Section 17
SEC. 17. The Army of the Philippines shall consist of the Regular Force and the Reserve Force.
CA 1 (The National Defense Act) TITLE II.—MILITARY ORGANIZATION
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ARTICLE I.—Composition and Organization of the Army
Section 18
SEC. 18. The organized peace establishment, including the Regular Force and the Reserves, shall comprise all organizations necessary to form the basis for a complete and prompt mobilization for the national defense and for the performance of national police duties in peace and war. The army shall at all times be organized in so far as practicable into battalions, regiments, divisions and, if necessary, higher units. The personnel and duties of the Philippine Constabulary shall, within one year following the passage of this Act be transferred to the control of the Chief of Staff, who shall thereafter be responsible in both peace and war for the functions performed by the Constabulary at the time of passage of this Act.
ARTICLE II.—The Regular Force
Section 19
SEC. 19. The Regular Force shall consist of the Infantry, the Cavalry, the Field Artillery, the Coast Artillery Corps the Air Corps, the Corps of Engineers, the Signal Corps, and the active elements of the Offshore Patrol; the General Staff Corps; the Services consisting of the Adjutant General's Service, the Judge Advocate Service, the Quartermaster Service, the Medical Service; the Ordnance Service, and tie Chaplain Service, the professors and cadets of the Military Academy; of detached officers, of detached enlisted men, of unassigned recruits, of such other officers and enlisted men as may be provided for, and en, and of the Constabulary. Officers and enlisted men permanently assigned to the services shall be known as officers and enlisted men of the Staff; officers and enlisted men not permanently assigned to a service shall be known as officers and enlisted men of the line. In time of peace the number of active commissioned officers and of active enlisted men required for the Regular Force shall be recommended annually by the Chief of Staff. In so far as may be practicable, the commissioned and the enlisted personnel of the Regular Force shall be drawn from all provinces of the Philippines.
Section 20
SEC. 20. Officers and enlisted men of the Regular Force shall be assigned to the various branches, corps and services as the President may direct. All officers and enlisted men of the Regular Force who are not assigned to duty with any branch, corps or service herein provided for shall be carried on the detached officers' list and detached enlisted men's list, respectively.
Section 21
SEC. 21. The organization of the Regular Force shall be as follows: The Constabulary shall be organized from such personnel of the Regular Force and in such manner as the Chief of Staff may prescribe. In to addition to the normal peace-time duties now prescribed, the Constabulary shall be charged with the execution of laws pertaining to the discharge of their military obligations by male citizens of the Philippines, and with the supervision of such preparatory military instruction as the Chief of Staff may prescribe. All other regular units shall be organized as the President may direct. The President may attach to regular units or may assign to duty with any component of the Regular Force such number of reserve officers as he may deem necessary. All periods of such duty as do not exceed 21 days annually shall be considered as regular annual training; all periods m excess of 21 days annually shall be classed as extended tours of active duty. The President may likewise attach for their prescribed period of military training such number of trainees to regular units as he deems necessary.
