80th Congress 
1st Session 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Report 
No. 387 
THE ARMY-NAVY MEDICAL SERVICES CORPS ACT OF 1947 
May 14, 1947.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
the Union and ordered to be printed 
Mrs. Smith of Maine, from the Committee on Armed Services, sub- 
mitted the following 
REPORT 
[To accompany H. R. 3215] 
The Committee on Armed Services, to whom was referred the bill 
(H. R, 3215) to revise the Medical Department of the Army and the 
Medical Department of the Navy, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and 
recommend that the bill as amended do pass. 
The amendments are as follows: 
On page 2, in line 24, strike out the words “appoint such” and 
substitute in lieu thereof the word “designate.” 
On page 3, in line 22, strike out the word “recognized” and substitute 
in lieu thereof the word “accredited.” 
On page 3, in line'23, insert a comma after the word “pharmacy” 
and immediately thereafter insert the word “optometry.” 
On page 7, in line 6, strike out the word “Administrative” and 
substitute in lieu thereof the word “Administration”. 
On page 7, in line 10, strike out the numeral “4” and substitute in 
lieu thereof the numerals “20”. 
On page 7, in line 11, strike out the words “Hospital Corps” and 
substitute in lieu thereof the words “Medical Corps of the Navy”. 
On page 7, line 13, change the comma to a period, strike out the 
remainder of section 201 and substitute in lieu thereof the following: 
The first proviso to section 4 of the Act of June 10, 1926 (44 Stat. 719), as 
amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows: “That except as other- 
wise provided herein, officers having the same rank and the same date of precedence 
in that rank shall take precedence in the following order: (a) line officers, (b) 
medical officers, (c) supply officers, (d) chaplains, (e) civil engineers, (f) dental 
officers, (g) officers of the Medical Service Corps, and (h) officers of the Nurse 
Corps.” The authorized number of captains on the active list of the Medical 
Service Corps shall equal 2 per centum of the total number of officers on the active 2 
THE ARMY-NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS ACT OF 194 7 
list of that corps at any one time. A computation to determine such authorized 
number shall be made by the Secretary of the Navy as of January first of each 
year, and the resulting number as so computed shall be held and considered for all 
purposes as the authorized number until a subsequent corrfputation shall be made. 
On page 7, in line 21, strike out the words “other staff officers” and 
substitute in lieu thereof “officers of the Medical Corps ofthe Navy”. 
On page 8, in line 7, change the period to a colon and add the follow- 
ing proviso: 
And provided further, That commanders in the Medical Service Corps shall not be 
involuntarily retired by reason of failure of selection for promotion until they shall 
have completed thirty years of service. 
On page 8, in line 23, strike out the word “recognized” and substi- 
tute in lieu thereof the word “accredited”. 
On page 8, in line 23, insert a comma after the word “pharmacy” 
and immediately thereafter insert the word “optometry”. 
On page 10, strike out lines 6, 7, and 8 and substitute in lieu thereof 
the following; 
of the Navy, nor shall any such officer suffer reduction in the pay and allowances 
to which entitled by virtue of his permanent status by reason of appointment in 
the Medical Service Corps established by this title. 
Purpose 
The purpose of H. R. 3215 is to establish in the Medical Depart- 
ments of the Regular Army and Navy a Medical Service Corps with 
a Reserve component, which will be composed of pharmacists, sani- 
tary engineers, optometrists, psychologists, bacteriologists, business 
administrators and similar skills. Experience during W orld War II 
demonstrated the advisability of including these scientific and highly 
trained specialists of the Medical Departments of the Army and the 
Navy in a single corps. 
During World War II a large number of officers, 22,000 in the case 
of the Army, served in these capacities with distinction and both 
branches of the service are highly desirous that legislation be enacted 
which would permit the retention of these skilled specialists in service. 
Except in the case of pharmacists, there are no provisions of law 
which would provide for the retention of this group of people in the 
Regular Army and Navy beyond the date of the expiration of the 
war and 6 months. 
The provisions of H. R. 3215 were originally presented to the com- 
mittee in three separate bills; H. R. 1982, a bill to establish a Medical 
Service Corps in the Army; H. R. 1361, a bill to establish the com- 
missioned grade of medical administrator in the Hospital Corps of the 
Navy; H. R. 1603, a bill to establish the Medical Associated Sciences 
Corps in the Medical Department of the Navy. A total of eight 
public hearings Were held on these bills as a result of which H. R. 3215 
was introduced and contains almost identical provisions for the estab- 
lishment of a Medical Service Corps in both the Army and the Navy 
Medical Departments. The thoroughness with which this proposed 
legislation was considered is further indicated in the following list of 
witnesses who testified during the course of the public hearings; THE ARMY-NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS ACT OF 194 7 
3 
Maj. Gen. Norman T. Kirk, Surgeon General of the Army. 
Col. Frances P. Kintz, Assistant to the Surgeon General of the Army, 
Maj. Bernard Aabel, Army Medical Research Laboratory. 
Maj. James Baty, Army Medical Research Laboratory. 
Rear Adm. Clifford A. Swanson, Surgeon General of the Navy. 
Captain Hakarsson (USNR), Naval Medical Research Laboratory. 
Capt. Arthur Vorwald, Naval Medical Research Laboratory. 
Lt. Comdr. O. L. Young, Department of Medicine and Surgery of the Navy. 
W. C. Douglas, civilian assistant to Surgeon General of the Navy. 
Capt. Ira Nunn, legislative counsel of the Navv Department. 
H. S. Hansen, chairman, American Societv of Hospital Pharmacists. 
Robert P. Fischelis, secretary, American Pharmaceutical Association. 
Robert R. Swain, editor, Drug Topics, New York Citv. 
George Frates, National Association of Retail Druggists. 
