TITLE 14 - US CODE - CHAPTER 3 - COMPOSITION AND ORGANIZATION

14 USC 41 - Grades and ratings

In the Coast Guard there shall be an admiral, vice admirals; rear admirals; rear admirals (lower half); captains; commanders; lieutenant commanders; lieutenants; lieutenants (junior grade); ensigns; chief warrant officers; cadets; warrant officers; and enlisted members. Enlisted members shall be distributed in ratings established by the Secretary.

14 USC 41a - Active duty promotion list

(a) The Secretary shall maintain a single active duty promotion list of officers of the Coast Guard on active duty in the grades of ensign and above. Reserve officers on active duty, other than pursuant to an active duty agreement executed under section 12311 of title 10, retired officers, and officers of the permanent commissioned teaching staff of the Coast Guard Academy shall not be included on the active duty promotion list.

(b) Officers shall be carried on the active duty promotion list in the order of seniority of the grades in which they are serving. Officers serving in the same grade shall be carried in the order of their seniority in that grade. The Secretary may correct any erroneous position on the active duty promotion list that was caused by administrative error.

(c) A person appointed in the grade of ensign or above in the Regular Coast Guard shall be placed on the active duty promotion list in the order of his date of rank and seniority.

(d) A Reserve officer, other than one excluded by subsection (a), shall, when he enters on active duty, be placed on the active duty promotion list in accordance with his grade and seniority. The position of such a Reserve officer among other officers of the Coast Guard on active duty who have the same date of rank shall be determined by the Secretary.

14 USC 42 - Number and distribution of commissioned officers

(a) The total number of commissioned officers, excluding commissioned warrant officers, on active duty in the Coast Guard shall not exceed 6,700 in each fiscal year 2004, 2005, and 2006.

(b) The commissioned officers on the active duty promotion list shall be distributed in grade in the following percentages, respectively: rear admiral 0.375; rear admiral (lower half) 0.375; captain 6.0; commander 15.0; lieutenant commander 22.0. The Secretary shall prescribe the percentages applicable to the grades of lieutenant, lieutenant (junior grade), and ensign. The Secretary may, as the needs of the Coast Guard require, reduce the percentage applicable to any grade above lieutenant commander, and in order to compensate for such reduction increase correspondingly the percentage applicable to any lower grade.

(c) The Secretary shall, at least once each year, make a computation to determine the number of officers on the active duty promotion list authorized to be serving in each grade. The number in each grade shall be computed by applying the applicable percentage to the total number of such officers serving on active duty on the date the computation is made. In making computations under this section the nearest whole number shall be regarded as the authorized number in any case where there is a fraction in the final result.

(d) The numbers resulting from such computations shall be for all purposes the authorized number in each grade, except that the authorized number for a grade is temporarily increased during the period between one computation and the next by the number of officers originally appointed in that grade during that period and the number of officers of that grade for whom vacancies exist in the next higher grade but whose promotion has been delayed for any reason.

(e) Officers who are not included on the active duty promotion list, officers serving as extra numbers in grade under sections 432 and 4331 of this title, and officers serving with other departments or agencies on a reimbursable basis or excluded under the provisions of section 324 (d) of title 49, shall not be counted in determining authorized strengths under subsection (c) and shall not count against those strengths. The number of officers authorized to be serving on active duty in each grade of the permanent commissioned teaching staff of the Coast Guard Academy and of the Reserve serving in connection with organizing, administering, recruiting, instructing, or training the reserve components shall be prescribed by the Secretary.

[1] See References in Text note below.

14 USC 43 - Repealed. Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 53, 70A Stat. 641]

Section, act Aug. 4, 1949, ch. 393, 63 Stat. 498, provided for relative rank of commissioned officers with respect to Army and Navy officers. See section 741 of Title 10, Armed Forces.

14 USC 44 - Commandant; appointment

The President may appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, one Commandant for a period of four years, who may be reappointed for further periods of four years, who shall act as Chief of the Coast Guard. The Commandant shall be appointed from the officers on the active duty promotion list serving above the grade of captain who have completed at least ten years of active service as a commissioned officer in the Coast Guard. The Commandant while so serving shall have the grade of admiral.

14 USC 45 - Repealed. Pub. L. 86474, 1(4), May 14, 1960, 74 Stat. 144]

Section, act Aug. 4, 1949, ch. 393, 63 Stat. 498, related to permanent grade of Commandant on expiration of term.

14 USC 46 - Retirement of Commandant

(a) A Commandant who is not reappointed shall be retired with the grade of admiral at the expiration of the appointed term, except as provided in subsection^[1] 51(d) of this title.

(b) A Commandant who is retired for physical disability shall be placed on the retired list with the grade of admiral.

(c) An officer who is retired prior to the expiration of his term, while serving as Commandant, may, in the discretion of the President, be retired with the grade of admiral.

[1] So in original. Probably should be “section”.

