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Claimant contends that in computing his pay under laws relating to increase of pay for length of service his State service in the National Guard, covering a period of five years, nine months, and one day, should be counted, and that during the period of his service as a commissioned officer he should be paid the longevity pay to which an officer of over five years and less than ten years of service is entitled.

Prior to July 9, 1918, only those officers and enlisted men who were in the Federal service by way of draft with the National Guard were entitled to count prior National Guard or Organized Militia State service in computing increase of pay based on length of service. 24 Comp. Dec., 120, 292, 560.

The act of July 9, 1918, 40 Stat., 875, provides:

Longevity Pay for men other than the Regular Army: That officers and enlisted men of the forces of the Army of the United States other than the Regular Army who have had service in the National Guard and Organized Militia of any State, Territory, or District but who have entered the service in the forces of the Army of the United States, otherwise than through draft under the provisions of section one hundred and eleven of the Act of June third, nineteen hundred and sixteen, known as the national defense Act, shall be on the same footing as to pay and allowance as the members of said forces who were drafted under the provisions of said section.

The purpose of this act was to operate as a benefit to those who had entered the branches of the military service not excepted, other than by way of draft, before July 9, 1918. The words " but who have entered" limit and restrict and do not apply to the specified class who were not in the service on July 9, 1918. 27 Comp. Dec., 754. Claimant was in the service as an enlisted man on and before July 9, 1918, and during the period from July 9 to 12, 1918, is entitled to of ($47.60 less $44.) $3.60, amounting to 48 cents, continuousservice pay, being pay as of the second enlistment period less the pay of the first enlistment period he received for that time.

Having been in the service continuously from a date prior to July 9, 1918, his right to count for longevity pay purposes his State service in the National Guard continued on his promotion and appointment as second lieutenant.

For the period from July 13, 1918, to November 8, 1918, during which he served as second lieutenant in foreign service, counting the prior service as an enlisted man in the National Guard and in the Federal service there is on account of longevity pay a credit of $60.24, being 338 months at ($171.41, less $155.83 paid) $15.58 per month.

And for the period from November 9, 1918, to May 30, 1919, during which he was a first lieutenant in foreign service, there is on account of longevity pay a credit of $123.45, being 633 months at ($201.66 less $183.33 paid) $18.331 per month.

Section 11 of the act of May 18, 1920, 41 Stat., 604, contains a proviso as follows:

Provided, That hereafter longevity pay for officers in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Public Health Service, and Coast and Geodetic Survey shall be based on the total of all service in any or all of said services.

This provision of law which became effective on May 18, 1920, indicates the service which shall be credited in computing longevity pay; and the service therein contemplated is active duty or service on the active list. Prior State service must be excluded. 27 Comp. Dec., 287. There is, however, a saving clause embodied in said act as section 14, 41 Stat., 604, which reads as follows:

SEC. 14. That nothing contained in this Act shall operate to reduce the pay or allowances of any officer or enlisted man on the active or retired list: Provided, That the allowances and gratuities now authorized by existing law are not changed hereby, except as otherwise specified in this Act.

This saved to said Arnold the right in the computation of longevity pay to continue to count his prior service in the National Guard until June 4, 1920, when by the sixth paragraph of section 127a of the act of June 4, 1920, 41 Stat., 785, Congress declared— In determining * increase of pay for length of service, active duty performed while under appointment from the United States Government, whether in the Regular, provisional, or temporary forces, shall be credited to the same extent as service under a Regular Army commission.

This excludes service that is not Federal service on the active list, and precludes payment of longevity pay in this case for any time on or after June 4, 1920. 27 Comp. Dec., 290.

By reading section 49 of the Army reorganization act of June 4, 1920, 41 Stat., 784, in connection with the longevity pay paragraph of the act of July 9, 1918, it seems clear that it is only those who enter the service in the forces of the Army of the United States in time of war, to serve during the war, who are entitled to count their prior State service on the active list in the National Guard in computing increase of pay for length of service. 27 Comp. Dec., 248.