A. G. DuMez, dean, School of Pharmacv, University of Maryland. 
Henry M. Chick, representative of Sanitary Engineers and member of National 
Society of Professional Engineers. 
Dr. William C. Ezell, past president, American Optometrical Association. 
Joseph Babcock, vice president, American Optometrical Association. 
Arthur H. Einbeck, chairman of Committee of Pharmacists in Government Serv- 
ice and representing: American Pharmaceutical Association, National Associa- 
tion of Retail Druggists, American Association of College of Pharmacy, 
N. A. B. P. 
WITNESSES AND AGENCY REJRESENTED 
Sectional Survey 
TITLE I ARMY MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS 
Section 101: Provides for the statutory establishment of a Medical 
Service Corps in the Army with three sections: Pharmacy, Supply, 
and Administration Section; a Medical Allied Sciences Section; and 
Optometry Section, and such other sections as the Secretary of War 
may deem necessary. It further provides the strength of the corps 
to be established by the Secretary of War and provides a 2-percent 
limit on the officer strength of full colonels. 
Section 102: (a) Provides for the appointment of a Chief of the 
Medical Service Corps by the Secretary of War in the grade of colonel 
from officers of the Corps of major or above. 
(6) Establishes the appointment of assistant chiefs to be consult- 
ants to the Surgeon General on activities peculiar to a specific section. 
(c) Provides for the retirement of the Chief of the corps with the 
rank of colonel after having served 4 years as Chief of the corps. 
Section 103: Establishes the qualifications for initial appointments 
in the corps. It permits the entrance of a man coming in as second 
lieutenant between the ages of 21 and 30 years, if he is physically and 
otherwise qualified. The proviso in this section which permits ap- 
pointments from sources other than the Regular Army or its active 
Reserve, removes any bar from an enlisted man getting a commission 
in this corps. The proviso further states that if a person enters the 
corps directly from civil life and not as a Regular Army or active 
Reserve officer, he must have a 4-year college-graduate educational 
level. It further provides that if such person has a cfoctorate degree, 
he may at the time of the appointment be given 3 years’ service 
credit for determining grade, position on promotion list, permanent 
grade seniority, and eligibility for promotion, and he would then come 
in as a first lieutenant with 3 years’ service credit. 
Section 104: Provides that promotion from second lieutenant to 
lieutenant colonel, inclusive, shall be in accordance with the present 4 
THE ARMY-NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS ACT OF 194 7 
law for promotion of promotion-list officers to such grades, respec- 
tively. Promotion to colonel to be by selection from officers having 
at least 1 year’s service as lieutenant colonels. 
Section 105: Provides for the amendment of Public Law 281, 
Seventy-ninth Congress, in order to integrate into the new corps those 
persons now in the Pharmacy Corps. Under Public Law 281, as 
amended, the Regular Army Pharmacy Corps was used as a vehicle 
for integration and qualified wartime officers were integrated on a 
base age of 25 years in the grades of second lieutenant to major, 
inclusive, into the Regular Army Pharmacy Corps. Since the 
Medical Service Corps will replace the Pharmacy Corps, on the pro- 
motion list of the Army generally, Public Law 281 must be amended 
so that the present members of the Pharmacy Corps may be integrated 
into the new corps on the same basis as promotion-list officers, rather 
than on the basis of the Pharmacy Corps, which was used only as a 
vehicle. 
Section 106: Provides for the transfer of all officers in the present 
Regular Army Pharmacy Corps to the Medical Service Corps, without 
loss of time, grade, position, or seniority. 
Section 107: (a) Abolishes the Pharmacy Corps and the Medical 
Administrative Corps, which are the two Regular Army corps that 
exist at the present time for this type of personnel. By the act of 
June 12, 1943 (57 Stat. 430), a Pharmacy Corps was established in 
the Regular Army, and although the Medical Administrative Corps 
was not abolished, it was provided that officers holding commissions 
in the Medical Administrative Corps would be transferred to the 
Pharmacy Corps. The Medical Administrative Corps was thus left 
without personnel. 
(6) Of this section is necessary to provide for temporary officers who 
are on active duty at this time by virtue of AUS commissions. The 
Medical Administrative Corps and the Pharmacy Corps in which they 
are personally detailed is being abolished by this legislation. There- 
fore, some provision must be made in order to effect their transfer 
to the new Medical Service Corps. 
(c) Authorizes the Secretary of War to prescribe such regulations 
as are necessary to implement this title. 
('d) Is a routine wording for all Army legislation, that no back pay 
accrues by reason of this enactment. 
(e) Abolishes any laws which are inconsistent or in conflict with 
title I of the act. 
TITLE II—NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS 
Section 201: Is similar to section 101 which establishes a Medical 
Service Corps for the Army. This section establishes such a corps 
for the Navy with similar provisions. It establishes the strength of 
the corps and provides for their precedence next after officers of the 
Dental Corps and places a limit of 2 percent on the number of captains 
who may be on the active list at any one time. 
Section 202: Provides that officers of this corps will be officers of a 
staff corps and that all provisions of law now existing or hereafter 
enacted will be applicable to them. The only difference between the 
composition of selection board for staff officers of this corps is that THE ARMY-NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS ACT OF 194 7 
5 
the selection board shall be composed of not less than six nor more 
than nine officers of the Medical Corps nit below the rank of oaptain. 
As a result of this provision, any subsequent enactments applicable to 
the Medical Corps would automatically include staff officers of the 
Medical Service Corps. 
Section 203: Public Law 347 is the act under which Reserve officers 
are integrated into the Navy and is reiterated here for the purpose of 
the integration of Reserve officers into the Medical Service Corps of 
the Navy. 
