An Act to revise certain laws relating to warrant officers of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, and for other purposes
PL 83-379 (H.R.6374), enacted 05/29/1954

68 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 379-MAY 29, 1954 
157 
been settled by the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Treas-
ury be, and he is hereby, authorized to pay, out of any money in the 
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, in full settlement of all such 
claims, the respective sums found to be due in the reports of the Secre-
tary of the Navy to Congress dated November 26,1951, and November 
12, 1952, submitted pursuant to Public Law 637, Eightieth Congress 
(62 Stat. 389) : Provided^ That no part of the amount appropriated 
in this Act in excess of 10 per centum thereof shall be paid or delivered 
to or received by any agent or attorney on account of services rendered 
in connection with this claim, and the same shall be unlawful, any 
contract to the contrary notwithstanding. Any person violating the 
provisions of this Act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and 
upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding $1,000. 
Approved May 28, 1954. 
Public Law 379 
CHAPTER 249 
^^ 
^^^ 
May 29, 1954 
To revise certain laws relating to warrant officers of the Army, Navy, Air Force, 
[H. R. 6374] 
Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That this Act may be 
cited as the "Warrant Officer Act of 1954". 
Warrant Off icer 
Act of 1954. 
DEFINITIONS 
SEC. 2. For the purposes of this Act— 
(a) The term "Secretary", unless otherwise qualified, means the 
Secretary of the Army, with respect to the Army; the Secretary of the 
Navy, with respect to the Navy and Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard 
when it is operating as a service in the Navy; the Secretary of the Air 
Force, with respect to the Air Force; and the Secretary of the Treasury, 
with respect to the Coast Guard when it is operating as a service in the 
Treasury Department. 
(b) The term "warrant officer", unless otherwise qualified, means an 
officer who holds a warrant or a commission in a permanent or tempo-
rary warrant officer grade in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, 
or Coast Guard, including any component thereof. 
(c) The term "date of ^ failure of 'selection for promotion" unless 
otherwise qualified, is that date on which the Secretary approves the 
report of the board under section 10 (b) of this Act, or the date upon 
which the name of the officer concerned is removed from a recom-
mended list under section 10 (c) of this Act, or the date prescribed by 
the Secretary under section 12 of this Act, as appropriate. 
(d) The term "active service" means active service as defined in 
section 511 of the Career Compensation Act of 1949. 
|^ u^^' lll\ 
ESTABLISHMENT OF GRADES OF WARRANT OFFICERS 
SEC. 3. (a) Warrant officer grades, as prescribed in the following 
table, are hereby established in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine 
Corps, and Coast Guard. 
These warrant officer grades shall cor-
respond to the various pay grades prescribed for warrant officers by 
section 201 (a) of the Career Compensation Act of 1949 (63 Stat. 802, 
806), as amended, in accordance with the following table: 
37 use 232. 
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PUBLIC LAW 379-MAY 29, 1954 
[68 S T A T -
Warrant officer grades 
Pay grades 
Chief warrant officer, W-4 
W
—
4 
Chief warrant officer, W-3 
W-3 
Chief warrant officer, W-2 
W-2 
Warrant officer, W-1 
W-1 
Chief warrant officers, W-4, W-3, and W-2, shall be persons warranted 
in those grades in the Army or Air Force, and persons commissioned 
in those grades in the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard; warrant 
officers, W-1, shall be persons warranted in that grade. 
A warrant 
officer of any one warrant officer grade shall have precedence over all 
warrant officers of warrant officer grades of lower numerical 
designation. 
(b) The appointment of a permanent warrant officer to higher 
temporary warrant or any commissioned officer grade shall not operate 
to vacate his permanent warrant officer grade, nor shall it in any way 
prejudice any right, privilege, benefit, or promotion status to which he 
may be entitled by virtue of his permanent warrant officer grade. 
