Decisions of the Comptroller General of the United States

men of the Naval Reserve on active or training duty during first four months' service in first enlistment. In view of the ruling of the Comptroller General in decision of October 3, 1941, to the effect that enlisted men of the Army may count only service which may be counted for longevity pay purposes in determining rate of pay during first four months' service in first enlistment the question arises as to the correctness of the instructions contained in the enclosure.

2. Attention is invited to the instructions contained in the enclosure under the heading "Regular Navy" which read as follows:

"Effective October 1, 1940, the base pay of enlisted men of the regular Navay [Navy] during the first four months of service in first enlistment, except men with prior service in the Army, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, is $21.00 per month."

Specific decision is requested as to whether the words "Army" and "Marine Corps" should be deleted.

3. Attention is invited also to the instructions contained in the enclosure under the heading "Naval Reserve (Organized or Volunteer)" wherein subparagraph (b) states:

"(b) The $21 rate of pay applies to men of the Naval Reserve during the first four months immediately following date of first enlistment in the Naval Reserve, except to men with prior service in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Marine Corps Reserve, or National Guard."

In view of the provisions of Section 7 of the Naval Reserve Act of 1938 decision is requested whether any of the services mentioned above should be deleted.

4. In case it is determined that such instructions should be modified, it is also recommended that the Comptroller General be requested to allow payments made in accordance with these instructions to and including December 31, 1941, to permit proper promulgation of revised instructions.

The enclosure, Article 2150-4, Bureau of Supplies and Accounts Memoranda, is as follows:

Reference:

(a) Act of September 16, 1940 (54 Stat. 885).

(b) Alnav 79, September 19, 1940.

decisions).

(d) Alnav 89, October 7, 1940.

(e) Bureau of Supplies and Accounts Manual, Appendix A, Sec. B, Table IV. (f) Bureau of Supplies and Accounts Manual, Appendix A, par. B-3 (e). (g) Bureau of Supplies and Accounts Manual, Appendix A, par. G-3. The base pay of enlisted men of the seventh pay grade on and after October 1, 1940, is $30 per month, as set forth in references (a) and (c).

REGULAR NAVY

Effective October 1, 1940, the base pay of enlisted men of the regular Navay [Navy] during the first four months of service in first enlistment, except men with prior service in the Army, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, is $21 per month. (This should not be interpreted to permit counting service other than as specified by reference (f) in computing longevity increases of pay for enlisted men of the regular Navy.)

After completion of four months' service, unless the Secretary of the Navy directs to the contrary because of inefficiency or unfitness of specific individuals, the base pay of men holding ratings of the seventh pay grade is $30 per month, and of men holding ratings of other pay grades is as specified in reference (e). General court-martial prisoners of the seventh pay grade have demonstrated their inefficiency or other unfitness for the service and are entitled to base pay at the rate of $21 per month.

When enlisted men of the regular Navy are enlisted in or advanced (prior to to completion of four months' net service) to a rating higher than those of the seventh pay grade, the account will be carried in the pay grade corresponding to the higher rating from the effective date of the higher rating as stated in commanding officer's order. However, pay will continue to be credited at the $21 rate until the date following date of completion of four months' net service.

"Service" as used above is “net,” i. e., excludes time lost AOL, AWOL, SKMC, and NPDI.

Effective April 1, 1941, initial credits of the $30 rate, and of higher rates in the cases of men holding ratings above those of the seventh pay grade upon completion of four months' net service, will be substantiated by commanding officers' individual or blanket certificates showing dates of completion of four months' net service.

NAVAL RESERVE (ORGANIZED OR VOLUNTEER)

The foregoing instructions apply to enlisted men of the Naval Reserve on active or training duty, with the following exceptions:

(a) Enlisted men holding ratings in pay grades other than the seventh pay grade on the dates of reporting for active or training duty are entitled to the pay of such ratings as provided in reference (e) without regard to length of service;

(b) The $21 rate of pay applies to men of the Naval Reserve during the first four months immediately following date of first enlistment in the Naval Reserve, except to men with prior service in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Marine Corps Reserve, or National Guard, and except as noted in subpar. (a). It should be noted in this connection that time served need not be on active duty. (This should not be interpreted to permit counting service other than as specified by reference (g) in computing longevity increases of pay for enlisted men of the Naval Reserve.)