Section 204: Defines the qualifications of persons who are eligible 
for appointment in the Medical Service Corps of the Navy. They 
shall be in the grade of ensign from those persons serving as commis- 
sioned warrant or warrant officers of the Hospital Corps of the Regu- 
lar Navy and from other persons who possess such physical and other 
qualifications for appointment as may be prescribed by the Secretary 
of the Navy. This section also provides that appointments from 
sources other than the Regular Navy shall be from persons who are 
graduates of recognized schools of pharmacy, optometry, or other 
schools or colleges with degrees in sciences allied to medicine or such 
degrees as may be apnroved by the Surgeon General. It also pro- 
vides that persons holding a doctorate degree may be appointed in the 
grade of lieutenant (junior grade). 
Section 205; Provides that all appointments in the Medical Service 
Corps shall be made by the President by and with the advice and con- 
sent of the Senate. 
Section 206: Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to revoke the 
commission of any officer appointed pursuant to section 204 of this 
act. * 
Section 207; Precludes officers of the Medical Service Corps from 
the right to command in the line or any other staff corps of the Navy. 
Section 208: Is a technical section which is necessary in order to 
bring the Medical Service Corps within the purview of present laws 
or laws which may be subsequently enacted relating to the various 
staff corps of the Navy. 
Section 209: Authorizes the Secretary of Navy to prescribe the 
necessary regulations to carry out the provisions of title II. 
TITLE III THE HOSPITAL CORPS OF THE NAVY 
Title III is merely the reenactment of the existing law which is 
necessary because of the desire of the Navy Department to remove the 
misnomer under which Navy pharmacists have always suffered. The 
word “pharmacist” in the Navy Hospital Corps is in reality a mis- 
nomer and by the changing of certain designations, the misnomer is 
herein removed. 
Subparagraph (b) of section 301 has the purpose of permitting 
original appointments in the Medical Service Corps from first-class 
petty officers as well as chief petty officers. 
Section 302 is a restatement of existing law. 
In its consideration of H. R. 3215, the committee has been con- 
fronted with objections from some of the personnel who would be 
affected by the enactment of this proposal into law. Some complain 
because they desire a separate corps rather than the merging of 
specialized groups of diversified capabilities within the same corps. 6 
THE ARMY-NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS ACT OF 194 7 
Others have complained because their particular group has not been 
specifically mentioned and given a section in the new corps. The 
committee has not arbitrarily dismissed the criticisms of these groups 
and individuals and has reached its decision only after the fullest con- 
sideration. It is appropriate to state that the Surgeon General of the 
Army and the Surgeon General of the Navy have been attempting, for 
the past 2 years, to perfect some legislation which would be reasonably 
acceptable to all of the specialized groups concerned. The committee 
is also aware that of the various groups of people represented in the 
new corps, only the pharmacists have an independent corps at the 
present time. It is commendable that the pharmacists are accepting 
positions of less autonomy as one of the several sections in the new 
Medical Service Corps in order that the various groups who have 
specialties allied to medicine may be merged into a single corps which 
is calculated to produce a permanent and better service for the per- 
sonnel of the armed services. 
Both the Army and Navy consider the enactment of this legislation 
a matter of urgency. Both the Army and the Navy are losing special- 
ists because of the fact that there is no legislation which permits their 
retention in the service on a permanent basis. Extensive and ex- 
pensive installations have been constructed at the expense of the tax- 
payers and must be manned by competent personnel. The Naval 
Medical Research Laboratory at Bethesda, representing an investment 
of $4,000,000, is an outstanding example. 
In considering its needs, the Army anticipates using a force of 
1,000 officers in the Army Medical Service Corps while the Navy 
places its need at 863 officers. Due to the fact that the new corps in 
the Army will be staffed by officers who are already on active duty in a 
Reserve or AUS capacity, the Army does not anticipate the expendi- 
ture of any additional funds in the enactment of this legislation. 
Due to the integration of warrant and chief warrant officers into the 
Navy corps, the Navy estimates that no additional cost will be 
incurred by enactment of this legislation. 
The War Department and the Navy Department favor the proposed 
legislation as is indicated in letters from the Secretary of War and the 
Acting Secretary of the Navy, which letters are hereby made a part 
of this report. 
The Armed Services Committee concurs with the War and Navy 
Departments as to the urgent need of this legislation and recommends 
the enactment of this bill at the earliest possible date. 
February 4, 1947. 
The Speaker, 
The House of Representatives. 
Dear Mr. Speaker: There is enclosed herewith a draft of bill to revise the 
Medical Department of the Army and for other purposes, which the War De- 
partment recommends be enacted into law. 
The purpose of title I of the proposed legislation is to establish in the Medical 
Department of the Army a corps to be known as the Medical Service Corps which 
will absorb the Pharmacy Corps and the Medical Administrative Corps and will 
consist of a Pharmacy Section, the Medical Allied Science Section, the Optometry 
Section, and such other sections as may be deemed necessary by the Secretary 
of War. Officers of the Medical Service Corps will perform duties as biochemists, 
nutritional experts, optometrists, bacteriologists, parasitologists, and related spe- 
cialists. The promotion system for officers of the Medical Service Corps would be 7 
THE ARMY-NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS ACT OF 1947 
the same as now or hereafter provided for officers of the promotion-list arms and 
services, except that promotion to the grade of colonel would be by selection and 
the number of officers in this grade would be limited to 2 percent of the Regular 
Army authorized commissioned strength of the corps. It should be noted in 
this connection, however, that under existing law, lieutenant colonels after 30 
years’ service draw the same pay and allowances as a colonel even though not 
promoted to such rank. Officers commissioned in the Pharmacy Corps would be 
transferred to the Medical Service Corps in grade, and would be thereafter pro- 
moted according to the above promotion system. No back pay would accrue 
to any person by reason of the proposed act. 