DISTRIBUTION AND REDISTRIBUTION OF WARRANT OFFICERS 
SEC. 4. (a) AYarrant officers (including warrant officers who, on the 
effective date of this Act are in rece,ipt of or entitled to retired pay or 
retirement pay or are on the temporary disability retired list) shall, 
effective upon the effective date of this Act, be distributed among the 
grades established by section 3 of this Act as the Secretary may pre-
scribe, and at any t,ime prior to the first day of the second month after 
the effective date of this Act, the Secretary is authorized to redistribute 
these warrant officers. Upon such distribution or redistribution, each 
such warrant officer shall, without further action, hold the grade in 
which distributed or redistributed. In this distribution and redistri-
bution— 
(1) no such warrant officer shall receive a lower permanent war-
rant officer grade than the one which corresponds to the warrant 
officer pay grade to which his status as a permanent warrant officer 
entitled him on the day before the effective date of this Act; 
(2) no such warrant officer shall receive a lower temporary war-
rant officer grade than the one which corresponds to the highest 
warrant officer pay grade to which his status entitled him on the 
day before the effective date of this Act; 
(3) a warrant officer w^ho is entitled to retired pay or retirement 
pay or who is on a temporary disability retirement list shall receive 
the warrant officer grade which corresponds to the warrant officer 
pay grade in which he ,is receiving retired pay, retirement pay, or 
physical disability retirement pay, and such distribution and 
redistribution shall not serve to increase or decrease the amount 
of such pay or any higher commissioned officer rank or grade to 
which he ,is entitled on the day before the effective date of this Act; 
and 
(4) enlisted personnel heretofore or hereafter assigned to the 
Fleet Reserve and Fleet Marine Corps Reserve who have, or are 
entitled to have warrant grade pursuant to section 10 (a) of the 
60 Stat. 28. 
Act of July 24, 1941, as amended, will be distributed among the 
34 use 3501. 
grades established by section (3) of this Act as the Secretary may 
prescribe. 
Distribution effected in accordance with th.is para-
graph will not serve to decrease the retainer pay or retired pay to 
which these persons are entitled under section 511 of the Act of 
f 
7 use 3^^^.* 
October 12, 1949, as amended. 
(b) Each permanent warrant officer of the regular service shall, for 
promotion purposes, be credited in the permanent warrant officer grade 
in which (distributed or redistributed under this section with such 
68 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 3 7 9 - M A Y 29, 1954 
' 
159 
service as the Secretary shall prescribe, but not less than the active 
service performed as a permanent warrant officer after September 30, 
1949, in the pay ^rade correspondinor to the permanent warrant officer 
grade in which distributed or redistributed, including active service jn 
any higher pay grade as a warrant officer or in any permanent or 
temporary commissioned officer grade while his status as a permanent 
warrant officer entitled him to the pay grade corresponding to such 
permanent warrant officer grade. 
APPOINTMEXTS 
SEC. 5, (a) Appointments to any permanent warrant officer grade in 
the regular service accomplished bv a commission shall be made by 
the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
Other appointments to warrant officer grades sliall be made by the 
Secretary. 
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, warrant officers 
appointed in the regular service under this section shall be credited 
with such service for promotion purposes as the Secretary may pre-
scribe, but not more than the period of active service actually per-
formed in the grade, or the pay grade corresponding to the grade, in 
which appointed or in a higher warrant officer or commissioned grade 
or pay grade, while holding a temporary or permanent appointment 
or commission. 
AUTHORITY FOR THE TERMINATION OF APPOINTMENTS 
SEC. 6. The Secretary may, in his discretion, terminate the appoint-
ment of a permanent warrant officer in the regular service at any time 
within three years after the date of acceptance of his initial appoint-
ment as a permanent warrant officer of the regular service. A war-
rant officer whose appointment is terminated under this section shall 
not be entitled to severance pay, but, upon his application he may, in 
the discretion of the Secretary, be enlisted in such grade as the Secre-
tary may direct but not lower than the grade held immediately prior 
to appointment as warrant officer. 
PROMOTION OF WARRANT OFFICERS 
SEC. 7. The promotion of permanent warrant officers of the regular 
service to a higher permanent warrant officer grade shall be governed 
by this Act and such regulations concerning physical, moral, and 
professional qualifications as the Secretary may prescribe. The phys-
ical standards for promotion shall be the same as those which may be 
prescribed for retention on active duty. The permanent promotion of 
warrant officers other than permanent warrant officers of the regular 
service and all temporary promotions to warrant officer grades shall 
be governed by such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe. 
SELECTION BOARDS 
SEC. 8. (a) Whenever the Secretary determines that the needs of the 
service require, but not less than once annually, he shall appoint one 
or more boards of not less than five regular officers of the service con-
cerned for the selection of permanent warrant officers of the regular 
service for promotion. 
No officer shall be eligible for membership 
on these selection boards if he has a permanent grade below that of 
lieutenant colonel or commander. When the second of two consecu-
tive selection boards is to consider any of the warrant officers who 
were considered by the first board, no officer who served on the first 
board shall be eligible for membership on the second board. 
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PUBLIC LAW 379-MAY 29, 1954 
[68 S T A T . 
(b) All other matters relating to the functions and duties of the 
boards, including the number of members required to constitute a 
quorum, shall be prescribed by the Secretary. 
