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H. R. 17250, Seventieth Congress, second session

A BILL To regulate promotion in the Army, 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 aggregate number of commissioned officers of the Regular Army and Philippine Scouts on the active list shall not exceed the number now or hereafter expressly authorized by law, and all such officers, except officers of the Air Corps, the Medical Department, chaplains, and professors, shall be designated as promotion-list officers. The number of promotion-list officers in each of the grades below brigadier general shall be such as results from the operation of the promotion system prescribed in this act, and shall not be otherwise limited: Provided, That except as otherwise in this act prescribed, the aggregate number of promotion-list colonels and lieutenants colonels shall not exceed 15 per centum, and the number of promotion-list field officers shall not be less than 26 per centum, of the maximum aggregate number of promotion-list officers authorized by law.

The

SEC. 2. That all promotions under this act shall be subject to such examination as shall have been required by authority of law. Promotion-list officers in the grades of second lieutenant, first lieutenant, captain, major, and lieutenant colonel shall, except as otherwise prescribed in this act, be promoted to the respective next higher grade when their names appear first in their grade upon the promotion list, and when, under provisions of this act, they are credited with three, ten, fifteen, twenty, and twenty-six years of service, respectively. promotion of majors credited with twenty years of service shall be deferred so long as necessary to prevent the limitation of 15 per centum herein before prescribed for the combined grades of colonel and lieutenant colonel being exceeded, and no officer shall be promoted to the grade of colonel until he shall have served at least two years in the grade of lieutenant colonel: Provided, That promotionlist officers not promoted from the grade of major under the foregoing provisions shall be promoted to the grade of lieutenant colonel when, under provision of this act, they are credited for promotion purposes with not less than twenty years of service and are also not less than fifty-two years of age, and officers so promoted under this proviso shall be promoted to the grade of colonel when credited with twenty-six years of service, or as soon thereafter as they shall have served not less than two years in the grade of lieutenant colonel and shall be additional numbers in the grades of lieutenant colonel and colonel and shall not be counted in computing the maximum percentage herein before prescribed for such grades: Provided further, That in the application of the foregoing proviso each United States Military Academy class shall be treated as a unit as of the average age of the members of the class: Provided further, That the class graduated from the United States Military Academy on August 30, 1917, shall be promoted to the grades of lieutenant colonel and colonel when, under the provisions of this act, they are credited with twenty and twenty-six years of service, respectively, and without limitations as to age, and shall not be counted in computing the maximum percentage herein before prescribed for such grades: And provided further, That all officers appointed as of July 1, 1920, in the Regular Army in the grade of captain shall on July 1, 1930, be promoted to the grade of major and shall rank below all majors whose commission as major is dated prior to July 1, 1930, and shall rank above all other majors whose commission as major is dated on or after July 1, 1930, and shall take rank among themselves according to age, the oldest first, and where their age is the same, according to the alphabetical arrangement of names. The foregoing officers whose promotion to the grade of major is herein above directed shall on July 1, 1935, be promoted to the grade of lieutenant colonel and on July 1, 1940, shall be promoted to the grade of colonel, their rank among those of their respective grades and among themselves to be determined as herein above provided for the grade of major: Provided, That any numerical restriction placed on any one or more of said grades

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shall not delay the promotion of the officers included in this proviso, and any of the said officers whose promotion to any of the said grades would result in a total above the prescribed numerical limitation shall nevertheless be promoted and carried as extra numbers in their respective grades. In so far as necessary to maintain the prescribed minimum of field officers, captains credited with less than fifteen years of service shall be promoted in the order of their standing upon the promotion list.

SEC. 3. That the Secretary of War shall cause to be prepared an Air Corps promotion list on which shall be placed the names of all officers of the Air Corps of the Regular Army below the grade of colonel. The names on this list shall be arranged in the same relative order that they now have on the Army promotion list and shall be removed from the Army promotion list, and no officer whose name appears on the original Air Corps promotion list shall be considered as having less commissioned service than any officer whose name is below his on this list. All officers commissioned in the Air Corps after the formation of the original Air Corps promotion list shall be placed thereon in accordance with length of commissioned service. Any officer whose position on the Air Corps promotion list is changed by sentence of a general court-martial or by law shall be deemed to have the same commissioned service as the officer next below whom he may be placed by such change.

