Sen. Harry S. New (R-IN).
The New Bill to create an independent air force is taken from:
U. S. Congress, Senate. A BILL To create a Department of Aeronautics, defining the powers and duties of the director thereof, providing for the organization, disposition, and administration of a United States Air Force, creating the United States Air Reserve Force, and providing for the development of civil and commercial aviation. S 2693. 66th Congress, 1st Session. Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Military Affairs: 3-7
These papers have been reproduced as originally written. If you find any errors in my transcription, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sen. Harry S. New (R-IN)
31 July 1920
A BILL To create a Department of Aeronautics, defining the powers and duties of the director thereof, providing for the organization, disposition, and administration of a United States Air Force, creating the United States Air Reserve Force, and providing for the development of civil and commercial aviation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there is hereby created an executive department in the Government to be called the Department of Aeronautics, and a Director of Aeronautics, who shall be the head thereof, and who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; he shall hold his office for four years, unless sooner removed, and shall receive a salary of $10,000 per annum. The said director shall cause a seal to be made for the said department of such device as the President shall approve, and judicial notice shall be taken of said seal. The said Director of Aeronautics shall be responsible for the proper organization of the Department of Aeronautics, and it shall be within the jurisdiction of the director to establish, from time to time, such corps, staffs, bureaus, divisions, sections, offices, or other departmental subunits as are deemed by the said director to be necessary in the
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public interest for the proper maintenance, operation, and expansion of the Department of Aeronautics.
SEC. 2. That there shall be in said department an Assistant Director of Aeronautics, to be appointed by the President, who shall receive a salary of $6,000 a year. He shall perform such duties as shall be prescribed by the Director of Aeronautics or required by law. There shall also be one chief clerk, whose salary shall be $3,500 per annum, and a disbursing clerk, and such other clerical assistants, and inventors, inspectors, experts, scientists, and special agents as may, from tome to time, be deemed
necessary by the Director of Aeronautics. Until such time as Congress may enact laws creating an Auditor for the Department of Aeronautics, the Auditor for the State and Other Departments shall receive and examine all accounts of salaries and incidental expenses of the office of the Director of Aeronautics, and of all bureaus and offices under his direction and all accounts relating to all other business within the jurisdiction of the Department of Aeronautics, and shall certify the balances arising thereon to the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants of the Treasury Department, and forthwith send a copy of each such certificate to the Director oi Aeronautics.
SEC. 3. That the Department of Aeronautics shall, except as hereinafter provided, be charged with all matters pertaining to aeronautics for the Army and Navy, Post Office Department, Coast Guard, or any other department of Government in times of peace and war, for the improvement and development of science of aeronautics as may deemed desirable in the public interests, for the purpose of extending commerce, and for such other utilization as may work to the betterment of the country; and said department shall be charged with the collection and dissemination of information relating thereto. That, at the direction of the President, the Director at Aeronautics shall, in time of peace and war, assign to the War and Navy Departments for duty with the Army and Navy such aeronautical units as, computed upon the basis of the prevailing size and disposition of the Military and Naval Establishments. the President shall deem necessary. The tactical employment of all such units while so assigned
shall be under the exclusive control of appropriate military or naval commanders, and the personnel of all such units while so assigned shall be subject to the disciplinary laws and regulations governing the branch of the service to which said units have been assigned.
SEC. 4. That to the Department of Aeronautics are hereby transferred such part or parts of all corps, offices, bureaus, divisions, sections, and branches of the Government as pertain to aeronautics now and heretofore under the War Department and the Navy Department, together with all official records and papers in their custody, and all military and naval air stations together with all land, buildings, furniture, apparatus, equipment, machinery vehicles, vessels, and all other property of whatsoever description in the custody of the said air stations or corps, offices, bureaus, divisions, sections, and branches of the Government.
And the President is hereby authorized to transfer to the Department of Aeronautics, at any time, such part as to him may seem best of any corps, offices, bureaus, divisions, or other branches of the Government as may be engaged in work pertaining to aeronautics.