ELIGIBILITY FOR PROMOTION 
SEC. 9. (a) Each permanent warrant officer of the regular service 
shall be considered by a selection board as prescribed by the Secretary 
sufficiently in advance of the date on which he completes the service in 
permanent warrant officer grade in the regular service prescribed in 
this section (including service credited in that permanent warrant 
officer grade in the regular service under section 4 (b) or 5 (b) of 
this Act and service performed after the effective date of this Act 
while he holds that permanent warrant officer grade in the regular 
service) so that he may, subject to the provisions of this Act, be pro-
moted to the next higher permanent warrant officer grade in the 
regular service as of the day after the date on which he completes 
the following service in grade— 
(1) warrant officer, W-1, three years; 
(2) chief warrant officer, W-2, six years; and 
(3) chief warrant officer, W-3, six years. 
(b) A permanent warrant officer of the regular service who is con-
sidered by a selection board for promotion, but who fails to be selected 
for promotion to the next higher permanent grade in the regular 
service, shall be considered for promotion by each later selection board 
which considers permanent warrant officers in his grade until he is 
retired, separated, or selected for promotion to that grade. 
SELECTION FOR PROMOTION 
SEC. 10. (a) The Secretary shall furnish each selection board with 
the names of all permanent warrant officers of the regular service, in 
order of seniority in their permanent warrant officer grade, who are 
eligible under subsections (a) and (b) of section 9 of this Act, for 
consideration by that selection board for promotion to the next higher 
permanent warrant officer grade in the regular service— 
(1) from the list of warrant officers, W-1, which the Secretary 
has submitted to it, each selection board shall select those warrant 
officers, W-1, whom the selection board considers fully qualified 
for promotion to the grade of chief warrant officer, AV-2, and 
shall also report the names of those warrant officers, W-1, whom 
it recommends for termination of their appointment under section 
6 of this Act; and 
(2) from the list of chief warrant officers, W-2, and chief 
warrant officers, W-3, which the Secretary has submitted to it, 
each selection board shall select for promotion to chief warrant 
officer, W-3, and chief warrant officer, W-4, respectively, those 
officers whom it considers best qualified for promotion, in numbers 
not exceeding the number prescribed by the Secretary. 
The 
number prescribed by the Secretary for each of these chief warrant 
officer grades shall be equal to not less than eighty per centum of 
the number of warrant officers who for the first time are being 
considered for promotion to each of those chief warrant officer 
grades under paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 9 (a) of this Act. 
Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the selec-
tion board shall also report the names of those chief warrant 
officers among those eligible for consideration whose reports and 
records in its opinion establish their unfitness or vinsatisfactory 
68 S T AT.] 
PUBLIC LAW 379-MAY 29, 1954 
161 
performance of duty in their present grades. The case of a 
warrant officer so reported shall be governed by section 15 of 
this Act. 
(b) The names of warrant officers who are selected for promotion 
shall be arranged in the report of the board in the order of their 
seniority in permanent warrant officer grade. 
The report of the selec-
tion board shall be submitted to the Secretary for his approval or 
disapproval in whole or in part. 
(c) If prior to his appointment to the next higher grade the 
promotion of a warrant officer be disapproved by the Secretary, the 
President, or the Senate his name shall be removed from the list of 
officers who were selected for promotion by that board and his case 
shall be governed by section 11 (c) of this Act. 
EFFECTIVE DATE OF APPOINTMENT ON PROMOTION 
SEC. 11. (a) A permanent warrant officer of the regular service who 
has been selected for promotion to the next higher permanent warrant 
officer grade by the first selection board which considered him for 
promotion to that grade, and who has met such qualifications as the 
Secretary may have prescribed under section 7 of this Act, shall be 
appointed to that higner permanent warrant officer grade. The date 
of his appointment thereto shall be the day after the date he completes 
the service prescribed in section 9 (a) of this Act. 
(b) A permanent warrant officer of the regular service who has 
previously failed of selection for promotion to the next higher per-
manent warrant officer grade, but who has been selected for promotion 
to that grade by a later selection board and has met such qualifications 
as the Secretary may have prescribed under section 7 of this Act, 
shall be appointed to that higher permanent warrant officer grade. 
The date of his appointment thereto shall be one of the following 
dates, whichever is the earlier— 
(1) that date which is one year after the date upon which such 
appointment would have been effective had he been selected for 
promotion by the last selection board which failed to select him; or 
(2) the earliest date on which any warrant officer who has not 
so failed of selection and whose name follows his on the list sub-
mitted to the Secretary under section 10 (b) of this Act, is pro-
moted to such higher grade. 