Except as herein provided Air Corps flying officers shall be promoted to the grade of first lieutenant when credited with three years' commissioned service; to the grade of captain when credited with seven years' commissioned service; to the grade of major when credited with twelve years' commissioned service; to the grade of lieutenant colonel when credited with twenty years' commissioned service; to the grade of colonel when credited with twenty-six years' commissioned service. All flying officers of the Air Corps below the grade of colonel shall be promoted in the order of their standing on the Air Corps promotion list: Provided, That the number fo Air Corps officers in the grade of colonel shall not be less than 4 per centum nor more than 6 per centum and the number in the grade of lieutenant colonel shall not be less than 5 per centum nor more than 8 per centum of the total number of Air Corps officers authorized by law, and the aggregate number of Air Corps officers in the grades of colonel, lieutenant colonel, and major shall not be less than 26 per centum not more than 40 per centum of the total number of Air Corps officers authorized by law, and in so far as necessary to maintain said minimum percentage, Air Corps flying officers of less than the required years of commissioned service shall be promoted to the grades of colonel, lieutenant colonel, and major and only in so far as their promotion will not cause said maximum percentages to be exceeded shall officers who have completed the prescribed years of commissioned service be promoted to the grades of colonel lieutenant colonel, and major. Nonflying officers of the Air Corps shall be promoted as provided in this act for other branches of the Army.

When an officer of the Air Corps has served thirty years either as an officer or soldier, he shall, if he makes application therefor to the President, be retired from active service and placed on the retired list: Provided, That, except in time of war, in computing the length of service for retirement, credit shall be given for one and one-half the time heretofore or hereafter actually detailed to duty involving flying, and credit shall also be given for all other time now counted toward retirement in the Army: Provided further, That the number of such voluntary retirements annually shall not exceed 6 per centum of the authorized commissioned strength of the Air Corps. When a flying officer of the Air Corps reaches the age of fifty-four years he shall, if he makes application therefor to the President, be retired from active service and placed on the retired list. Officers of the Air Corps who become physically disqualified for the performance of their duties as flying officers shall be eligible for retirement for physical disability.

An officer of the Air Corps may, upon his own request, be transferred to another branch of the service, and when so transferred shall take rank and grade therein in accordance with his length of commissioned service as computed under existing laws governing the branch to which transferred.

SEC. 4. Length of service for promotion of promotion-list officers under this act shall be computed as follows:

First, each promotion-list officer originally commissioned in the Regular Army prior to July 2, 1920, without prior Federal commissioned service, whose active commissioned service shall have been continuous since acceptance of original commission, shall be credited with the full period from the date of such original commission;

Second, each promotion-list officer commissioned in the Regular Army or Philippine Scouts as of a date prior to July 2, 1920, who is not included in the category defined in the preceding subparagraph shall be credited with a length of service equal to that accredited to the officer of said category whose name appears nearest above his on the promotion list;

Third, each promotion-list officer originally commissioned in the grade of second lieutenant in the Regular Army or Philippine Scouts after July 1, 1920, shall be credited only with the period of service from the date of such original commission: Provided, That each promotion-list officer not included in any of the foregoing categories and each officer of said categories whose original relative position on the promotion list shall have been changed by sentence of courtmartial, by special enactment, by discontinuity of his active service, or by suspension from promotion, shall be credited with such length of service for promotion as the Secretary of War shall determine to be appropriate to his relative position on the promotion list.

SEC. 5. That, on and after the date of the passage of this act, Hunter Liggett, Tasker H. Bliss, and Robert L. Bullard, major generals, United States Army, retired, shall have the rank of lieutenant general on the retired list of the United States Army, and shall receive pay and allowances determined as provided by law for major generals on the retired list: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed so as to revive the rank of lieutenant general for any other than the three persons herein named.

SEC. 6. That the President is hereby authorized to place on the retired list of the Army as a major general, with the retired pay of that grade, the officer who was the first Chief of Finance of the Army, and who was placed on the retired list as a brigadier general while holding that office.

SEC. 7. That hereafter licensed officers of the Army Transport Service who have reached the age of sixty-four years and who have served twenty-five years or more on Army transports, who have become physically unfit for service on line of duty, shail be retired.

Such persons when so retired shall receive compensation equal to threefourths of their average annual pay received for the last five years of active service: Provided, That such retirement pay shall not include any amount on account of subsistence or other allowance.