The proposed Medical Service Corps is an integral part of the postwar plan for 
the Medical Department of the Army. Experience during the war has demon- 
strated the advisability of the inclusion of scientific assistants in the Medical 
Department. It is desired that the various categories be placed in one Medical 
Service Corps, all of whom would be placed on equal footing and promoted after 
completion of years of service similar to officers of the promotion-list arms and 
services. Separate corps for each of the various categories needed in the Army 
would not make for efficient administration. 
Prior to July 12, 1943, the law provided for a Medical Administrative Corps in 
the Medical Department of the Army. Officers of this corps were promoted to the 
grade of first lieutenant and captain after 5 years’ and 10 years’ commissioned 
service, respectively. The act of July 12, 1943 (10 U. S. C. 131), established in the 
Medical Department the Pharmacy Corps and provided that officers of the 
Regular Army holding commissions in the Medical Administrative Corps on the 
date of enactment of the act be transferred to the Pharmacy Corps. This act 
provided that officers be promoted to the grades of first lieutenant, captain, major, 
lieutenant colonel, and colonel after completion of 3, 6, 12, 20, and 26 years, 
respectively, which placed these officers on a promotion system more rapid than 
those of the promotion-list arms and services, whereas prior to the act, the officers 
of the Medical Administrative Corps were promoted more slowly than the promo- 
tion-list officers. 
Not including the officers now being integrated under the current integration 
program authorized by Public Law 281, Seventy-ninth Congress, as amended, 
there are relatively few (approximately 70) officers in the Pharmacy Corps of the 
Regular Army. Officers of the various categories to be included in the Medical 
Service Corps were utilized during the war as officers of the Army of the United 
States. Public Law 281, Seventy-ninth Congress, approved December 28, 1945, 
authorized the commissioning of officers in both the Pharmacy Corps and the 
Medical Administrative Corps; however, for administrative reasons such officers 
are currently being integrated only in the Pharmacy Corps. The number of 
officers now being appointed therein will bring the strength of this corps to ap- 
proximately 1,650 officers. The proposed legislation would effect the transfer in 
grade of these officers to the Medicaf Service Corps. They include many cate- 
gories other than pharmacists. 
The purpose of title II of proposed draft of a bill is to establish the Army Nurse 
Corps and the Women’s Medical Specialists Corps in the Medical Department of 
the Regular Army. The Women’s Medical Specialist Corps will consist of a 
Dietitian Section, a Physical Therapists Section, and an Occupational Therapists 
Section. 
It is necessary that the personnel of the corps mentioned above be appointed 
to commissions in the Regular Army lor the folowing reasons: 
(a) Nurses, physical therapists, and dietitians have been officers in the Army 
of the United States during World War II. In this capacity, these officers have 
contributed immeasurably to the welfare of our wounded, and have been a credit 
not only to the Medical Department, but to the Army as a whole. The use of 
occupational therapists who were civilians during World War II will require their 
militarization in the postwar Army with placement on an equal status with the 
nurses, dietitians, and physical therapists. Personnel in these categories are 
now being recruited by other governmental and civilian agencies. In order to 
obtain their services, it is important that they be offered commissions in the 
Regular Army. 
(b) By offering commissioned status to such personnel, the Medical Depart- 
ment will be able to procure the services of individuals possessing high profes- 
sional standards of performance and efficiency. The requirements for appoint- 
ment in the Army Nurse Corps, or in sections of the Women’s Medical Specialty 
Corps will be high, necessitating educational training and background consistent 
with commissioned status in the Army. Applicants possessing qualifications for 8 
THE ARMY-NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS ACT OF 194 7 
such corps would be graduates of recognized institutions in the field of their 
specialty, and their educational background would be commensurate with that 
squired for other officers. If early legislative authorization is obtained, those 
best qualified may be given an opportunity to remain in the Medical Department 
of the Army to carry out the postwar program. 
(c) The personnel involved must be subject to transfer from one Army hospital 
to another and to foreign theaters, including the Philippines, Hawaii, and outpost 
islands. The nursing and collateral services of this personnel must be mobile, 
and it is impossible to perfect such an organization in the civilian status. Their 
militarization is indispensable to the successful operation of Army hospitals and 
will be more so in the postwar period. 
(d) To maintain proper discipline and control in the operation of hospital 
wards, kitchens, and clinics, and the care of military personnel, it is necessary 
that those exercising this control be commissioned and have authority as officers. 
(e) Commissioning the female personnel referred to above will secure per- 
manency and continuity in service which could not be obtained through civil- 
service employment. 
(/) The cost of commissioning this female personnel in the postwar Army would 
be no greater than the cost of their employment as civilians, first, because the 
competitive salaries paid in civilian institutions for women performing similar 
services are much higher, and, second, because of the necessity for a larger staff in 
a civilian status. 
(g) Public opinion has looked with great favor upon the nurse as a commissioned 
officer in World War II, and to deny her the officer status in the postwar Army 
would demoralize and destroy the Array Nurse Corps. The physical therapists 
and the dietitions stand in the same position. 
{h) Army nurses and the female personnel included in sections of the Women’s 
Medical Specialty Corps are an indispensable part of the Medical Department of 
the Army. Proper medical care cannot be given without their services. They 
have a logical and necessary place in the Army. During the war their service was 
not to replace men but to perform a task which has always been essentially a 
woman’s duty. The work of all—the nurse, the physical therapist, the dietitian, 
and the occupational therapist—is interrelated. 
The Army Nurse Corps has been in the Regular Army as a militarized force 
since 1901. Nurses held relative rank with officers, but there was discrimination 
in pay to the detriment of the nurse. Public Law 828, Seventy-seventh Congress 
approved December 22. 1942, continued relative rank but increased the pay to 
the same amount as male officers. Public Law 350, Seventy-eighth Congress, 
approved June 22, 1944, places the nurse in the same AUS status as all officers, 
giving them the same benefits, privileges, and command authority in the sphere 
of their action. There have been 80,444 nurses as Army officers, AUS, under 
the authority of this act'. There will be.a need of 6 nurses per 1,000 in the 
strength of the postwar Army, with a minimum requirement as set out in the 
proposed legislation. It is hoped to select from those who have had the experience 
in this war, the best as a nucleus for the postwar Army Nurse Corps, and to 
expand it as the Army increases, from the best of younger nurses from civilian 
life over the period of years ahead. Military status will attract the best. With- 
out it, it is a practical impossibility to obtain this needed personnel. 
