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been absent from the place of duty for at least 3 months
or who has been sentenced to confinement in a federal
or state penitentiary or correctional institution after
having been found guilty of an offense by a court other
than a court-martial or other military court, and whose
sentence has become final. There is no elaboration on
the type of offense or the length of the confinement
awarded.
Action to initiate dropping an officer from the rolls
should normally be undertaken by CHNAVPERS or the
Commandant of the Marine Corps, on a case-by-case
basis, after a finding that one or both of the previous
conditions exist, and that the return of the officer to
military ,control for processing for separation for cause
under SECNAVINST 1920.6A will serve no useful
purpose.
Neither a hearing nor a board of inquiry is required
to drop an officer from the rolls. However, the officer
considered must be notified of such prospective adverse
action (or reasonable efforts must be made to provide
such notification if actual notification cannot be made)
and provided the opportunity to respond within 30 days
of receipt of notification. Upon completion of the
dropping from the rolls action, notification will be
addressed to the officer concerned. No certificate of
discharge is issued upon separation by dropping from
the rolls since such service is not characterized. For the
purpose of any federal benefit based upon
characterization of service, dropping from the rolls must
be considered as a discharge under other than honorable
conditions. Except for members who are absent without
authority, members who are entitled to retired pay may
not be dropped from the rolls unless they are ineligible
to receive their retired pay under authority of subchapter
II, chapter 83, Title 5, USC.
Statutory retirements are made to guarantee youth
and vigor in responsible positions and to prevent
stagnation in grade. Accordingly, the Navy is governed
bylaws that require the retirement of permanent officers
and warrant officers after they reach a certain age, fail
selection for promotion, complete a certain number of
years of service, or a combination thereof. Statutory
retirements require no application from the officer
concerned as they are handled administratively by
BUPERS. The statutory retirement age for permanently
commissioned Regular officers in the grade of ensign
and above is 62 years. Those officers who fall into this
category are retired on the first day of the month
following the month in which they attain age 62. An
officer with a grade above rear admiral who has reached
age 62, may, at the discretion of the President, be
retained on active duty until the officer attains age 64.
However, the number of officers in this status may not
exceed 10 on active duty at any given time. The health
of an officer has a bearing on the circumstances of
retirement. If an officer is disabled and cannot perform
the duties of office, the person will be retired with
disability, regardless of age or length of service.
Statutory service retirements for officers are contained
in Section 1251, Title 10, USC.
Statutory Retirement
Dismissal from the service is equivalent to a
dishonorable discharge and is the lowest type of
separation an officer can receive.
and may even be incarcerated If the officer is found
guilty, or if the sentence does not include dismissal or
death, SECNAV substitutes an administrative discharge
for the dismissal order. If no court is convened to try the
dismissed officer within 6 months of the officer’s
application, an administrative discharge replaces the
dismissal.
Dismissal
Except in time of war, dismissal from the service is
done only as the result of sentence by general
court-martial. When the sentence includes dismissal and
SECNAV approves the action, the Judge Advocate
General’s office notifies the officer concerned by letter
that the officer is thereby dismissed from the service.
In time of war, SECNAV, acting for the President,
may dismiss an officer without court-martial. As
distinguished from being dropped from the rolls, such
an officer may make written application for trial by
court-martial on the charges on which the officer was
dismissed. If tried and convicted of those charges,
however, the officer would probably still be dismissed
Disability Retirement
Section 1201, Title 10, USC, states the statutory
authority for retirement of personnel of the Navy and
Naval Reserve for service-connected disabilities. Under
this law, a member maybe permanently retired or placed
on the temporary disability retired list (TDRL)
dependent upon a determination that the disability that
necessitates retirement is, or may be, of a permanent
nature. Final determination as to entitlement to
disability retirement benefits rests with SECNAV.
The law governing physical disability retirement
and separations states that:
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