And each and every function, authority, power, duty, and jurisdiction of whatsoever character it may be, vested at the time of any transfer aforesaid in the head of the executive department from which said corps, office, bureau, division, section, or other branch of the Government is transferred, shall to the extent which said function, authority, power, duty, or jurisdiction pertains to said corps, office, bureau, division, section, or other branch of the Government, immediately upon said transfer become vested, and hereafter remain vested, in the Director of Aeronautics. And all unexpended balances of appropriations available at the time of the above-mentioned transfer of corps, office, bureaus, divisions, sections, and branches of the Government and the military and naval air stations for the use of any such transferred corps, office, bureau, division, section, or branch of the Government or military or naval air station, or other branch of the Government, or which may become available thereafter, or for the purpose of pay, additional pay, or allowances of officers, flying officers, enlisted men, or civilian employees thereof, or for any other purpose whatever relating to aeronautics, shall be and remain available in similar manner and to the same extent as if no transfer had been made.
That the Director of Aeronautics shall have charge in the buildings or premises occupied by or appropriated to the Department of Aeronautics of the library, furniture, fixtures, records, and other property pertaining to it, or thereafter required for use in its business. He shall be allowed to expend for the purchase of land, buildings, materials, machinery, vehicles, vessels, and apparatus required for the operations of the Department of Aeronautics in promoting, developing, and regulating navigation of the air, and for periodicals, and for the purpose of the library, and for rental of proper
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quarters for accommodation of the Department of Aeronautics within the District of Columbia, and for other incidental expenses, such sums as Congress may provide from time to time: Provided, however, That where any corps, office, bureau, division, or branch of the Government transferred by this act to the Department of Aeronautics is occupying rented buildings or premises it may still continue to do so until other suitable quarters are provided for its use: And provided further, That subject to the approval of the Director of Aeronautics all civilian employees now employed in any corps, offices, bureaus, divisions, and branches in this act transferred to the Department of Aeronautics are each and all hereby transferred to said department at their present grades and salaries, excepting where otherwise provided in this Act: And provided further, That all laws prescribing work and defining duties of the several corps, offices, bureaus, divisions, and branches by this act transferred to and made a part of the Department of Aeronautics shall, as so far as the same are not in conflict with the provisions of this act, remain in full force and effect, to be executed under the direction of the Director of Aeronautics.
SEC. 5. That the United States Air Force shall consist of all commissioned officers and enlisted men serving in or assigned to the Department of Aeronautics, all reserves of said force, volunteers, or any other air forces acting as part of or attached to the Department of Aeronautics. The personnel of the Department of Aeronautics, including the personnel above transferred or authorized or hereafter transferred thereto from the Departments of War and Navy, shall consist of the commissioned officers and enlisted men comprising the Air Force and civilian employees. Commissioned officers of the Air Force shall be appointed as follows:
(a) From graduates of aeronautical schools
(b) By transfer from the Army or Navy
(c) From the enlisted personnel of the Air Force
(d) From civil life
(e) Experts in various lines of technical work, who shall be commission on a staff basis only.
Enlisted men of the Air Force shall be recruited in a manner similar to that in effect in the Army or Navy, or as may be prescribed by the President. That civilian personnel employed in the Department of Aeronautics shall be of two classes: (a) Personnel subject to civil-service laws, wherever same apply: (b) personnel of certain selected technical qualifications, to be employed at the discretion of the Director of Aeronautics without reference to the civil-service laws.
For the purpose of training, education, and coordination of departmental functions, officers, enlisted men, and civilian personnel of the Departments of War, Navy, and other departments of the Government may be temporarily detailed from time to time to the Department of Aeronautics, under such regulations as shall be agreed upon by the Director of Aeronautics and the head of the other governmental departments concerned. Reciprocal arrangements are herebv authorized to be made for the temporary detail of officers, enlisted men, and civilian personnel, for purposes similar to above mentioned, from the Department of Aeronautics to the other departments of the Government.
For the purpose of securing a reserve of officers and enlisted men for the Air Force, there is hereby established in the Department of Aeronautics an Air Force Reserve, to be organized into such reserve corps, forces, and other organizations as may be prescribed by the President, and said aeronautical reserve, until such time as further legislation is enacted by Congress, shall he governed by all existing laws not inconsistent with this act governing reserve organisations of the Army. All officers and enlisted men in any reserve, reserve corps, or other reserve organizations of the Departments of War and Navy pertaining to aeronautics shall be, and hereby are, transferred to the reserve of the Department of Aeronautics, with equivalent rank, grade, ratings, and privileges, and shall be governed, until otherwise prescribed by the President, by all prevailing laws regarding the reserve of the department from which such officers and enlisted men are transferred.
