Evening star., 1932-05-01
Department duties not later than
June 6.

Department duties not later than
June 6.
1t is understood that provision for
age-in-grade retirement will not be
adopted for Army commissioned per-
sonnel. There have been persistent
rumors at the War Department during
the past week that this method was
contemplated in connection with the
proposed reduction in personnel. This
would be in line with the present law
for involuntary retirement in the Navy,
where captains are placed on the re
tired list at Sc years. commanders at so
and lieutenant commanders at as.
Promotions in the Army to the grades
Of first lieutenant to colonel, inclusive,
are by seniority in order of standing on
single promotion list. except for Of
ficers of the Medical Department and
chaplains, who are promoted after fixed
years Of service without regard to
vacancies. Officers spend considerable
but indeterminate number Of years in
grade before advancing to the next
higher grade. This condition is ag-
gravated by the existence in the midst
of the officer personnel of large and
heterogeneous World War hump of sew
eral thousand officers. in age from 20
commissioned service by less than two
years While a graduated scale of re-
tirement in grade at varying ages would
be better suited to the needs of the
Army, it is difficult to apply to the pres
ent promotion list because of the wide
variations in age which occur within
the same grade.
Navy.
L., ~,
in charge of research activities while
attached to the Navy Medical School.
has been transferred to the Bureau of
Medicine and Surgery at the Navy De
partment and directed to continue the
same duties Lieut.. Comdr. j. D. Price
on duty aboard the Jason, will come to
duty at the Navy Department in the
Bureau of Aeronautics. Five officers
of the Medical Corps who have been on
duty here in Washington at the Navy
Medical School will be relieved of their
school duties shortly and will go to
duty as indicated: Lieut. Comdr. Edwin
c. Ebert. about May 81, to Asiatic Sta
ton; Lieut. Comdr Samuel H. White,
about May 4. to I'd Brigade of Marines,
Nicaragua; Lieut.. Bruce E. Bradley
about May 6, to New York Naval Hos
pital; Lieut. Hubert J. Van Pennen
about May 6, to Pensacola Naval Hos
pital, and Lieut.. Robert S. Simpson,
about May 4, to Naval Hospital at
Portsmouth, N. H.
The Navy Department is devoting
considerable thought to the personnel
that would be required to man the
treaty Navy under various conditions.
With the rotating plan in effect,
whereby part of the vessels are kept
in reduced commission with only about
one-fourth of their crews on board, some
6400 line officers and $4,000 men would
be required with present enlisted allow
anceS. If all the vessels OF the treaty
Navy were maintained in commission,
however, a considerably greater number
of both officers and men would be re-
quired Navy Department calculations
indicate that with 5 appointments to
the Naval Academy allowed to each
Representative and Senator a strength
of 6,400 line officers would not be
achieved by 1910.
1t is expected that the 1892 Naval
Academy class will graduate 419 mid
Shipmen, of whom 54 will be commits
stoned in the Marine Corps or the Sup
ply Corps and 27l will remain avail
able for commissioning in the line of
the Navy, the others being physically
disqualified for a commission under the
rigid physical requirements now in force.
With the attrition that can be foreseen
at the present time, only 33 members
of this class can be commissioned unless
authority is granted that will permit
the commissioning of all Naval Academy
graduates who are physically and other
wise qualified.