### §7018. Administrative Assistant

(a) There is an Administrative Assistant in the Department of the Army. The Administrative Assistant shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Army and shall perform duties that the Secretary considers appropriate.

(b) During a vacancy in the office of Secretary, the Administrative Assistant has charge and custody of all records, books, and papers of the Department of the Army.

(c) The Secretary may authorize the Administrative Assistant to sign, during the temporary absence of the Secretary, any paper requiring his signature. In such a case, the Administrative Assistant's signature has the same effect as the Secretary's signature.

(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 159, §3016; renumbered §3018, Pub. L. 99–433, title V, §501(a)(3), Oct. 1, 1986, 100 Stat. 1034; renumbered §7018, Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, §808(a), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1838.)

| Revised section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 3016(a)3016(b)3016(c) | 5:185.5:186.5:187. | R.S. 215; Feb. 27, 1877, ch. 69 (2d par.), 19 Stat. 241. |
| | | Mar. 4, 1874, ch. 44, 18 Stat. 19. |

3016(b)

3016(c)

5:186.

5:187.

Although 5:185, 186, and 187 are omitted from the United States Code as covered by 5:181–5, they are not so superseded and are restated in this revised section.

In subsections (a), (b), and (c), the title "Administrative Assistant" is substituted for the title "Assistant and Chief Clerk", to accord with present usage. R.S. 215 (less last sentence) is not contained in 5:185 and 186. It is also omitted from the revised section as obsolete.

In subsection (a), the words "an inferior officer" are omitted, since the Secretary's authority to appoint the Administrative Assistant makes the office an inferior office within the meaning of the Constitution. The words "perform duties that the Secretary considers appropriate" are substituted for the words "to be employed therein as he shall deem proper".

In subsection (b), the words "During a vacancy in the office of Secretary * * * has" are substituted for the words "whenever the Secretary of the Army shall be removed from office by the President of the United States, or in any other case of vacancy, shall, during such vacancy have the". The word "of" is substituted for the words "appertaining to".

In subsection (c), the words "during the temporary absence of the Secretary" are substituted for the words "When, from illness or other cause, the Secretary of War is temporarily absent from the War Department". The words "requisitions upon the Treasury Department" are omitted as surplusage. The last sentence is substituted for 5:187 (words after semicolon).

#### **Editorial Notes**

#### Amendments

2018—Pub. L. 115–232 renumbered section 3018 of this title as this section.

1986—Pub. L. 99–433 renumbered section 3016 of this title as this section.

#### **Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries**

#### Effective Date of 2018 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of amendments and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.