(c) A permanent warrant officer of the regular service whose name, 
in accordance with section 10 (c) of this Act, has been removed from 
the list of officers who are selected for promotion shall continue to be 
eligible for consideration for promotion and— 
(1) if the next ensuing selection board recommends such a war-
rant officer for promotion, his name, without prejudice by reason of 
its having been removed therefrom, shall be replaced on the list 
from which it was removed. 
When he is promoted, the date of 
his appointment shall be the same as if his name had not been so 
removed; but 
(2) if such warrant officer is not selected for promotion by the 
next ensuing selection board, or if his name, in accordance, with 
section 10 (c) of this Act, is again removed from the list of officers 
who are selected for promotion by the next ensuing selection 
board, his case shall be governed by section 13 of this Act as if 
he had twice failed of selection for promotion. 
F A I L U R E TO MEET MORAL AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS 
SEC. 12. A permanent warrant officer of the regular service who has 
been selected for promotion to the next higher grade, but who, within 
39777 O—55—pt. 1 
13 
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PUBLIC LAW 379-MAY 29, 1954 
[68 STAT. 
such time as may be prescribed by the Secretary, fails to meet such 
moral and professional qualifications as the Secretary may have pre-
scribed under section 7 of this Act, shall not be appointed to that 
higher grade and his case shall be governed by section 13 of this Act 
as if he had twice failed of selection for promotion. 
FAILURE OF SELECTION FOR PROMOTION 
SEC. 13. (a) Unless otherwise retired or separated under any law, 
each permanent warrant officer of the regular service who has twice 
failed of selection for promotion to the next higher permanent warrant 
officer grade under this Act, shall— 
(1) if on the date of his second failure of selection for pro-
motion he has completed less than eighteen years of active service, 
have his appointment as a permanent warrant officer in the regular 
service terminated and be separated on that date which is sixty 
days after the date of his second failure of selection for promotion, 
and unless— 
(A) upon his application and in the discretion of the 
Secretary, he is enlisted in such grade as the Secretary may 
direct, or 
(B) if serving on active duty as a commissioned officer, 
he elects, with the consent of the Secretary, to remain on active 
duty in his officer status; 
be entitled to severance pay under section 16 of this Act; 
(2) if on the date of his second failure of selection for pro-
motion he has completed not less than eighteen nor more than 
twenty years' active service, be retired on that date which is sixty 
days after the date on which he completes twenty years' active 
service, if he has not by that time been selected for promotion to 
the next higher grade, and be entitled to retired pay under section 
14 (d) of this Act; or 
, 
(3) if on the date of his second failure of selection for pro-
motion he has completed more than twenty years' active service, 
be retired on that date which is sixty days after the date of his 
second failure of selection and be entitled to retired pay under 
section 14 (d) of this Act. 
(b) Retirement under clause (2) or (3) of subsection (a) of this 
section, may, in the discretion of the Secretary in the case of a perma-
nent warrant officer who is serving on active duty as a commissioned 
officer and elects to remain on active duty as a commissioned officer, 
be deferred until such date as the Secretary may prescribe. 
(c) Upon retirement or separation under subsection (a) of this 
section, any permanent warrant officer who holds a commission as an 
officer shall have that commission terminated on the date of such 
retirement or separation. 
RETIREMENT OF WARRANT OFFICERS 
SEC. 14. (a) Any warrant officer who has completed not less than 
twenty years' active service may, upon application and in the discretion 
of the Secretary, be retired and shall be entitled to receive retired pay 
computed under subsection (d) of this section. 
(b) Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) 
of this subsection, any permanent warrant officer of the regular service 
who, having completed not less than twenty years of active service, 
has attained the age of sixty-two, shall be retired on that date which 
is sixty days after the date on which he attains that age and shall be 
entitled to receive retired pay computed under subsection (d) of this 
section—T 
68 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 379-MAY 29, 1954 
163 
(1) any woman permanent warrant officer of the regular serv-
ice who, having completed not less than 20 years of active service, 
attains the age of fifty-five shall be retired on that date which is 
sixty days after the date on which she attains that age and shall be 
entitled to receive retired pay computed under subsection (d) 
of this section; 
(2) upon the recommendation of a board of officers and in the 
discretion of the Secretary, under such regulations as he may pre-
scribe, any permanent warrant officer of the regular service who 
has completed thirty years of active service may, with his con-
sent, be continued on active service, but not beyond that date which 
is sixty days after the date on which he attains the age of sixty- 
? 