Section 12 (a) of the act of September 16, 1940, 54 Stat. 895, provides:

The monthly base pay of enlisted men of the Army and the Marine Corps shall be as follows: Enlisted men of the first grade, $126; enlisted men of the second grade, $84; enlisted men of the third grade, $72; enlisted men of the fourth grade, $60; enlisted men of the fifth grade, $54; enlisted men of the sixth grade, $36; enlisted men of the seventh grade, $30; except that the monthly base pay of enlisted men with less than four months' service during their first enlistment period and of enlisted men of the seventh grade whose inefficiency or other unfitness has been determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of War, and the Secretary of the Navy, respectively, shall be $21. Enlisted men of the Navy shall be entitled to receive at least the same pay and allowances as are provided for enlisted men in similar grades in the Army and Marine Corps. In decision dated May 2, 1941, B-15892, 20 Comp. Gen. 725, it was held that an enlisted man serving in his first enlistment in the Army who had prior service in the Marine Corps could count such Marine Corps service in computing his base pay under the above section. It has been held, also, that an Army enlisted man whose only prior service was service in the Navy was serving in his first enlistment period in the Army. B-17406, October 3, 1941, 21 Comp. Gen. 288. Section 12 (a) of the act of September 16, 1940, supra, was enacted for the purpose of removing the disparity between the pay authorized for enlisted men of the Navy and Coast Guard and the pay authorized for enlisted men of the Army and the Marine Corps. With this stated purpose in mind it is evident that it was not intended that an enlisted man serving in his first enlistment in the Army would not be permitted to count prior service in the Navy for the purpose of computing his base pay under the act and at the same time permit an enlisted man serving in his first enlistment in the Navy to count prior service in the Army for the same purpose. Section 12 (a) establishes rates of pay for enlisted men of the Army and the Marine Corps and it is

only because of the last sentence thereof that its provisions are applicable to the Navy and the Coast Guard.

Service in the Navy and Coast Guard was not authorized to be counted for the purpose of continuous service pay by enlisted men of the Army and Marine Corps. 12 Comp. Dec. 532. Since the act of January 28, 1915, 38 Stat. 800, which created the Coast Guard, service in the Navy has been recognized in computing length of service for any purpose in the Coast Guard and section 3 of the act of June 4, 1920, 41 Stat. 834, contains a proviso to the effect that for the purpose of computing longevity pay and retirement privileges of enlisted men of the Navy all creditable service in the Coast Guard and former Revenue-Cutter Service shall be counted. Under section 10 of the Joint Service Pay Act of June 10, 1922, 42 Stat. 630, enlisted men of either the Navy or Coast Guard are entitled to the benefit of service in the other service for longevity pay purposes but are not entitled to count prior service in the Army or Marine Corps. See in this connection 2 Comp. Gen. 280.

In view of the foregoing, it appears clear that a Navy enlisted man whose only prior service is enlisted service in the Army or the Marine Corps is serving in his first enlistment in the Navy and during the first four months of such enlistment his pay is limited to $21 per month. Therefore, the reference to prior service in the Army and Marine Corps contained in the first paragraph of the above-quoted instructions under the heading "Regular Navy" is not correct.

Section 7 of the Naval Reserve Act of 1938, 52 Stat. 1176, provides in part:

Midshipmen, warrant officers, nurses, and enlisted men of the Naval Reserve, including those on the honorary retired list, or who may have been retired, when employed on active duty or on training duty with pay or when employed in authorized travel to and from such duty, shall receive the same pay and allowances as received by midshipmen, warrant officers, nurses, and enlisted men of the Regular Navy of the same rank, grade, or rating, and of the same length of service which shall include service in the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Naval Reserve Force, Naval Militia, National Naval Volunteers, Naval Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve Force, or Marine Corps Reserve.

The act of July 1, 1918, 40 Stat. 704, 712, provides in part:

Members of the Naval Reserve Force when employed in active service, ashore or afloat, under the Navy Department shall receive the same pay and allowances as received by the officers and enlisted men of the Regular Navy of the same rank, grades, or ratings and of the same length of service, which shall include service in the Navy, Marine Corps, Naval Reserve Force, Naval Militia, National Naval Volunteers, or Marine Corps Reserve.

See also, section 11 of the Naval Reserve Act of 1925, 43 Stat. 1083. It was held in 25 Comp. Dec. 122, quoting the syllabus, that:

Under the act of July 1, 1918, members of the Naval Reserve Force are entitled to count all legal service in the organizations enumerated in said act, including legal service as members of Naval Militia organizations when not in active service under the Federal Government, for the purpose of computing the longevity increase of pay.