Section 22
SEC. 22. The appointment, promotion, and discharge of officers in the Army shall be as follows: All commissioned officers in the Army shall be citizens of the Philippines; Provided, That the President may in his discretion retain in the Army any officer now holding a commission in the Philippine Constabulary. Commissioned grades authorized in the Army of the Philippines shall include third lieutenant, second lieutenant, first lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel, colonel, and general officer: Provided, That the general officer grade may be further subdivided into grades as prescribed by the President: And provided, also, That individuals permanently commissioned in a grade above that of colonel shall be the known as General Officers of the Line; those not so commissioned but holding an office in the Army to which the grade of general officer is attached shall be known as General officers of the Staff. Officers shall be commissioned in the Army of the Philippines subject to such examinations for the determination of fitness and proficiency as the President may prescribe. All appointments and promotions shall be made by the President, but the appointments and promotions in appointment and promotions in the Army from the rank of colonel shall be made with the consent of the Commission on Appointments of the National Assembly. Except as hereinafter authorized, all appointments of regular officers shall be in the grade of third lieutenant, from among applicants who at the time of appointment shall be not less than twenty-one nor more than twenty-six years of age. Priority in filling vacancies in the grade of third lieutenant will be given: first, to graduates of the Military Academy of the Philippines or of the Military or Naval Academies of the United States; second, to graduates of senior military training units in schools and colleges; third, to enlisted men who at the time of appointment shall have served more than one year in the Army of the Philippines; and fourth, to others: Provided, That original appointments in the Medical Corps shall be in the grade of first lieutenant from among applicants who at the time of appointment shall not be less than 25 nor more than 35 years of age: And provided, also, That during the five years following the approval of this Act, the President is authorized to fill vacancies in any commissioned grade in the Army of the Philippines by appointment of officers of the Philippine Constabulary who are citizens of the Philippines and of such officers of the Philippine Scouts and of the Officers' Reserve Corps, U. S. Army, and of graduates of the United States Naval Academy, citizens of the Philippines, as have, prior to their appointment in th8 Army of the Philippines, legally and honorably severed their connection with the active elements of the Army of the United States, and of such others as may qualify through professional and military examination prescribed for the purpose. Officers will be distributed among grades as determined by the President of the Philippines: Provided, That the number of officers commissioned above the grade of colonel shall at no time exceed 1.2 per cent of the authorized strength of the officer corps; above the grade of lieutenant colonel shall not exceed 2.6 per cent; above the grade of major shall not exceed 5.2 per cent; above the grade of captain shall not exceed 14.9 per cent; above the grade of first lieutenant shall not exceed 45.2 per cent. In determining relative standing, officers of the Regular Force shall take precedence over officers of like grades in the Reserve Force. Officers in each grade in the Regular Force and in the Reserve Force shall be separately listed in order of rank in a manner to be prescribed by the President, which list shall establish the seniority of each officer in the Regular and Reserve Forces, respectively, and which seniority shall not be thereafter changed except through operation of this or other laws: Provided, That nothing in this Act shall be construed as giving officers with purely military functions authority over officers with purely civil functions and vice versa, except as specifically prescribed in this or in other acts. Promotion of regular and reserve officers shall be accomplished under such policies and procedure as the President may direct, provided that in time of peace no reserve officer may be promoted to any grade until he has served at least two years in the next lower grade, officer. Any reserve officer may, in the discretion of the President, be discharged at any time. Until superseded by laws formulated by the National Assembly for specific application to the Army of the Philippines, all regulations, courts-martial procedure, and provisions of law now pertaining to the punishment, discharge, dismissal, resignation, administration, and retirement of officers and enlisted men of the Philippine Constabulary shall, as modified by provisions of this and other laws, apply to all officers and enlisted men on active duty in the Army. In time of war any officer of the Regular Force may be appointed to higher temporary rank without vacating his permanent commission, such appointments in grades below that of colonel being made by the President alone, but all other appointments in time of war shall be in the Reserve Force. Upon his own application and with the approval of the Chief of Staff, any officer may be transferred at any time to a branch or service other than his own without loss of rank: Provided, That no transfers to or from the chaplains or medical service shall be permitted. Transfers in time of war shall be made as prescribed by the Chief of Staff. With the approval of the American Government not to exceed one-half of one per cent of the commissioned officers Regular Force below the grade of lieutenant colonel may be detailed to duty at foreign military schools. While on such duty, officers so detailed shall receive the pay and allowances of commissioned officers of their own grade in the army of the country in which the military school is located: Provided, That such pay is equal to or higher than that received by the officer so detailed. Not to exceed one-half of one per cent of the commissioned officers of the Regular Army in any fiscal year may be detailed as students at such technical, professional and other educational institutions, or as students, observers, or investigators at such industrial plants, hospitals, and other places, as shall be best suited to enable such officers to acquire a knowledge of or experience in the specialties in which it is deemed necessary that such officers shall perfect themselves: Provided, That no expense shall be incurred by the Philippine Government in addition to the pay and allowance of the officers so detailed, except for the cost of tuition at such technical, professional, and other educational institutions. The President is authorized to detail or assign to duty with units of the Reserve Force such officers of the Regular Force as he deems necessary. Commanders of divisions and larger units of the Reserve Force shall be selected from officers of the Regular Force. Transfers of reserve officers within their category shall be made under such rules as the President may prescribe. To the extent provided for from time to time by appropriations for this specific purpose, the President may order reserve officers to active duty at any time and for any period, but, except in time of a national emergency expressly declared by the National Assembly, no reserve officer shall be employed on active duty for more than six months in each five years without his own consent.