two. Any such warrant officer who has completed thirty years 
of active service and is not so continued on active service shall be 
retired on that date which is sixty days after the date on which 
he completes thirty years of active service and shall be entitled 
to receive retired pay computed under subsection (d) of this 
section; and 
(3) the separation of any person who, on the effective date of 
this Act, is a male permanent warrant officer of the regular service 
"
^ * 
and who upon attaining the age of sixty-two has completed less 
than twenty years of active service may be deferred by the Secre-
tary until he completes twenty years of active service, but not 
later than that date which is sixty days after the date on which 
he attains the age of sixty-four, and the separation of any person, 
who, on the effective date of this Act, is a woman permanent war-
rant officer of the regular service and who upon attaining the age 
of fifty-five has completed less than twenty years of active service 
may be deferred until she completes twenty years of active serv-
ice, but not later than that date which is sixty days after the date 
on which she attains the age of sixty, 
(c) Except as provided in clause (3) of subsection (b) and in 
subsection (g) of this section, each Avarrant officer shall be retired or 
separated not later than sixty days after the date on which he attains 
the age of sixty-two if a male warrant officer, or the age of fifty-five if 
a woman warrant officer, 
(d) A warrant officer who is retired under this section shall, as 
determined by the Secretary, be retired in the permanent warrant 
officer grade held on the day before the date of his retirement, or in any 
higher warrant officer grade in which he has satisfactorily served, as 
determined by the Secretary, on any full time duty under competent 
orders specifying that the period of such duty shall be for a period in 
excess of thirty days or for an indefinite period. Retired pay under 
this section shall be 2i/^ per centum of the active duty basic pay he 
would have been entitled to receive if he had been serving on active 
duty in the warrant officer grade in which retired on the day before the 
date of his retirement under this section, multiplied by the number of 
years of service creditable in the computation of such basic pay, but 
not to exceed 75 per centum of that basic pay. A fractional part of a 
year that is six months or more shall be considered a full year in com-
puting the number of years of active service by which the 2y2 per 
centum is multiplied. 
(e) The retirement or separation of any warrant officer which is 
required under this Act may, in the discretion of the Secretary, be 
deferred for a period of not to exceed four months when, because of 
unavoidable circumstances, proper evaluation of the warrant officer's 
physical condition and possible entitlement to disability retirement or 
disability separation benefits necessitate a period of hospitalization or 
medical observation which cannot be completed prior to the date retire-
ment or separation would otherwise be required. 
164 
PUBLIC LAW 379-MAY 29, 1954 
[68 S T A T . 
(f) The provisions of this section or section 13 shall not prevent 
any warrant officer from electing to be placed on the retired list in 
the highest grade and with the highest retired pay to which he may 
be entitled under any other law. However, when the rate of pay 
of such highest grade is under any other law less than the pay of any 
warrant grade satisfactorily held on active duty, the retired pay 
shall be based on the higher rate of pay. 
(g) The separation of any person who, on the effective date of 
this Act, is a male warrant officer of a reserve component of the 
Armed Forces and who upon attaining the age of sixty-two has com-
pleted less than twenty years of satisfactory Federal service, as defined 
10 use i^wel. 
^y section 302, Public Law 810, Eightietli Congress, may be deferred 
by the Secretary concerned until he completes twenty years of satis-
factory Federal service, but not later than that date which is sixty 
days after the date on which he attains the age of sixty-four, and 
the separation of any person who, on the effective date of this Act, 
is a woman warrant officer of a reserve component of the Armed 
Forces who upon attaining the age of fifty-five has completed less 
than twenty years of satisfactory Federal service, as defined in section 
10 use 1036a. 
302, PubHc Law 810, Eightieth Congress, may be deferred by the 
Secretary concerned until she completes twenty years of satisfactory 
Federal service, but not later than that date which is sixty days after 
the date on which she attains the age of sixty, 
ELIMINATION OF U N F I T OR UNSATISFACTORY WARRANT OFFICERS 
SEC. 15, Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe and 
subject to the recommendations of a board of officers or a selection 
board under section 10 of this Act, when the records and reports of 
any permanent warrant officer of the regular service establish his un-
fitness or unsatisfactory performance of duty, he shall be retired if 
eligible for retirement under any provision of law, and his retired 
pay shall be computed as if he had been retired under the provisions 
of law under which such eligibility is established. If not eligible for 
such retirement, his appointment as a permanent warrant officer of 
the regular service and any other appointment which he may hold in 
any warrant officer or commissioned officer grade shall be terminated. 
If a warrant officer being separated under this section has completed 
more than three years' active service since the date of acceptance of 
his initial appointment as a permanent warrant officer of the regular 
service, he shall be separated and he shall be entitled to receive sever-
ance pay under section 16 of this Act, but in lieu of severance pay, 
upon his application he may, in the discretion of the Secretary, be 
enlisted in such grade as the Secretary may direct. If such a warrant 
officer has completed less than three years' active service since the date 
of acceptance of his initial appointment as a permanent warrant officer 
of the regular service, his appointment shall be terminated under 
section 6 of this Act. 