Physical theranists and dietitians were accorded relative rank upon the passage 
of Public Law 828, Seventy-seventh Congress, and were appointed to temporary 
commissions in the AUS upon the passage of Public Law 350, Seventy-eighth 
Congress. Educational standards for physical therapists, dietitians, and occupa- 
tional therapists are high. All must possess college degrees with maior emphasis 
in their particular field and possess specialized training in addition. Their 
functions vary. Physical therapists are in hospitals administering highly special- 
ized treatment for the sick and wounded as prescribed and directed by a medical 
officer and are in continuous association with medical officers and nurses. Dieti- 
tians supervise preparation and serving of food to the sick and wounded and 
likewise are in intimate association with the nurses, physical therapists and other 
medical department officers. Occupational therapists are concerned with the 
reconditioning and rehabilitation of patients who, because of their injuries or 
ailments, handicapped in their vocations or avocations. All three categories 
are relatively small. The appointment to commission of their members is necessary 
in order to insure continued special care to the patients in Army hospitals. 
Creation of a Medical Service Corps under title I will not occasion any additional 
cost to the Government, since the strength of the corps is within the authorized 
increment for the Regular Army, and since the functions prescribed in section 101 THE ARMY-NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS ACT OF 194 7 
9 
for this corps must be performed in any event. Total annual costs to the Govern- 
ment will be approximately the same whether the various categories of specialists 
to be included within the corps perform their functions in the corps or in another 
branch of the Army. The change in promotion system over a period of will 
result in a slight decrease in cost to the Government. Title II of the proposed 
legislation will not result in any immediate increase in cost to the Government as 
the officers appointed will replace temporary officers now on active duty and a 
relatively small number of civilian occupational therapists whose salaries parallel 
that of the officers who will replace them. The War Depa”tment is unable at this 
time to determine the fiscal effect of the proposed legislation in future years. 
The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission 
of this proposed legislation for the consideration of the Congress. 
Respectfully, 
Robert P. Patterson, 
Secretary cf War. 
Navy Department, 
Washington, January 6, 1947. 
Hon. Joseph W. Martin, Jr., 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. 
My Dear Mr. Speaker: There is transmitted herewith a draft of a proposed 
bill to establish the commissioned grade of Medical Administrator in the Hospital 
Corps of the Navy, and for other purposes. 
The purpose of the proposed legislation is to provide for the appointment of 
commissioned officers in the Hospital Corps in the grade of medical administrator 
with rank from ensign to captain, inclusive. Such officers would be staff officers 
subject to all laws relating to advancement in rank and retirement of other staff 
officers of the Navy, and the total number of such officers would not exceed 3 per- 
cent of the authorized strength of the Hospital Corps. Initial appointments of 
officers would be made under the authority of the act of April 18, 1946 (Public 
Law 347, 79th Cong., 2d sess.). Initial appointments of graduates of recognized 
schools of pharmacy and graduates of recognized schools granting degrees in 
sciences allied to medicine other than pharmacy would be limited to specified 
percentages. In addition to the initial appointments, original appointments 
would be made in the rank of ensign, from persons not over 32 years of age and 
from the following classes in specified percentages: (a) Members of the Hospital 
Corps in commissioned warrant or warrant grades, (b) graduates of recognized 
schools of pharmacy and (c) graduates of recognized schools granting degrees in 
sciences allied to medicine other than pharmacy. Provisions are also included 
requiring establishment of qualifications for appointment; permitting revocation 
of commissions of original appointees while serving with the rank of ensign; 
assignment of running mates upon removal of the suspension of permanent 
promotions; limiting the command of Hospital Corps officers and preventing 
reduction in pay or allowances by reason of appointment under the act. The bill 
would also amend existing law to change the classifications of the enlisted men of 
the Hospital Corps. 
The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery has been handicapped in its efforts to 
maintain the highest possible standards of efficiency throughout the Medical 
Department of the Navy (a) from the managerial standpoint, because of the 
inadequate rank of the officers of the Hospital Corps, which has resulted in either 
the inability of the Medical Department to make the fullest use of their qualifica- 
tions, or the assignment to such officers of duties and responsibilities far in excess 
of those commensurate with their warrant or commissioned warrant status; and 
(b) from the professional standpoint, because of the absence of any provision of 
law whereby members of the professions allied to medicine could be commissioned 
in the Medical Department of the Regular Navy in ranks commensurate with 
their educational qualifications and professional attainments. 
The experiences of the Navy during World W ar II have demonstrated that 
there are many managerial and, professional duties within the Medical Depart- 
ment which, while not requiring personnel with the professional qualifications of 
medical practitioners, do demand qualifications and impose responsibilities of a 
higher order than those normally assigned to personnel of the warrant grades. 
Such duties are those concerned with the administration and management of 
hospitals, medical supply depots, medical storehouses, Hospital Corps schools 10 
THE army-navy medical service CORPS ACT OF 1947 
and naval dispensaries, and with the medical department headquarters of naval 
districts, naval bases, and fleet and force commanders, and in particular with the 
personnel, materiel and fiscal aspects of these activities. Such duties also include 
scientific research, hygiene and sanitation, and treatment and corrective pro- 
cedures requiring highly specialized services of a professional character closely 
allied to the professions of medicine, surgery, and dentistry. Because of the 
nature of the institutions operated by the Medical Department of the Navy and 
because its mission involves naval and military, as well as professional and tech- 
nical aspects, individuals qualified to meet these diversified requirements must 
be drawn both from within the Medical Department of the Navy and from those 
individuals in civil life who are qualified by education and experience in the pro- 
fessions allied to the medical profession. 
