§ 5587. Regular Navy: officers designated for engineering duty, aeronautical engineering duty, and special duty

(a) Persons may be originally appointed in the line of the Navy as regular officers designated for engineering duty, aeronautical engineering duty, or special duty.

(b) With the approval of the Secretary, a regular officer in the line of the Navy may, upon his application, be designated for engineering duty, aeronautical engineering duty, or special duty.

(c) The types of engineering duty for which officers may be designated include ship engineering and ordnance engineering. The types of aeronautical engineering duty for which officers may be designated include aeronautical engineering and aviation maintenance. The types of special duty for which officers may be designated include communications, law, naval intelligence, photography, public affairs, psychol­ogy, geophysics, cryptography, and hydrography.

(d) Officers designated for engineering duty, aeronautical engineering duty, or special duty shall perform sea or shore duty appropriate to their special qualifications but may not succeed to command except on shore and then only as authorized by the Secretary.

(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 325; Pub. L. 90–179, § 5(2), Dec. 8, 1967, 81 Stat. 547; Pub. L. 90–386, § 1(5), July 5, 1968, 82 Stat. 293; Pub. L. 96–513, title III, § 324, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2893.)

Historical And Revision

Historical and Revision Notes
Revised section	Source (U.S. Code)	Source (Statutes at Large)
5587	34 U.S.C. 77 (less statement of appointing authority).	Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 512, § 408 (less statement of appointing authority), 61 Stat. 873.
	34 U.S.C. 71, 73.	Aug. 29, 1916, ch. 417, 39 Stat. 580 (words preceding 3d proviso of 1st par. under “Officers for Engineering Duty Only”); May 11, 1928, ch. 522, 45 Stat. 498; Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 512, § 402(a), (c), 61 Stat. 870.
	34 U.S.C. 78 (less (b)).	Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 512, § 403 (less (b)), 61 Stat. 870.
	34 U.S.C. 211b (less (b)).	Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 512, § 401 (less (b)), 61 Stat. 869.

In subsection (a) the word “annually” and the words “and regularly commission” are omitted as surplusage. The word “male” is inserted in subsection (a) to limit the application of the appointing authority in this subsection to men. Authority to appoint women is covered in § 5590 of this title.

In subsection (b) the words “on the active list” are inserted in order to exclude reserve and temporary officers, which is the intention of Congress determined from the use of the words “additional numbers in grade” and “percentage of officers on the active list” which apply only to regular officers holding permanent appointments. In the same subsection and in subsections (c) and (d) the provisions of the law that these officers are assigned to a certain duty and then “described and known as officers designated” for that duty have been written simply as providing that these officers may be “designated” for that duty. This is done as there is no apparent reason for any distinction between these officers and those appointed under subsection (a). In subsection (c) the words “specialized duties in the fields of” are omitted as surplusage.

Amendments

Amendments

1980—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96–513, § 324(a), substituted provision allowing the appointment of “persons” in the line of the Navy as regular officers for provision allowing the appointment of males only to the active list in the line of the Navy as officers, struck out provision specifying the rank designation of appointees, and struck out provision limiting the number of appointments under subsec. (a) to the number of vacancies that the Secretary of the Navy estimated would occur in a particular fiscal year in the grades and designations concerned.

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 96–513, § 324(b), substituted “a regular officer” for “any officer on the active list”.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96–513, § 324(c), substituted “public affairs, psychology, geophysics, cryptography” for “public information, psychology”.

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 96–513, § 324(d), struck out “are additional numbers in grade. They” after “special duty”.

1968—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 90–386 enumerated the types of engineering duty and aeronautical engineering duty for which officers may be designated.

1967—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 90–179 struck out “law,” after “communications,”.

Effective Date Of Amendment

Effective Date of 1980 Amendment

Amendment of Pub. L. 96–513 effective Sept. 15, 1981, but the authority to prescribe regulations under the amendment by Pub. L. 96–513 effective on Dec. 12, 1980, see section 701 of Pub. L. 96–513, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.