SEVERANCE PAYMENTS 
SEC. 16. (a) Severance payments under this Act to permanent 
warrant officers of the regular service shall— 
(1) if the warrant officer is being separated because of failure 
of selection for promotion, be computed on the basis of two 
months' basic pay at the time of separation for each year of active 
service, but not to exceed a total of two years' basic pay; and 
(2) if the warrant officer is being separated because of unfitness 
or unsatisfactory performance of duty, be computed on the basis 
of one month's basic pay at the time of separation for each year 
of active service, but not to exceed a total of one year's basic pay. 
68 STAT.] 
PUBLIC LAW 379-MAY 29, 1954 
165 
A fractional part of a year that is six months or more shall be con-
sidered a full year in computing the number of years of active service 
upon which to base this severance pay, 
(b) The acceptance of severance pay under this Act shall not deprive 
a person of any retirement benefits from the Government to which he 
would otherwise become entitled, but there shall be deducted from 
any such retirement benefits to such a person such portion thereof as 
is attributable to the active service in respect of which severance 
payment shall have been made to him under this Act until the total of 
the deductions so made equals the total of such serverance payment. 
APPOINTMENT OF CERTAIN PERSONS ENTITLED TO PERMANENT WARRANT 
OFFICER GRADE 
SEC. 17. (a) (1) Each person who holds a letter of entitlement to 
an appointment as a permanent warrant officer of the regular service 
on the effective date of this Act, and (2) each person who would, if 
his active service as a commissioned officer were terminated on the 
effective date of this Act, be entitled, under section 1 of the Act of 
July 14,1939 (53 Stat. 1001), to reappointment as a permanent warrant 
lo use 598. 
officer of the regular service shall, on the effective date of this Act, be 
tendered an appointment in the regular service to the permanent 
warrant officer grade established by this Act which corresponds to the 
pay grade as a permanent warrant officer to which his status entitled 
him on the day before the effective date of this Act. Warrant officers 
appointed pursuant to this subsection shall be appointed under section 
5 (a) of this Act and shall be included in any redistribution under 
rsrj j 
section 4 of this Act. 
(b) If a person tendered an appointment as a permanent warrant 
officer in the regular service under this section does not accept that 
appointment within such time as the Secretary may prescribe, his 
entitlement to a permanent warrant officer grade shall terminate. 
SUSPENSION o r LAWS AFFECTING W"ARRANT OFFICERS 
SEC. 18. In time of emergency hereafter declared by the President 
or by the Congress, and in time of war, the President is authorized, in 
his discretion, to suspend the operation of all or any part or parts of the 
several provisions of law pertaining to promotion, mandatory retire-
ment or separation of warrant officers, of any of the Armed Forces. 
A M E N D M E N T OF EXISTING LAWS 
SEC. 19. (a) Section 1505 of the Revised Statutes, as amended, is 
H^ic 
iia' 
further amended to read as follows: "Any officer of the Navy of the 
grade of ensign or above on the active list who, upon examination for 
promotion, is found not professionally qualified, shall be suspended 
from promotion for a perjod of six months from the date of approval 
of said examination, and upon the termination of said suspension from 
promotion he shall be reexamined. 
In the case of his success upon 
such reexamination he shall, if otherwise qualified, be promoted and 
assigned the date of rank and precedence in the higher grade which 
he would have held had he not been suspended and shall be entitled to 
the pay and allowances of such higher grade from the date upon 
which he became eligible for promotion. Officers of the grade of ensign 
who fail on such reexamination shall be honorably discharged from 
the service with a lump-sum payment computed on the basis of two 
months' active duty pay at the time of discharge for each year of active 
commissioned service in the Regular Navy and Naval Reserve, exclu-
sive of duty for training, but not to exceed a total of one year's active 
duty pay." 
10 use 59la. 
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PUBLIC LAW 379-MAY 29, 1954 
[68 S T A T . 
10 use 598. 
(b) The first section of the Act of July 14, 1939 (53 Stat. 1001) 
is amended to read as follows: "That hereafter any enlisted man of 
the Regular Army or Regular Air Force who shall serve on active 
duty as a Reserve officer or warrant officer of the Army or Air Force 
or who shall be discharged to accept appointment as a commissioned 
officer or warrant officer in the Army or Air Force and whose active 
service as a commissioned officer or warrant officer shall terminate 
honorably, shall be entitled, without regard to any physical disquali-
fication incurred, or having its inception, while on active duty in 
line of duty, to reenlistment in the grade held prior to such service 
as a commissioned or warant officer, without loss of service or seniority 
and without regard to whether a vacancy exists in the appropriate 
enlisted grade: Provided^ That application for reenlistment shall be 
made within six months, or within such other period of time as the 
appropriate Secretary may prescribe in exceptional circumstances, 
after the termination of such service as a commissioned officer or 
warrant officer in each case: Provided further^ That enlisted men of 
the Regular Army and Regular Air Force shall be entitled to count 
active service as a commissioned officer or warrant officer in the Army 
and Air Force as enlisted service for all purposes." 