The handicaps referred to above have been overcome to an extent during World 
War II by the expedient of promoting officers of the Hospital Corps to temporary 
commissioned rank and by commissioning in the Naval Reserve members of the 
professions allied to the medical profession. The temporary promotions in com- 
missioned ranks may only continue in force until 6 months after the termination 
of the act of June 30, 1942 (56 Stat. 463). Unless legislation such as that hereby 
proposed is enacted at an early date, the Medical Department of the Navy, in 
the near future, may well expect to find itself in the same situation, insofar as 
this personnel problem is concerned, as existed during the period between the 
close of World War I and the beginning of World War II. 
The length of service of permanent officers of the Hospilial Corps, who are now 
serving in temporary commissioned ranks, varies in individual cases from 16 
to 40 years. Many of these officers hold degrees in law, chemistry, pharmacy, 
accountancy, and business administration, pharmaceutical chemistry and degrees 
in other sciences allied to medicine. The majority of the permanent officers of 
the Hospital Corps have attended colleges, universities, or other special courses 
of instruction, either in naval or civilian institutions, in one or more of the special- 
ties allied to the work of the Medical Department. All of these who have 
attended civilian institutions of learning have done so on their own initiative, in 
addition to their regular full-time duties, and in many cases at their own expense, 
and consequently these officers were able to assume responsibilities of a higher- 
grade than those demanded of their rank and to render greater services to the 
Navy. 
Laws relating to the Medical Department of the Army have provided in the 
Medical Administrative Corps and in the Pharmacy Corps commissioned rank 
for nonmedical personnel from second lieutenant to colonel, inclusive, similar to- 
that in the proposed legislation for the personnel of the Hospital Corps. 
On the basis of the authorized strength of the Navy established by the act of 
April 18, 1946 (Public Law 347, 79th Cong., 2d sess.) the number of Hospital 
Corps officers under the proposed legislation would be 630. In order to avoid 
“humps” in the promotion list the officer strength of the Hospital Corps would be 
built up over a period of years. It is proposed that 75 percent of the billets would 
be filled during the fiscal year 1947, and that an additional 5 percent over and 
above attrition, would be appointed each succeeding year until 100 percent of 
the authorized officer strength would be reached during the fiscal year 1952. 
The estimated cost of the proposed legislation is set forth in enclosure 1, which 
is attached hereto. 
For the foregoing reasons the Navy Department recommends enactment of the 
proposed legislation. 
The Navy Department has been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there 
is no objection to the submission of this report to the Congress. 
Sincerely yours, 
W. John Kenney, 
Acting Secretary of the Navy. THE ARMY-NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS ACT OF 194 7 
11 
Estimated cost of the -proposed Hospital Corps hill over the 10-year period, July lr 
to July 1, 1956 
Fiscal period 
Estimated cost 
of proposed 
bill 
Estimated cost 
under existing 
law 
Excess cost 
of proposed 
bill over cost 
under existing 
law 
Julv I, 1946. to July 1, 1947 
July 1, 1947, to July 1, 1948 
July 1, 1943, to July 1, 1949 
July 1, 1949, to July 1, 1950 
Julv 1, 1950, to July 1, 1951 
July 1, 1951, to July 1, 1952 
July 1, 1952, to July 1, 1953 
July 1, 1953, to July 1, 1954 
Julv 1, 1954, to July 1. 1955 
July 1, 1955, to July I, 1956 
Total ___ _ _ . 
$1,960,211 
2,094, 649 
2,222, 027 
2, 354, 508 
2,483,055 
2.617.493 
2, 617,493 
2, 617, 493 
2, 617, 493 
2.617.493 
$1,829,000 
1, 953, 000 
2,072, 914 
2,196. 914 
2.316.828 
2.440.828 
2, 4407828 
2, 440,828 
2, 440,828 
2.440.828 
$131,211 
141, 649 
149,113 
157, 594 
166,227 
176, 665 
176, 665 
176, 665 
176, 665 
176,665 
24.201,915 
22, 572, 796 
1.629,119 
2, 420,192 
4,154 
2, 257,280 
3,874 
4,782 
162,912 
280 
Average per officer per year._ 
Average per U. S. Navy officer in Navy for month of 
Navy Department, 
Washington, January 22, 1947. 
Hon. Joseph W. Martin, Jr., 
Speaker of the House of Representatives,. 
Washington, D. C. 
My Dear Mr. Speaker; There is transmitted herewith a draft of a proposed 
bill “to establish the Medical Associated Sciences Corps in the Medical Depart- 
ment of the Navy, and for other purposes.” 
The purpose of the proposed legislation is to establish a Medical Associated 
Sciences Corps which shall be a constituent part of the Medical Department of 
the Navy. Officers would be appointed in the grade of medical associated scien- 
tist with rank from lieutenant (junior grade) to captain, inclusive. Such officers 
would be staff officers subject to all laws relating to the advancement in rank and 
retirement of officers of the Medical Corps of the Navy, and the total number of 
such officers would not exceed 205. All appointments in the Medical Associated 
Sciences Corps would be from male citizens who have received a doctorate degree 
in such sciences related to medicine as the Secretary of the Navy would deter- 
mine. Initial appointments would be made in accordance with the act of April 
18, 1946 (Public Law 347, 79th Cong., 2d sess.); and upon the termination of the 
appointive powers of the President under that act, all other appointments would 
be made in the rank of lieutenant (junior grade) from male citizens between the 
ages of 21 and 32 years. The proposed bill also contains provisions requiring the 
establishment of qualifications for appointment; assignment of running mates 
upon the removal of the suspension of permanent promotions; limiting the com- 
mand of the Medical Associated Sciences Corps; and preventing any reduction in 
pay or allowances by reason of appointment under the act. 
