EXTENSION OF WARRANT OFFICER MANAGEMENT ACT PROVISIONS TO COAST GUARD.

SEC. 541. EXTENSION OF WARRANT OFFICER MANAGEMENT ACT PROVISIONS TO COAST GUARD. (a) Establishment of Permanent Grade of Chief Warrant Officer, W–5.— (1) The grade of chief warrant officer, W–5, is hereby established in the Coast Guard. (2) Section 571(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking out “Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps” and inserting in lieu thereof “armed forces”. (b) Extension of Warrant Officer Management Act Provisions to Coast Guard Warrant Officers.— Chapter 33A of title 10, United States Code, is amended as follows: (1) Section 573(a) is amended— (A) by striking out “Secretary of a military department” in paragraph (1) and inserting in lieu thereof “Secretary concerned”; and (B) by striking out “of the military department” in paragraph (2). (2) Section 574 is amended by striking out “Secretary of each military department” in subsections (a) and (b) and inserting in lieu thereof “Secretary concerned”. (3) Section 575(b)(2) is amended by inserting “and the Secretary of Transportation, when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Navy,” after “Secretary of Defense”. (4) Section 576 is amended— (A) in subsection (a), by striking out “of the military department” in the matter preceding paragraph (1); 108 STAT. 2765 (B) in subsection (e), by striking out “of the military department”; and (C) in subsection (f)(2), by striking out “of the military department”. (5) Section 580 is amended— (A) in subsection (a)(4)(B), by inserting “, or severance pay computed under section 286a of title 14, as appropriate,” after “section 1174 of this title”; and (B) in subsection (e)(6), by inserting “and the Secretary of Transportation, when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Navy,” after “Secretary of Defense”. (6) Section 581(a) is amended by striking out “in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps”. (c) Transition for Certain Regular Warrant Officers Serving in a Higher Temporary Grade Below Chief Warrant Officer, W–5.— (1) A regular warrant officer of the Coast Guard who on the effective date of this section is on active duty and— (A) is serving in a temporary grade below chief warrant officer, W–5, that is higher than that warrant officer’s permanent grade; (B) is on a list of officers recommended for promotion to a temporary grade below chief warrant officer W–5; or (C) is on a list of officers recommended for promotion to a permanent grade higher than the grade in which that warrant officer is serving; shall be considered to have been recommended by a board convened under section 573 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by this subsection (b), for promotion to the permanent grade equivalent to the grade in which that warrant officer is serving or for which that warrant officer has been recommended for promotion, as the case may be. (2) An officer referred to in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) who is not promoted to the grade to which that warrant officer is considered under such subsection to have been recommended for promotion because that officer’s name is removed from a list of officers who are considered under such paragraph to have been recommended for promotion shall be considered by a board convened under section 573 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by subsection (b), for promotion to the permanent grade equivalent to the temporary grade in which that warrant officer was serving on the effective date of this section as if that warrant officer were serving in the permanent grade. (3) The date of rank of an officer referred to in paragraph (1)(A) who is promoted to the grade in which that warrant officer is serving on the effective date of this section is the date of that officer’s temporary appointment in that grade. (d) Transition for Certain Reserve Warrant Officers Serving in a Higher Temporary Grade Below Chief Warrant Officer, W–5.— (1) (A) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a reserve warrant officer of the Coast Guard who on the effective date of this section is subject to placement on the warrant officer active-duty list and who— (i) is serving in a temporary grade below chief warrant officer, W–5, that is higher than that warrant officer’s permanent grade; or (ii) is on a list of warrant officers recommended for promotion to a temporary grade below chief warrant officer, W–108 STAT. 27665, that is the same as or higher than that warrant officer’s permanent grade; shall be considered to have been recommended by a board convened under section 598 of title 10, United States Code, for promotion to the permanent grade equivalent to the grade in which the warrant officer is serving or for which that warrant officer has been recommended for promotion, as the case may be. (B) The date of rank of a warrant officer referred to in subparagraph (A)(i) who is promoted to the grade in which that warrant officer is considered under such subparagraph to have been recommended for promotion is the date of the temporary appointment of that warrant officer in that grade. (2) A reserve warrant officer of the Coast Guard who on the effective date of this section— (A) is subject to placement on the warrant officer active-duty list; (B) is serving on active duty in a temporary grade; and (C) holds a permanent grade higher than the temporary grade in which that warrant officer is serving; shall while continuing on active duty retain such temporary grade and shall be considered for promotion to a grade equal to or lower than the permanent grade as if such temporary wade is a permanent grade. If such warrant officer is recommended for promotion, the appointment of that warrant officer to such grade shall be a temporary appointment. (e) Rank of Coast Guard Warrant Officers.— (1) Subchapter A of chapter 11 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section: “§ 215. Rank of warrant officers “(a) Among warrant officer grades, warrant officers of a higher numerical designation are senior to warrant officer grades of a lower numerical designation. “(b) Warrant officers shall take precedence in the grade to which appointed in accordance with the dates of their commissions as commissioned officers in the Coast Guard in such grade. Precedence among warrant officers of the same grade who have the same date of commission shall be determined by regulations prescribed by the Secretary.”. (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 214 the following new item: “215. Rank of warrant officers.”. (f) Technical and Conforming Amendments.— (1) Section 1125(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 (10 U.S.C. 555 note) is repealed. (2) Section 286a(a) of title 14, United States Code, is amended by striking out “section 564(a)(3) of title 10 (as in effect on the day before the effective date of the Warrant Officer Management Act)” and inserting in lieu thereof “section 580(a)(4)(A) of title 10”. (3) Section 334(b) of such title is amended by striking out “section 564 of title 10 (as in effect on the day before the effective date of the Warrant Officer Management Act) or” and inserting in lieu thereof “section 580,”. (4) Section 41 of such title is amended by striking out “chief warrant officers, W—4; chief warrant officers, W–3; chief warrant 108 STAT. 2767officers, W–2; cadets; warrant officers, W–1;” and inserting in lieu thereof “chief warrant officers; cadets; warrant officers;”. (5) (A) Sections 212 and 213 of such title are repealed. (B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 11 of such title is amended by striking out the items relating to sections 212 and 213. (6) Section 214 of such title is amended by striking out subsections (b) and (c). (7) Section 583 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(4) The active-duty list referred to in section 573(b) of this title includes the active-duty promotion list established by section 41a of title 14”. (g) Temporary Authority for Involuntary Separation of Certain Warrant Officers.— Section 580a of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(e) This section applies to the Secretary of Transportation in the same manner and to the same extent as it applies to the Secretary of Defense. The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall take the action set forth in subsection (b) with respect to regular warrant officers of the Coast Guard.”. (h) Effective Date.— This section and the amendments made by this section shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.