10 use 591. 
(c) Section 2 of the Act of August 21, 1941 (55 Stat. 652), is 
amended to read as follows: 
"SEC. 2. Original appointments to permanent warrant officer grades 
in the Regular Army and Regular Air Force shall be made only from 
among those persons who have served at least one year on active duty 
in the Army or Air Force." 
(d) Section 3 of the Act of August 21, 1941 (55 Stat. 652), is 
amended to read as follows: 
"SEC. 3. Whenever, under authorization from time to time made by 
the Congress, the total number of commissioned officers serving on 
active duty exceeds the authorized active list commissioned officer 
strength of the Regular Army or Regular Air Force, the Secretary of 
the Army, with respect to the Army, and the Secretary of the Air 
Force, with respect to the Air Force, shall determine the requirements 
in each of the several warrant officer grades based upon the total 
number of warrant officers serving on active duty and the tasks being 
performed by the Army and the Air Force and such requirements in 
each of such grades may be filled by the temporary appointment of 
qualified warrant officers. 
Such temporary appointments shall be in 
the Army or Air Force and shall remain in effect at the pleasure of the 
appropriate Secretary. 
Persons appointed in the Army or Air Force 
as temporary warrant officers, while in active Federal service, shall 
while so serving, be entitled to the rank, pay, and allowances of the 
grades to which they are temporarily appointed, and shall be entitled 
to count such service as warrant or enlisted service for all purposes. 
Such temporary appointees shall be entitled to the benefits of all exist-
ing laws and regulations governing retirement, pensions, and disability 
as are applicable to members of the Army or Air Force when called or 
ordered into the active military service by the Federal Government 
under existing statutory authorizations. 
All persons temporarily 
appointed as warrant officers in the Army or Air Force under the 
authority of this section, shall, as long as they continue to hold such 
appointments, be available for assignment to active duty with any unit 
of the service in which appointed. 
Persons temporarily appointed as 
warrant officers under the authority of this section who, at the time of 
their respective temporary appointments have a military status in the 
Army or Air Force, may accept such temporary appointments without 
prejudice to the military status which they so held, and upon termina-
tion of such temporary appointments such persons may revert to the 
grades which they held at the time of their temporary appointments." 
68 S T A T . ] 
P U B U C LAW 379-MAY 29, 1954 
167 
(e) Section 4 of the Act of August 21,1941 (55 Stat. 653), is amended 
1° ^^ 593. 
by deleting the last sentence of that section as it appears in lines 
13 to 15, inclusive, of that section, page 653, volume 55, Statutes at 
Large, and by substituting in lieu thereof: "All warrant officers shall 
take precedence next below second lieutenants. They shall take pre-
cedence among themselves in accordance with the warrant officer grades 
established by the Warrant Officer Act of 1954, and they shall take 
rank within each warrant officer grade in accordance with regulations 
prescribed by the Secretary of their department."' 
(f) Section 5 of the Act of August 21, 1941 (55 Stat. 653), as 
lo use 594. 
amended, is amended by deleting therefrom all of the section through 
the first three provisos as it appears in lines 22 to 34, inclusive, of page 
1085, volume 62, Statutes at Large. 
(g) Section 1 of the Act of October 21,1943 (57 Stat. 574; 34 U. S. C. 
643), is amended by substituting a period for the comma after the word 
"abolished", as it appears in line 5 of that section, page 574, volume 
57, Statutes at Large, and deleting the remainder of that section. 
(h) Title 14, United States Code, section 230, is amended to read 
" ^
*
^
*
* ^^'^' 
as follows: "Any commissioned officer, except a commissioned warrant 
officer, who has reached the age of sixty-two shall be retired from 
active service, with retired pay of the grade with which retired." 
ACTS 
AND 
PARTS 
OF 
ACTS 
REPEALED 
SEC. 20. All Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent with the provisions 
• • 
of this Act are repealed on the effective date of this Act, and this 
repeal shall include, but shall not be limited to the following: 
(a) Sections 1405 and 1406 of the Eevised Statutes. 
(b) Section 1 of the Act ofjune 17,1898 (30 Stat. 474). 