In the expansion of the Medical Department of the Navy to meet the demands 
of the recent war on a global basis, several hundred persons skilled in sciences 
related to medicine were appointed and commissioned in the Naval Reserve with 
the classification of specialists in the Hospital Corps. These scientists were 
drawn from the fields of research in basic and'applied areas which included all 
fields and disciplines related to function of man, and therefore encompassed the 
range from mathematics, physics, and engineering through psychology, physi- 
ology, bacteriology, biology, and medicine proper. 
Specifically, their investigations involved: the bacteriological, physiological 
and biochemical facets of man’s existence in order to control his well-being thereby 
enabling him to cope with the multitude of complex biological insults occasioned 
by a military effort; the biological, psychological, and psychophysiological founda- 
tions of personnel selection and training which in essence embraced not only a 
study of human behavior, but also of human capacities integrated with engi- 
neering design in order to simplify operations thus bringing them within the normal 12 
THE army-navy medical service CORPS ACT OF 194 7 
range of attainment; the environmental conditions with special reference to clima- 
toloedc situations likely to be encountered by naval forces, and environmental 
conditions aboard craft, either ship, plane, or submarine. 
These scientists by their singular efforts made many useful and revolutionary 
contributions without which the morbidity and mortality rate of our armed 
forces could not have been reduced to the lowest the world has ever known. 
In the postwar years the responsibilities of the Navy and of the Medical 
Department of the Navy will continue to be world-wide and to require a con- 
tinuation of the activities in research and in the sciences related to medicine 
which were conducted during the war. The Medical Department of the Navy 
cannot, in justice to the Navy nor to the United States, withdraw to the narrower 
field of prewar research. There is no method under existing law whereby these 
scientists can be transferred to the Regular Navy, and their services cannot be 
utilized to the fullest benefit of the Navy if they should be appointed in the pro- 
fessional grades of the civil service. In the absence of legislation such as that 
proposed herein, the Navy is now losing to civil life, and will continue to lose, 
these scientists who will be so essential in the postwar operation of the Navy. 
Without these scientists the Navy will be unable to keep ahead in medical research, 
in the prevention and control of disease, in the invention of methods to preserve 
the lives of the injured and of those subjected to the privations of long exposure 
in small boats or life rafts or when cast ashore on unfriendly islands or countries 
and in the many other fields of the sciences which are related to medicine. 
For the above reasons, the Navy Department recommends enactment of the 
proposed bill. 
Enactment of the proposed legislation would result in no additional cost to the 
Government inasmuch as the medical associated scientists shall be part of the 
authorized strength of the various corps of the Medical Department. 
The Navy Department has been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that 
there is no objection to the submission of this report to the Congress. 
Sincerely vours, 
John L. Sullivan, 
Acting Secretary of the Navy. 
In compliance with clause 2a of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Repre- 
sentatives there is herewith printed in parallel columns (1) the text of the pro- 
visions of existing law's which it is proposed to repeal or amend, and (2) the parts 
of the bill making the repeal or amendment in title I. 
Present Law 
SECTION 5 OF THE ACT OF DECEMBER 28, 
1945, PUBLIC LAW 231, SEVENTY-NINTH 
CONGRESS, AS AMENDED 
Proposed Law 
Sec. 105. Effective the date of enact- 
ment of this Act, Public Law 281, 
Seventy-ninth Congress, approved De- 
cember 28, 1945, as amended, is hereby 
further amended as follows: 
(a) Section 5 of said Act is amended 
by striking out paragraphs (c) and (d) 
and inserting in lieu thereof a new 
paragraph (c) as follows: 
“(c) Persons appointed in the Med- 
ical Service Corps shall be appointed in 
grades of second lieutenant, first lieu- 
tenant, captain, or major according to 
the periods of service with which they 
are credited in the same manner as set 
forth in paragraph (a) of this section for 
persons appointed in arms and services 
of the Regular Army, the officers of 
which are on the promotion list.” 
(c) Persons appointed in the Medical 
Administrative Corps of the Regular 
Army who are credited with less than 
five years’ service shall be appointed in 
the grade of second lieutenant; such 
persons who are credited with five or 
more years’ service, but less than ten 
years’ service, shall be appointed in the 
grade of first lieutenant; and such per- 
sons who are credited with ten or more 
years’ service, but less than seventeen 
years’ service, shall be appointed in the 
grade of captain; 
(d) Persons appointed in the Phar- 
macy Corps of the Regular Army who 
are credited with less than three years’ 
service shall be appointed in the grade 
of second lieutenant; such persons who 
are credited with three or more years’ THE ARMY-NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS ACT OF 194 7 
13 
Present Law 
Proposed Law 
service, but less than six years’ service, 
shall be appointed in the grade of first 
lieutenant; such persons who are cred- 
ited with six or more years’ service, but 
less than twelve years’ service, shall be 
appointed in the grade of captain; and 
such persons who are credited with 
twelve or more years’ service, but less 
than twenty years’ service, shall be 
appointed in the grade of major. 
SECTION 6 OP THE ACT OP DECEMBER 28, 
1945, PUBLIC LAW 281, SEVENTY-NINTH 
CONOR,ESS, AS AMENDED 
No person shall be appointed as a 
commissioned officer of the Regular 
Army under the provisions of section 4 
of this Act— 
(b) Section 6 of said Act is amended 
by striking out from paragraph (b) 
thereof the words “The Pharmacy 
Corps” and by striking out paragraph 
(c) thereof and inserting in lieu thereof 
a new paragraph (c) as follows: 
“(c) In the Medical Service Corps if 
he would upon appointment receive 
credit for twenty-three or more years’ 
service under section 5 of this Act.” 