14 USC 47 - Vice Commandant; assignment

The President may appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, one Vice Commandant who shall rank next after the Commandant, shall perform such duties as the Commandant may prescribe and shall act as Commandant during the absence or disability of the Commandant or in the event that there is a vacancy in the office of Commandant. The Vice Commandant shall be selected from the officers on the active duty promotion list serving above the grade of captain. The Commandant shall make recommendation for such appointment. The Vice Commandant shall, while so serving, have the grade of vice admiral with pay and allowances of that grade. The appointment and grade of a Vice Commandant shall be effective on the date the officer assumes that duty, and shall terminate on the date the officer is detached from that duty, except as provided in subsection^[1] 51(d) of this title.

[1] So in original. Probably should be “section”.

48, 49. Repealed. Pub. L. 86474, 1(7), May 14, 1960, 74 Stat. 145]

Section 48, act Aug. 4, 1949, ch. 393, 63 Stat. 499, related to permanent grade of that Assistant Commandant and Engineer in Chief on expiration of term. Section 49, act Aug. 4, 1949, ch. 393, 63 Stat. 499, related to grade and retired pay upon retirement of Assistant Commandant or Engineer in Chief.

14 USC 50 - Area commanders

(a) The President may appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Commander, Atlantic Area, and a Commander, Pacific Area, each of whom shall be an intermediate commander between the Commandant and the district commanders in his respective area and shall perform such duties as the Commandant may prescribe. The area commanders shall be appointed from officers on the active duty promotion list serving above the grade of captain. The Commandant shall make recommendations for such appointments.

(b) An area commander shall, while so serving, have the grade of vice admiral with pay and allowances of that grade. The appointment and grade of an area commander shall be effective on the date the officer assumes that duty, and shall terminate on the date the officer is detached from that duty, except as provided in subsection^[1] 51(d) of this title.

[1] So in original. Probably should be “section”.

14 USC 50a - Chief of Staff

(a) The President may appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Chief of Staff of the Coast Guard who shall rank next after the area commanders and who shall perform duties as prescribed by the Commandant. The Chief of Staff shall be appointed from the officers on the active duty promotion list serving above the grade of captain. The Commandant shall make recommendations for the appointment.

(b) The Chief of Staff shall have the grade of vice admiral with the pay and allowances of that grade. The appointment and grade of the Chief of Staff shall be effective on the date the officer assumes that duty, and shall terminate on the date the officer is detached from that duty, except as provided in section 51 (d) of this title.

14 USC 51 - Retirement

(a) An officer who, while serving in the grade of vice admiral, is retired for physical disability shall be placed on the retired list with the grade of vice admiral.

(b) An officer who is retired while serving in the grade of vice admiral, or who, after serving at least two and one-half years in the grade of vice admiral, is retired while serving in a lower grade, may in the discretion of the President, be retired with the grade of vice admiral.

(c) An officer who, after serving less than two and one-half years in the grade of vice admiral, is retired while serving in a lower grade, shall be retired in his permanent grade.

(d) An officer serving in the grade of admiral or vice admiral shall continue to hold that grade

(1) while being processed for physical disability retirement, beginning on the day of the processing and ending on the day that officer is retired, but not for more than 180 days; and

(2) while awaiting retirement, beginning on the day that officer is relieved from the position of Commandant, Vice Commandant, Area Commander, or Chief of Staff and ending on the day before the officers retirement, but not for more than 60 days.

14 USC 52 - Vice admirals, continuity of grade

The continuity of an officers precedence on the active duty promotion list, date of rank, grade, pay, and allowances as a vice admiral shall not be interrupted by the termination of an appointment for the purpose of reappointment to another position as a vice admiral or admiral.

14 USC 53 - Office of the Coast Guard Reserve; Director

(a) Establishment of Office; Director.—
There is in the executive part of the Coast Guard an Office of the Coast Guard Reserve. The head of the Office is the Director of the Coast Guard Reserve. The Director of the Coast Guard Reserve is the principal adviser to the Commandant on Coast Guard Reserve matters and may have such additional functions as the Commandant may direct.

(b) Appointment.—
The President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint the Director of the Coast Guard Reserve, from officers of the Coast Guard who

(1) have had at least 10 years of commissioned service;

(2) are in a grade above captain; and

(3) have been recommended by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

(1) The Director of the Coast Guard Reserve holds office for a term determined by the President, normally two years, but not more than four years. An officer may be removed from the position of Director for cause at any time.

(2) The Director of the Coast Guard Reserve, while so serving, holds a grade above Captain, without vacating the officers permanent grade.

(d) Budget.—
The Director of the Coast Guard Reserve is the official within the executive part of the Coast Guard who, subject to the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Commandant, is responsible for preparation, justification, and execution of the personnel, operation and maintenance, and construction budgets for the Coast Guard Reserve. As such, the Director of the Coast Guard Reserve is the director and functional manager of appropriations made for the Coast Guard Reserve in those areas.

(e) Annual Report.—
The Director of the Coast Guard Reserve shall submit to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense an annual report on the state of the Coast Guard Reserve and the ability of the Coast Guard Reserve to meet its missions. The report shall be prepared in conjunction with the Commandant and may be submitted in classified and unclassified versions.

14 USC 54 - Chief of Staff to President: appointment

The President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, may appoint a flag officer of the Coast Guard as the Chief of Staff to the President.