the board shall recommend those officers whom the board considers best qualified for continuation on the active list. Each board shall certify in its written report that in the opinion of at least two-thirds of the acting members of the board the officers recommended are selected as best qualified for continued service on the active list. Of the officers considered but not recommended for continuation on the active list the board shall further report the names of any officers whose performance of duty would not warrant retention on the active list under any circumstances. Each board shall certify in its written report that in the opinion of two-thirds of the acting members of the board, based on the information available to the board, the performance of duty of each such officer whose name is so reported would not warrant retention on the active list under any circumstances. The report of each board shall be submitted to the President and shall become final upon his approval.
Unless sooner selected for promotion to the next higher grade, each officer who is considered for continuation on the active list by a board convened under this section and who is not recommended for continuation in the approved report of the board, shall, notwithstanding any other provision of law except subsection (j) or (k), be retired on June 30 of the fiscal year in which the report of the board is approved or in which he completes 20 years of total commissioned service, as computed under section 6387 or 6388 of title 10, United
70A Stat. 408, 409.
States Code, whichever is later.
An officer in a grade below rear admiral on the active list of the Regular Navy who has the rank of rear admiral while serving in a statutory office and who would be retired under this Act may have his date of retirement deferred by the Secretary during the period the officer has the rank of rear admiral and has not attained the age of sixty-two years.
If the report of a board that considers officers for continuation on the active list under this section is approved less than six months before the end of the fiscal year, the retirement of officers who were considered but not recommended for continuation by that board shall be deferred until the first day of the seventh month following the month in which the report of the board is approved.
Sec. 2.
An officer who is retired under this Act, unless otherwise entitled to a higher retired grade or higher retired pay, shall be retired in the grade in which he was serving at the time of retirement and is entitled to retired pay at the rate of 2½ percent of the basic pay to which he would be entitled if serving on active duty in the grade in which retired multiplied by the number of years of
72 Stat. 130, 1451.
service that may be credited to him under section 1405 of title 10, United States Code.
The retired pay of any officer retired under this Act may not be less than 50 percent or more than 75 percent of the basic pay upon which the computation of retired pay is based.
In determining the total number of years of service to be used as a multiplier in computing retired pay under subsection (b), and in determining the resultant number of years of early retirement under subsection (d), a part of a year that is six months or more is counted as a whole year and a part of a year that is less than six months is disregarded.
An officer who on the date of enactment of this Act is serving in the grade of captain or commander in the Regular Navy or colonel or lieutenant colonel in the Regular Marine Corps or is on a promotion list for promotion to one of those grades, who is not thereafter recommended for promotion to a higher grade, and whose name has not been reported in the approved report of a board in compliance with subsection 1(h) of this Act, and who is retired under this Act shall be paid, in addition to his retired pay, a lump-sum payment of $2,000, effective on the date of his retirement.
An officer who has the qualifications specified in subsection (d) and who has been considered but not recommended for continuation on the active list pursuant to section 1 of this Act shall be considered for the purpose of subsection (d) as being retired under this Act if the officer retires voluntarily prior to the date specified for his retirement under this Act.
An officer who is retired under this Act shall thereafter be considered as having retired voluntarily pursuant to section 6323
of title 10, United States Code.
Sec. 3.
Notwithstanding section 1431 of title 10, United States
Code, a change of an election made under that section by an officer who is retired under this Act is effective if made at such a time that it would have been effective had he been retired on the date prescribed
70A Stat. 402; 71 Stat. 384; 70A Stat. 404.
by section 6376, 6377, or 6379 of title 10, United States Code, as appropriate, and a revocation of an election made under that section by an officer retired under this Act is effective if made before his retirement.
Sec. 4.
Until December 31, 1964, the Secretary of the Navy may establish zones of consideration for male officers of the Marine Corps serving in the grade of major, in addition to or instead of the promotion
zones authorized by sections 5765 (b) and (c) of title 10, United States Code. The zone of consideration for that grade shall include such number of officers who are eligible for consideration for promotion as the Secretary determines to best meet the needs of the Marine Corps. The senior officer and the junior officer in a zone of consideration shall be designated by the Secretary. All officers junior to the senior officer and senior to the junior officer in a zone of consideration shall be in the zone of consideration. The zone of consideration for officers designated for supply duty shall consist of those officers who are junior to the senior officer and senior to the junior officer in the corresponding zone of consideration for officers not restricted in the performance of duty. Only officers who are in a zone of consideration or who are senior thereto may be considered by the selection board. Notwithstanding any other provision of law except the second sentence of subsection (c) of this section, the selection board may recommend as best fitted for promotion, from among the officers who are in or senior to a zone of consideration, the number of officers serving in the grade of major that the board is authorized to recommend for promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel. An officer who is included within a zone of consideration but is not within or senior to a promotion zone and who is not selected for promotion is not considered as having failed of selection for any purpose.
Whenever a zone of consideration is established for the grade of major pursuant to this section the term “promotion zone” as used in section 5759(b) of title 10, United States Code, is synonymous
with the term “zone of consideration”.
Notwithstanding the last sentence of section 5765(b) of title 10, United States Code, the Secretary shall, until December 31, 1964,
determine the number of officers of the Marine Corps in a promotion zone for promotion to lieutenant colonel on the basis of a consideration of the number of vacancies estimated for the grade of lieutenant colonel in the next five years, the required number of vacancies in the grade of major, and the age and service characteristics of the officers in the grade of major. The Secretary may, until December 31, 1964, specify the maximum number of officers who may be recommended for promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel from within and above a promotion zone established under section 5765 of title 10,
United States Code. That portion of section 5765(b) of title 10, United States Code, which reads “in order to maintain a flow of promotion consistent with the terms of service set out in section 5768
of this title and” is suspended until December 31, 1964, for the grade of major.
Sec. 5.
The President may suspend any provision of section 1 or 4 of this Act during a war or national emergency hereafter declared. Such a suspension may not continue beyond June 30 of the fiscal year following that in which the war or national emergency ends.
Sec. 6.
Section 6387(b)(2) of title 10, United States Code, is
amended by striking out the words “is, or at any time has been,” and inserting the words “has been continuously” in place thereof.
Sec. 7.
No officer of the Navy in the Medical Corps, the Dental Corps, the Medical Service Corps, or the Nurse Corps is subject to the provisions of this Act during the effective period of the Act of June 27, 1957, Public Law 85–62 (71 Stat. 208), as now or hereafter
50 USC app. 454 note.
amended.
Sec. 8.
Section 1 of this Act shall have no further force or effect after June 30, 1965.
Sec. 9.
Chapter 561 of title 10, United States Code, is
amended—
by repealing section 6150; and
by striking out the following item in the analysis:
This section becomes effective on November 1, 1959.
Sec. 10.
Chapter 11 of title 14, United States Code, is amended—
by repealing sections 239 and 309, and
by striking out the following items in the analysis:
This section becomes effective on November 1, 1959.
Approved August 11, 1959.