For the period from May 31, 1919, to June 3, 1920, during which he was a first lieutenant serving in the United States, there is on account of longevity pay a credit of $201.59, being 12 months at $16.66 per month. The sum of the credits, 48 cents, $60.24, $123.45, and $201.59 hereinbefore stated, is $385.76.

The settlement is reversed.

RETAINER PAY-FLEET NAVAL RESERVE.

Enlisted men who enter the Fleet Naval Reserve by transfer from the Regular Navy are limited by the act of August 29, 1916, 39 Stat., 590, to retainer pay computed upon the base pay they were receiving at the close of their last naval service plus all permanent additions, and are not entitled, therefore, to count for retainer pay purposes previous service in the Marine Corps for which they were not entitled to credit in computing their pay while in the Regular Navy.

Comptroller General McCarl to Commander L. W. Jennings, jr., United States Navy, August 17, 1921:

By reference of the Judge Advocate General, your letter of June 20, 1921, addressed to the Comptroller of the Treasury, was received by this office July 23, 1921, for decision upon the matter therein stated as follows:

George August Shumacher, chief machinist's mate, was transferred to the Fleet Naval Reserve on 8 January, 1918, after service as follows:

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February 24, 1906, to February 23, 1910.
February 24, 1910, to January 8, 1914.
January 9, 1914, to January 8, 1918.

The act of 1 July, 1918, 40 Stat., 710, contains the provision:

"Service in the Navy, Marine Corps, National Naval Volunteers, and Naval Militia shall be counted as continuous service in the Naval Reserve Force, both for the purpose of retirement and of computing retainer pay."

It is requested that I be advised whether in computing his retainer pay, I am authorized to credit the above-named man with the increase provided by article 4427 (23), Navy Regulations, 1913, on account of his enlistment in the Navy on 24 February, 1906, following his discharge from the Marine Corps, on 3 December, 1905.

The act of August 29, 1916, 39 Stat., 590, provides:

Members of the Fleet Naval Reserve who have, when transferred to the Fleet Naval Reserve, completed naval service of sixteen or twenty or more years shall be paid a retainer at the rate of one-third and one-half respectively, of the base pay they were receiving at the close of their last naval service plus all permanent additions thereto :

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It will thus be seen that the retainer pay of a transferred" member of the Fleet Naval Reserve is computed, as to "permanent additions," on those he was entitled to as a member of the Regular Navy on date of tranfer.

In 27 Comp. Dec., 845, it was held, quoting from the syllabus:

Enlisted men of the Navy are not entitled to credit for prior service in the Marine Corps in computing continuous-service pay

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As Shumacher was not, as an enlisted man of the Regular Navy, entitled to continuous-service pay by reason of his service in the Marine Corps, he was not on date of transfer in receipt of a "permanent addition" of $1.50 per month by reason thereof.

The provision from the act of July 1, 1918, quoted in your letter, is taken from a paragraph which from its general application as well as its opening and closing sentences, shows, by excepting "transferred" members of the Fleet Naval Reserve, that the whole paragraph relates to "enrolled" members. It has also been held by the Comptroller of the Treasury that the restriction on eligibility for retirement does not apply to "transferred" members.

Furthermore, length of service in the Naval Reserve Force does not enter into the computation of retainer pay of "transferred” members of the Fleet Naval Reserve.

You are accordingly advised that Chief Machinist's Mate Shumacher is not entitled in computing his retainer pay to credit for the increase provided by article 4427 (23), Naval Regulations, 1913, on account of the enlistment in question.

HONORABLE DISCHARGE GRATUITY—ARMY, ENLISTED MEN. An enlisted man who enlisted in the Army for a term of seven years and is continued in active service for more than four years does not thereby become entitled to the honorable discharge gratuity at the expiration of the four-year period, as such gratuity is payable only upon a reenlistment within three months after receipt of an honorable discharge.

Decision by Comptroller General McCarl, August 17, 1921:

Wade V. Jones applied August 8, 1921, for revision of the action of the Auditor for the War Department in disallowing by settlement No. 780276, dated June 13, 1921, his claim for three months' extra pay as a private, Company H, Nineteenth Infantry.