(c) Sections 12, 14, and 15 of the Act of March 3, 1899 (30 Stat. 
1007). 
(d) That part of the Act of March 3, 1909 (35 Stat. 771), which 
appears in lines 10 to 23, inclusive, page 771, volume 35, Statutes at 
Large, as amended. 
(e) That part of the Act of March 3, 1915 (38 Stat. 942), which 
appears in lines 22 to 60, inclusive, page 942, and in lines 1 to 28, 
inclusive, page 943, volume 38, Statutes at Large, as amended. 
(f) That part of the Act of August 29, 1916 (39 Stat. 573), which 
appears in lines 54 to 59, inclusive, page 572, and in lines 1 to 12, 
inclusive, page 573, volume 39, Statutes at Large, as amended. 
(g) Section 12 of the Act of March 4,1925 (43 Stat. 1274). 
(h) Section 1 of the Act of June 14,1938 (52 Stat. 677). 
(i) The first section of the Act of August 21, 1941 (55 Stat. 651), 
as amended. 
(i) The Act of July 28,1942 (56 Stat. 724). 
(k) Section 2 of the Act of October 21,1943 (57 Stat. 574). 
(1) The Act of June 30, 1947 (61 Stat. 210). 
(m) Section 316 (a) of the Officer Personnel Act of 1947 (61 Stat. 
795,867). _ 
V - ..,., 
(n) Section 201 (c) of the Career Compensation Act of 1949 (63 
Stat. 802, 807). 
(o) Title 14, United States Code, sections 303, 304, 305, 307, 308, 
and 313. 
63 stat. sis. 
SAVINGS PROVISION FOR CERTAIN WARRANT OFFICERS 
SEC. 21. (a) This Act shall not affect any right, privilege, or benefit 
of any warrant officer under title 14, United States Code, sections 431, 
as amended, 432, or 433, as amended. 
^3 ^*®** S26. 
168 
PUBLIC LAW 380-JUNE 1, 1954 
[68 S 
T A T , 
5 u s e 47a. 
(b) In the case of a warrant officer distributed or redistributed 
under section 4 or appointed under section 17 of this Act, the term 
"active service" as used in this Act, shall include all service which 
he has performed before the effective date of this Act, and which under 
laws in effect on the day before the effective date of this Act, would be 
credited in determining his eligibility for retirement as a permanent 
warrant officer of the regular service. 
(c) The effective date of the retirement of any person retired pur-
suant to this Act shall be subject to the Act of April 23,1980 (ch. 200, 
46 Stat. 253). 
EFFECTIVE DATE 
SEC. 22. This Act shall be effective on the first day of the sixth 
month following the month in which it is enacted. 
Approved May 29, 1954. 
June 1,1954 
Public Law 380 
CHAPTER 250 
AN ACT 
[H. R. 7786] 
rpo honor veterans on the 11th day of November of each year, a day dedicated to 
world peace. 
Veterans Day. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assemhled, That the Act entitled 
"An Act making the 11th day of November in each year a legal 
holiday"', approved May 13, 1938 (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. C, sec. 87a), 
is hereby amended by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting 
in lieu thereof the word "Veterans". 
Approved June 1, 1954.^ 
Public Law 381 
CHAPTER 251 
Jvine 3,1954 
[H. R. 4231] 
U. S. M i l i t a r y , 
N a v a l , a n d A i r 
Force Academies. 
Appointments. 
59 Stat. 586. 
AN ACT 
To authorize appointments to the United States Military Academy and United 
States Naval Academy of sons of certain individuals who were killed in action 
or who died or shall die as a result of active service in World W^ar I, World 
War II, or between the period beginning June 27, 1950, and ending on a date 
proclaimed by the President or the Congress. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of ths 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That so much of the 
second paragraph of the Act entitled "An Act to establish a depart-
ment of economics, government, and history at the United States Mili-
tary Academy, at West Point, New York, and to amend chapter 174 
of the Act of Congress of April 19, 1910, entitled 'An Act making 
appropriations for the support of the Military Academy for the fiscal 
year ending June 30,1911, and for other purposes""', approved June 8, 
1926, as amended (34 U. S. C, sec. 1036a), as precedes the colon 
preceding the first proviso thereof is amended to read as follows: 
"That the number of midshipmen now authorized by law at the United 
States Naval Academy is hereby increased by forty from the United 
States at large, to be appointed by the President from among the sons 
of members of the land or naval forces (including male and female 
members of the Army, Air Force, Njivy, Marine Corps, and Coast 
Guard, and of all components thereof) of the United States, who were 
killed in action or who have died, or may hereafter die, of wounds or 
injuries received, or disease contracted or preexisting injury or disease