However, it seems clear that the provision of law which provides that service in certain services may be counted by a member of the Naval Reserve for longevity pay purposes when employed on active duty relates to the computation of longevity pay only. Section 7 of the 1938 act, quoted above, provides that enlisted men of the Naval Reserve are entitled to the same pay and allowances as received by enlisted men of the Regular Navy of the same rank, grade, or rating. This provision fixes the base pay authorized for enlisted men of the Naval Reserve-the base pay received by "enlisted men of the Regular Navy of the same rank, grade, or rating" and the fact that special provision has been made as to the service, which may be counted by members of the Naval Reserve for longevity pay purposes, does not change the base pay fixed by the statute. Thus, since an enlisted man of the Regular Navy is not entitled to count prior service in the Army, Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserve, or the National Guard for the purpose of computing his base pay under section 12 (a) of the act of September 16, 1940, supra, prior service in such services may not be considered in computing a naval reservist's base pay under such act, and the reference to such services, which appears in paragraph (b) of the above-quoted instructions under the heading "Naval Reserve (Organized or Volunteer)" is not correct.

With reference to the last paragraph of your letter requesting that payments be allowed in accordance with the present instructions up to and including December 31, 1941, to permit sufficient time for the proper promulgation of revised instructions, it may be stated that in view of all the circumstances appearing in this case payments made in accordance with the present instructions will be passed to credit in the disbursing officers' accounts as requested but in no case will credit be allowed for payments made subsequent to December 31, 1941, unless such payments are in accordance with this decision.

(B-21585)

TRANSPORTATION-HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS OF ARMY OFFICERS PAYMENT TO CARRIER PRIOR TO COLLECTION OF EXCESS COST Carriers may be paid in full and in due course for the transportation on Government bills of lading of the household effects, etc., including that in excess of the authorized weight allowance, of Army officers upon change of station, without regard to whether any reimbursement has been or is to be collected from the officers for such excess as provided in the act of March 23, 1910, but such authority to pay carriers does not preclude a determination by the proper authority that the finance officer or other War Department officer is pecuniarily responsible for failure to collect the required reimbursement. Assistant Comptroller General Elliott to Col. W. M. Dixon, United States Army, December 11, 1941:

There has been received your letter of October 27, 1941, transmitting the bill No. 2610 of the National Carloading Corporation

in the amount of $268, covering the cost of transporting 12,613 pounds of household goods and 1,078 pounds of professional books, the personal property of Lt. Col. Jacob G. Sucher, United States Army, retired, on Government bill of lading No. WQ-3793624, dated July 15, 1941, shipped by the Quartermaster, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., to the Quartermaster, Benicia Arsenal, Army Point, Calif., and requesting decision whether, in view of decision B-19000, August 20, 1941 (1) payment may be made to the carrier for the entire service performed prior to the collection of the amount due from the owner of the property, and (2) if answered in the affirmative, whether the accounts of the disbursing officer will be subject to disallowance if collection cannot be made of the amount of excess charges due from the owner of the property.

Paragraph 12, Special Orders No. 154, War Department, dated July 3, 1941, is as follows:

12. By direction of the President, Lieutenant Colonel Jacob G. Sucher (0-11215), United States Army, retired, now at Daytona Beach, Florida, is placed on active duty with the rank of major, the rank held upon his retirement, effective 14 July, 1941, is then assigned to Benicia Arsenal, Benicia, California, and will proceed to Benicia, California, and report to the commanding officer for duty. Major Sucher will rank from 14 May, 1940. The travel directed is necessary in the military service. FD 1420 P 1-05, 15-06 A 0410-2.

Paragraph 12 a (8) Army Regulations 30-960, May 24, 1938, as amended by Circular No. 68, War Department, dated July 1, 1940, provides that:

Retired commissioned officers ordered to active duty, from the home of the officer and/or any other points as may be desired by him to his first permanent duty station, under the same conditions as set forth in (1) above, substituting the term "officer's home" for the term "last permanent station," provided that there is an express provision for the transportation of baggage of retired officers ordered to active duty under the applicable appropriation.

The act of March 23, 1910, 36 Stat. 255, provides:

That hereafter baggage in excess of regulation change of station allowances may be shipped with such allowances, and reimbursement collected for transportation charges on such excess

Under this statute, the authorized baggage in excess of the prescribed weight allowance may be shipped on the same bill of lading with the allowance, provided that the cost covering the excess weight will be borne by the owner. Nothing is said in the law as to when collection shall be made, but the clear implication is that the War Department is charged with the responsibility of taking the necessary steps to protect the interests of the United States. Immediately following the passage of the act of 1910, the Secretary of War, by regulations (par. 1151 A. R. 1910), made provision for the deposit, in advance of shipment of the excess baggage, of a sum sufficient to cover such excess cost. This procedure was held by the accounting officers, in prescribing the method of accounting as required by law,

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Decisions of the Comptroller General of the United States, Volume 21