Subject to the approval at the Director of Aeronautics, the enlisted personnel serving in corps, offices, bureaus, divisions, sections, and branches of the Government pertaining to aeronautics now and heretofore under the War Department and the Navy Department and in this act transferred to the Department of Aeronautics, shall be, and hereby are, transferred to the Air Force with grade, ratings, and allowances equivalent to those now held and received by them. The commissioned personnel serving in corps, offices, bureaus, divisions, sections, and branches of the Government pertaining to aeronautics now and heretofore under the War Department and the Navy Department and in this act transferred to the Department of Aeronautics, may, at the discretion of the President, be transferred to the Air Force and permanently commissioned therein with rank, pay, ratings, and allowances equivalent to those now held
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and received by them: Provided however, That no officer shall be so transferred without his consent: And provided, That officers transferred from the Navy to the Air Force shall be commissioned therein and take rank with officers transferred from the Army to the Air Force according to length of commissioned service: And provided: That all laws now in effect pertaining to the rating of flying officers and enlisted men of the Army shall remain in full force and effect and shall apply to all flying officers of the United States Air Force, except as herein especially provided, and all authority to rate flying officers now delegated by law to officers of the Naval or Military Establishments or any branch of service thereof is hereby transferred and vested in the Director of Aeronautics: And provided further, That former officers of the aeronautical branches of the Army and Navy who served credibly in the war against Germany may be commissioned in the Air Force upon the basis of their record of qualifications and service, without further technical examination at any time within one year from the date of passage of this act.
The officer personnel of the Air Force shall be commissioned in the following grades: Major general, brigadier general, colonel, lieutenant colonel, major, captain, first lieutenant, and second lieutenant. In the initial organization of the Air Force, the number in various grades below the rank of general officer shall not exceed the following percentages of the total authorized strength of the Air Force, namely, colonels 3 per centum; lieutenant colonels, 3 per centum; majors, 9 per centum; captains, 15 per centum; first lieutenants, 30 per centum; second lieutenants, 40 per centum: Provided further: That no officer shall exercise command over aeronautical flying units except a flying officer, namely, a regularly qualified pilot or observer, and that the commanding officer or military head of the Air Force shall be a flying officer.
During a flying officer’s service, if at any time he is detailed to a command which carries a higher grade in the current tables of organization, he shall be entitled to said higher grade during his tenure of the command, and should he be retired while holding such command, he shall be entitled to retirement as of that grade: And provided further, That a flight within a squadron shall be commanded by a captain, a squadron or balloon company shall be commanded by a major, a group of two or more squadrons or balloon companies shall be commanded by a lieutenant colonel, a wing of two or more groups shall be commanded by a colonel, a brigade of two or more wings shall be commanded by a brigadier general, a division or two or more wings shall be commanded by a major general: Provided, That the President may fix the rank to be held by commanders and officers of lighter-than-air units: And provided further, That flying officers of the Air Force, unless promoted to fill existing vacancies, shall be eligible for promotion upon the following basis: After three years’ service to be promoted to first lieutenant, after five years’ service to be promoted to captain, after twelve years’ service to be promoted to major, after twenty years’ service to be promoted to lieutenant colonel, after thirty years’ service to be promoted to colonel. Upon completion of thirty years’ service, or at any time, if on account of physical disability, a flying officer shall be entitled to retirement with 76 per centum of the pay drawn by him at date of retirement. Should a flying officer retire at any time during his period of service of thirty years, except for physical disability, he shall be entitled to retired pay proportioned to the following graduated retirement pay scale: Twenty five per centum retired pay for ten years’ service; 50 per centum retired pay for twenty years’ service; 75 per centum retired pay for thirty years’ service. The retired pay after ten years’ service shall be computed in proportion to the time served: And provided further, That nonflying officers shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges of flying officers except authority to exercise command over aeronautical flying units.
The grade of master aviation mechanic is hereby created in the Department of Aeronautics. The pay, allowances, and rank of a master aviation mechanic shall be equivalent to the pay, allowances, and rank of a master signal electrician in the Signal Corps of the Army. The enlisted strength of the Air Force, exclusive of auxiliary troops, shall consist of master aviation mechanic, first sergeants, sergeants (first class), sergeants, chauffeurs (first class), chauffeurs, corporals, cooks, privates (first class), and privates, the number in each grade being fixed from time to time by the President. The numbers in the various grades shall not exceed the following percentages of the total authorized enlisted strength of the Air Force, namely, master aviation mechanics, 2 per centum; first sergeants, 2 per centum; sergeants (first class), 7 per centum; sergeants, 10 per centum; chauffeurs (first class), 4 per centum; chauffeurs, 8 per centum; corporals, 20 per centum. The number of privates (first class) shall not exceed 25 per centum of the number of privates: Provided, That the ratings of aviation mechanic and balloon mechanic, as now authorized by law for the Army, and with such additional compensation as, in the discretion of the President, shall be deemed necessary from time to time, are hereby authorized for enlisted men of the Air Force, and the Director of Aeronautics is authorized from time to time to cause such number of enlisted men as he may deem necessary to be so rated.