(b) in the Medical Corps, the Dental 
Corps, the Veterinary Corps, the 
Pharmacy Corps, or as a chaplain, if 
he would upon appointment receive 
credit for twenty or more years’ service 
under section 5 of this Act; or 
(c) in the Medical Administrative 
Corps if he would upon appointment 
receive credit for seventeen or more 
years’ service under section 5 of this 
Act. 
Sec. 106. Officers of the Regular 
Army who, on the date of enactment of 
this Act, hold commissions in the Phar- 
macy Corps, are, effective the date of 
enactment of this Act, transferred in 
grade to the Medical Service Corps. 
Each such officer so transferred shall be 
reappointed in the Medical Service 
Corps in the permanent grade held by 
him at the time of such transfer; shall be 
credited for the purpose of determining 
eligibility for promotion, with continu- 
ous commissioned service on the active 
list of the Regular Army in the Medical 
Service Corps equal to the period cf 
service credited to him for promotion 
purposes under existing provisions of 
law, and shall, subsequent to such trar s- 
fer, be thereafter promoted in accord- 
ance with the promotion system set 
forth in section 104 of this Act. 
Sec. 107. (a) Effective the date <"f 
enactment bf this Act, the Pharmacy 
Corps and the Medical Administrative 
Corps are abolished. 
ACT OF JULY 12, 1943 (57 STAT. 430) 
There is hereby established in the 
Medical Department of the Army a 
corps to be known as the Pharmacy 
Corps. The Pharmacy Corps shall 
consist of seventy-two officers in grades 14 
THE ARMY-NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS ACT OF 1947 
Present Law 
Proposed Law 
ACT OF JULY 12, 1943 (57 STAT. 430) COD. 
from colonel to second lieutenant, in- 
clusive. Appointments in the Phar- 
macy Corps, except as hereinafter pro- 
vided for transfer thereto, shall be 
made in the grade of second lieutenant 
from pharmacists between the ages of 
twenty-one and thirty-two years who 
are graduates of recognized schools or 
colleges of pharmacy requiring four 
years of instruction for graduation, 
under such regulations and after such 
examinations as the Secretary of War 
shall prescribe. An officer of the Phar- 
macy Corps shall be promoted to the 
grade of first lieutenant after three 
years’ service, to the grade of captain 
after six years’ service, to the grade of 
major after twelve years’ service, to 
the grade of lieutenant colonel after 
twenty years’ service, and to the grade 
of colonel after twenty-six years’ serv- 
ice; Provided, That officers of the Regu- 
lar Army holding commissions in the 
Medical Administrative Corps on July 
12, 1943, shall be transferred to the 
Pharmacy Corps and commissioned in 
grade in such corps in addition to the 
seventy-two officers authorized for the 
corps. 
SECTION 10 OF THE ACT OF JUNE 3, 1916 (39 
STAT. 171), AS AMENDED (10 U. S. C. 81) 
The Medical Department shall con- 
sist of one Surgeon General with the 
rank of major general, four assistants 
with the rank of brigadier general, one 
of whom shall be an officer in the Dental 
Corps, the Medical Corps, the Veteri- 
nary Corps, the Medical Administrative 
Corps * * *. 
Changes in Existing Law 
In compliance with paragraph 2a of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill 
are shown as follows (existing law in which no change is made is in 
roman, new language is in italics, and that part which is 
black brackets) in title II: 
Title II 
PARAGRAPH 1, UNDER THE HEADING “HOSPITAL CORPS,” OF THE ACT OF AUGUST 
23, 1916 (39 ST AT. 572), AS AMENDED BY THE ACT OF APRIL 18, 1946 (PUBLIC LAW 347, 
79TH CONG., 2D SESS.) 
Hereafter the authorized strength of the Hospital Corps of the Navy shall 
equal [three and one-half] 3J4 per centum of the authorized enlisted strength of 
the Navy and Marine Corps, and as soon as the necessary transfers or appoint- 
ments may be effected the Hospital Corps of the United States Navy shall consist 
of the following grades and ratings: [Chief pharmacists, pharmacists, and enlisted THE ARMY-NAVY MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS ACT OF 194 7 
15 
men classified as chief pharmacists’ mates; pharmacists’ mates, first class; phar- 
macists’ mates, second class; pharmacists’ mates, third class;] Commissioned 
warrant officers and warrant officers, Hospital Corps, and enlisted men classified as 
chief hospital corpsmen; hospital corpsmen, first class; hospital corpsmen, second 
class; hospital corpsmen, third class: hospital apprentices, first class [;], and 
hospital apprentices, second class; such classifications in enlisted ratings to cor- 
respond, respectively, to the enlisted ratings, seaman branch, of chief petty officers; 
petty officers, first class; petty officers, second class; petty officers, third class; 
seamen, first class; and seamen, second class: Provided, That enlisted men of other 
ratings in the Navy and in the Marine Corps shall be eligible for transfer to the 
Hospital Corps, and men of that corps to other ratings in the Navy and the Marine 
Corps. 
PARAGRAPH 2, UNDER SUCH HEADING 
The President may hereafter [, from time to time,] appoint as many [pharma- 
cists] warrant officers, Hospital Corps as may be deemed necessary [,] from the 
[rating] ratings of chief [pharmacist’s mate, subject to such moral, physical, 
and professional examinations and requirements as to length of service as the 
Secretary of the Navy may prescribe:] hospital corpsman and hospital corpsrnan, 
first class: Provided, That no person shall be appointed pursuant hereto until he 
shall have established his mental, moral, physical, and professional qualifications to 
the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Navy: Provided [,] further, That the 
[pharmacists] warrant officers now in the Hospital Corps of the United States 
Navy or hereafter appointed therein in accordance with the provisions of this 
Act shall have the same rank, pay, and allowances as are now or may hereafter 
be allowed other warrant officers.