It appears that the claimant entered the military service on June 27, 1914, as a private of Company H, Nineteenth Infantry, and served continuously, as a private, until October 20, 1919, when he was furloughed to the Regular Army Reserve. He was discharged on June 4, 1920.

It is contended that on the expiration of four years' active service the claimant was entitled to three months' extra pay under the act of May 11, 1908, 35 Stat., 110, which reads:

That hereafter any private soldier, musician, or trumpeter honorably discharged at the termination of his first enlistment period who reenlists within three months of the date of said discharge shall, upon such reenlistment, receive an amount equal to three months' pay at the rate he was receiving at the time of his discharge.

The statute in force at the time of claimant's enlistment was the act of August 24, 1912, 37 Stat., 590, which provided that an enlistment should be for a period of seven years. It was further provided, among other things, that at the end of four years of active service a soldier could be discharged and reenlisted or furloughed to the Regular Army Reserve. Section 7 of the act of May 18, 1917, 40 Stat., 81, states that all enlistments, including those in the Regular Army Reserve, which were in force on the date of the approval of the act, should continue in force during the emergency, unless sooner terminated. This provision operated as an inhibition to a discharge during the emergency not ordered by the Secretary of War under his general power to grant discharges in the interest of the Government. 24 Comp. Dec., 345.

As conditions precedent to the payment of the three months' extra pay under the act of May 11, 1908, the soldier must have been honorably discharged and reenlisted within three months from the

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date of discharge. The continuation of the enlistment after four years' service without being furloughed was in accordance with the requirements of the act of May 18, 1917, and the conditions do not entitle the claimant to three months' extra pay simply because four years' active service had been rendered under the enlistment which had seven years to run.

Upon review of the matter no differences are found, and the settlement is sustained.

TRAVEL ALLOWANCE ON EXTENSION OF ENLISTMENT-MARINE CORPS, ENLISTED MEN.

An enlisted man who is discharged after November 11, 1918, from any branch of the naval service for the purpose of reenlisting in the Navy or Marine Corps, or who extends his enlistment in the Navy or Marine Corps, is entitled, under section 6, act of June 4, 1920, 41 Stat., 836, to travel allowance to his actual bona fide home or residence, or place of original muster into the service. irrespective of the date of his enlistment.

Comptroller General McCarl to the Secretary of the Navy, August 18, 1921:

By your direction on July 20, 1921, there was forwarded to this office by the Judge Advocate General of the Navy a letter from the Paymaster of the United States Marine Corps, wherein is requested decision of the following question:

Is a man who has enlisted since November 11, 1918, and who shall extend his enlistment for one, two, three, or four years, entitled to travel pay at five cents per mile from place where extension of enlistment becomes effective to his actual bona fide home or residence, or original muster into the service at his option?

This question has arisen in the consideration and application of the provisions of section 6 of the act of June 4, 1920, 41 Stat., 836, which so far as they relate to travel pay are as follows:

That in case any enlisted man or enrolled man, who, since the 11th day of November, 1918, has been or hereafter shall be discharged from any branch or class of the naval service for the purpose of reenlisting in the Navy or Marine Corps or heretofore has extended or hereafter shall extend his enlistment therein, he shall be entitled to travel pay as authorized in section 3 of the act * approved February 28, 1919:

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Section 3 of the act of February 28, 1919, 40 Stat., 1203, amends the travel-pay section (126) of the act of June 3, 1916, to read as follows:

That an enlisted man honorably discharged from the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps since November eleventh, nineteen hundred and eighteen, or who may hereafter be honorably discharged, shall receive five cents per mile from the place of his discharge to his actual bona fide home or residence, or original muster into the service at his option: Provided, That for sea travel on discharge, transportation and subsistence only shall be furnished to enlisted men: Provided, That naval reservists duly enrolled who have been honorably released from active service since November eleventh, nineteen hundred and eighteen, or who may hereafter be honorably released from active service, shall be entitled likewise to receive mileage as aforesaid.

The paymaster in his letter referring to section 6 of the act of June 4, 1920, says:

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