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The total commissioned and enlisted strength of the auxiliary troops of the Air Force, which number shall not be included in the effective strength of the Air Force, and the number in each rank and grade shall be limited and fixed from time to time by the President in accordance with the needs of the Air Force. This strength shall consist of like ranks and grades, and like numbers in each rank and grade, to those now authorized in similar corps and departments of the Army: And provided further, That for the purpose of efficient organization at the outset of operations of the Air Forces, and subject to the approval of the Director of Aeronautics, all officers and enlisted men of the Department of War and the Department of the Navy now serving in staff corps, departments, and bureaus and attached as auxiliary troops to aeronautical headquarters, staffs, tactical units, or other aeronautical organizations within the War or Navy Departments shall be, and hereby are, transferred to the Air Force to be assigned to corresponding staff corps, departments, and bureaus of the Air Force with equivalent rank, grade, pay, and allowances to those previously held and received in their former departments: Provided, however, That no officer shall be so transferred without his consent.
SEC. 6. That all corps, offices, bureaus, divisions, sections. branches, and units of the War and Navy Departments, with all records, papers, furniture, buildings, materials, machinery, apparatus, vehicles, vessels, and material pertaining thereto which have heretofore operated for the purpose of defense against aircraft, including all antiaircraft artillery, antiaircraft machine guns, searchlights, and other appurtenances, are hereby transferred to the Department of Aeronautics.
And each and every function, authority, power, duty, and jurisdiction, of whatsoever character it may be, vested at the time of any transfer aforesaid in the head of the executive department from which such corps, office, bureau, division, section, or branch is transferred, shall to the extent to which such function, authority, power, duty, or jurisdiction pertains to such corps, office, bureau, division, section, or branch of the Government, immediately upon such transfers, become vested and hereafter remain vested in the Director of Aeronautics.
All land, buildings, furniture, apparatus, equipment, and property, of whatsoever description, and all official records and papers in the custody of any executive department from which any corps, office, bureau, division, or other branch of the Government is transferred as aforesaid and pertaining to the business of such transferred corps, office, bureau, division, or other branch of the Government shall at the time of such transfer, or as soon thereafter as practicable, and in so far as such action can be taken without hindering the work of the executive department from which such transfer is made, be given over into the custody of the Department of Aeronautics. And all unexpended balances of appropriations available at the time of such transfer for the use of any such transferred corps, office, bureau, division, or other branch of the Government, or which may become available thereafter, shall be and remain available in similar manner and to the same extent as if no transfer had been made: Provided further, That for the purpose of efficient organization, maintenance, and operations of all defenses against aircraft and subject to the approval of the Director of Aeronautics, all officers, enlisted men, and civilian employees now serving in any of the above mentioned corps, offices, bureaus, divisions, sections, branches, and units which have heretofore operated for the purpose of defense against aircraft shall be, and hereby are, transferred to the Air Force with equivalent rank, grade, pay, and allowances to those previously held and received in their former department: Provided, however, That no officer shall be so transferred without his consent.
SEC. 7. That the administration of the Department of Aeronautics and the Air Force thereof shall be governed by existing laws and regulations governing the War Department and the Army in so far as they are applicable to said department and force as created and organized by this act, until such time as other laws are enacted and until other regulations are prescribed by competent authority; and the commissioned officers and enlisted men of the Air Force of said department shall have, respectively, the tenure of office, status, rights, and privileges that are now or shall hereafter be authorized by law for commissioned officers and enlisted men of similar grades in the Army.
SEC. 8. That the Director of Aeronautics shall annually, at the close of each fiscal year, make a report in writing to Congress, giving an account of all moneys received and disbursed by him and his department and describing the work done by the department. He shall also, from time to time, make such special investigations and reports as may be required by the President or by Congress, or which he himself may deem necessary.
SEC. 9. That this act shall take effect from and after the date of its passage, and all acts or parts of acts contrary to the provisions of this act or inconsistent therewith be, and the same are hereby, repealed.
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