[54 STAT. PUBLIC LAWS-CH. 420 -JUNE 25, 1940 Officers passed over. Precedence, etc., of promoted captains. Proviso. Existing relative precedence, etc. Precedence, etc., of promoted command- ers and lieutenant commanders. Officers on aeronau- tial-engineering duty, designation. Repeal. Assignment of offi- cers to engineering duty only. Additional numbers in grade, etc. Number of rear ad- mirals for engineering duty only. Vacancies. Proviso. Information to be furnished line selec- tion boards. Advancement to rank of rear admiral. Number of vacan- cies. (b) Each officer who at the time of transfer has been passed over one or more times in the rank in which transferred shall be regarded as having failed of selection as best fitted once only. (c) Each captain whose date of commission in such rank is earlier than February 2, 1932, shall, if promoted pursuant to the recom- mendation of the first line selection board convened for his rank after the date of this Act, have the date of commission and the precedence which the Secretary of the Navy finds that he would have had if he had remained in the line or if his original appointment had been in the line: Provided, That his existing relative rank, precedence, or seniority shall not be altered thereby with reference to other such officers advanced to the rank of rear admiral pursuant to the recommendation of the same or an earlier selection board. (d) Commanders and lieutenant commanders who, while in the rank in which transferred, have been considered by staff selection boards shall, if promoted pursuant to the recommendation of the first line selection board convened for their rank after the date of approval of this Act, have the date of commission and the precedence which the Secretary of the Navy finds that they would have had if such promotion had occurred prior to their transfer. ADDITIONAL OFFICERS TO BE DESIGNATED FOR ENGNEEBING DITT ONLY: STATUS AND DIDU'rT SBo. 4. (a) Officers heretofore appointed or designated for the performance of aeronautical-engineering duty only in accordance with the Act of June 5, 1935 (49 Stat. 323; I. S. C., Supp. V, title 34, sec. 71a), are hereby designated for engineering duty only and no further appointments or designations shall be made under that Act, which is hereby repealed. (b) The provision of the Act approved August 29, 1916 (39 Stat. 580; U. S. C., title 34, sec. 71), which authorizes the assignment of officers "not below the grade of lieutenant" to engineering duty only is hereby amended by deleting the word "lieutenant" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "lieutenant (junior grade)". (c) Officers designated for engineering duty only shall be addi- tional numbers in grade and shall not succeed to command except on shore and then only as authorized by the Secretary of the Navy. SEC. 5. (a) The number of rear admirals designated for engineering duty only shall be reduced to six, as provided in this section, and thereafter that number shall be the permanent authorized number of such officers. In the meantime, only the first and each alternate succeeding separation of such officers from the active list shall be deemed to create a vacancy, and if more than one vacancy should result in any fiscal year the excess shall not be filled, but the next succeeding separation from the active list shall be regarded as the alternate succeeding separation within the meaning of this section: Provided,That the line selection boards convened in the fiscal years 1941 and 1942 to recommend captains for promotion to the grade of rear admiral shall be furnished by the Secretary of the Navy with an estimated number of vacancies in that grade for officers designated for engineering duty only, which number shall be four and two, respectively, regardless of the number of officers separated from the active list. (b) Officers transferred to the line of the Navy pursuant to the provisions of section 2 of this Act who, at the time of transfer, have been recommended for advancement to the rank of rear admiral, and those who may be so recommended in the report of the selection 528
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