SEC. 8. That except as specifically provided in this act, nothing therein shall be held or construed to discharge any officer from the Regular Army or to deprive him of the commission which he holds therein, or to reduce the rank or pay, active or retired, of any officer therein.

SEC. 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 1929, except sections 5 and 6, which shall take effect immediately: Provided, That each officer promoted on July 1, 1929, under the provisions of this act shall be commissioned as of, and shall take rank from, the earliest date subsequent to the date of approval of this act when he became eligible for such promotion under the rules prescribed in this act; and each officer promoted under existing laws between the date of approved of this act and July 1, 1929, shall, on July 1, 1929, be recommissioned in the grade to which so promoted with rank from the date of approval of this act; and any officer who shall be retired subsequent to the approval of this act and before July 1, 1929, shall be retired in the grade to which he is entitled on the date of such retirement under the rules prescribed in this act.

SUBSTITUTE SUGGESTED BY MR. JAMES

Strike out all of section 8, lines 7-18, page 14, and substitute therefor the following:

"SEC. 8. (a) Any commissioned officer who served in the Army of the United States during the World War, and who has been or may be hereafter retired according to law, shall be entitled to bear the official title and to wear the uniform of the highest grade held by him during the World War; and his name shall be borne on the Official Army Register with such grade: Provided, That no officer retired under the provisions of section 24b of the act of June 4, 1920, shall be entitled to the rights and privileges accorded by this section: Provided further, That no increase of retired pay or allowances shall result from the provisions of this subsection."

This will give retired officers who served in the World War, except those in class B, the rights and privileges that were conferred by the act of July 28, 1866, upon all officers, active and retired, who served in the volunteers during the Civil War. No new appointments will be made and new commissions will not be issued.

"(b) Any person who held a temporary commission as an officer of the Army of the United States during the World War, and who has been or may be hereafter honorably discharged from the military service by resignation or otherwise, shall be entitled to bear the official title, and, upon occasions of ceremony, to wear the uniform of the highest grade held by him during that war."

This will do for former officers of the World War in civil life, just what was done for veterans of the Civil War by the act of July 28, 1886, and for veterans of the Spanish-American War and Philippine insurrection by section 34 of the act of February 2, 1901.

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(c) Any person who was in the military service of the United States during the World War, and who has been, or may be hereafter retired or honorably discharged, and who, during said war, was recommended for appointment or promotion as a commissioned officer, but who, on account of the exigencies of the service and through no fault of his own, failed to receive such appointment or promotion, shall be entitled to bear the official title, and upon occasions of ceremony, to wear the uniform of the grade to which he was so recommended: Provided, That no officer retired under the provisions of section 24b of the act of June 4, 1920, shall be entitled to the benefits of this subsection: And provided further, That no back pay or allowances, or increase of retired pay or allowances shall result from the provisions of this subsection."

House Report No. 2694, Seventieth Congress, second session

TO DEFINE THE PROMOTION LIST OF THE ARMY

FEBRUARY 23, 1929.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. MORIN, from the Committee on Military Affairs, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 17250]

The Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 17250) to regulate promotion in the Army and for other purposes, introduced by Mr. Morin, having considered the same, report thereon with the recommendation that it do pass.

The problem of promotion and retirement for officers of the Army is one that has been continuously before the Military Affairs Committee since 1926, and is a subject that has been under consideration by both Congress and the War Department since 1920. During the present Congress, various bills on this subject have been reported to the House. The following extracts taken from reports on these various bills explain the general situation. The bill which is here presented represents the conclusions of the Committee on Military Affairs on this subject. The Secretary of War and the Chief of Staff of the Army have both recently appeared before the committee and again have emphasized the great importance of enacting legislation on this subject at this session of Congress. Your committee feels that the subject has reached the stage where final action can now be properly taken. The following is an extract from the report on H. R. 13509, submitted on May 9, 1928:

During the present session of Congress, a subcommittee of the Military Affairs Committee has devoted a great deal of time and thought to consideration of this problem.

Pursuant to an act of Congress approved July 2, 1926, the Secretary of War investigated and studied the alleged injustices which exist in the promotion list of the Army and submitted to Congress in December, 1926, a study which contained his recommendations as to what should be done in order to relieve the situation which these studies showed exist in the Army. In transmitting the study at that time the Secretary of War stated:

"So vital to the national defense are all matters pertaining to the efficiency of our commissioned personnel that in making this study and investigation all

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