Section 23
SEC. 23. The General Staff Corps shall consist of the Chief of Staff, the Central General Staff, and the General Staff with troops The Chief of Staff shall be directly subordinate to the President of the Philippines. He shall preside over the Central General Staff. Under the direction of the President of the Philippines, he shall cause to be made, by the Central General Staff, the necessary plans for recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, mobilizing, training, and demobilizing the Army in peace and in war and for the use of the military forces for national defense. He shall render annually to the President, for transmission to the National Assembly, a full report upon the condition of the Army of the Philippines, including statements as to strength, cost, unexpended balances, requirements, and so on. The Central General Staff shall consist of the Chief of Staff, the Deputy Chief of Staff, the Provost Marshal General, and such other officers of grades not below that of first lieutenant as the President may direct. It shall be the duty of the Central General Staff to prepare plans for the national defense and for the mobilization of the man-power and material resources of the nation in an emergency, to investigate and report upon all matters affecting the efficiency of the Army and its state of preparation for military operations; to perform such inspections of the Army as may be necessary to insure thoroughness and uniformity in training and compliance with regulations; to perform for the infantry, cavalry artillery and air units and the Constabulary such; functions as the Chief of Staff may prescribe; and to render professional aid and assistance to the Chief of Staff. The General Staff with troops shall consist of such number of officers not below the grade of firsts ¦ lieutenant as may be necessary to perform the General Staff, duties of the headquarters of divisions and higher units. It shall be the duty of the General Staff with troops to render professional aid and assistance to the general of: fleers over them; to act as their agents in harmonizing the plans, duties and operations of the various organizations and services under their jurisdiction, in preparing detailed instructions for the execution of the plans of the commanding generals and in supervising the execution of such instructions.
Section 24
SEC. 24. Except as herein otherwise provided, the Provost Marshal General shall, under the direction of the Chief of Staff, be responsible for the performance of all duties heretofore devolving upon the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary. He shall exercise such supervision and control over all kinds and classes of police forces as may be directed by the President, for the maintenance of peace, law and order throughout the Philippines. The Provost Marshal General is charged, under the direction of the Chief of Staff, with the training, discipline, administration and interior economy of the Philippine Constabulary. The office of the Provost Marshal General shall contain a Recruiting Division, a Constabulary Division and such other divisions as the Provost Marshal General, under supervision of the Chief of Staff, shall prescribe. The Recruiting Division, under the supervision of the Provost Marshal General and the Chief of Staff, shall be responsible for the execution of all laws and regulations regarding the registration, examination and assignment of male citizens of the Philippines in connection with the fulfillment of their military obligations as prescribed in Title III of this Act. The Constabulary Division, under the supervision of the Provost Marshal General and the Chief of Staff, shall be charged with all functions now carried out by the Chief of Constabulary and His Headquarters Administrative Staff, except those pertaining to the purchase, procurement, storage and issue of all military supplies, equipment, material and animals, to the recruiting of personnel, and to the operation of the Military Academy.
Section 25
SEC. 25. The Services shall consist of the following: The Adjutant General's Service, the Judge Advocate's service, the Quartermaster Service, the Medical Service, the Ordinance Service and the Chaplain’s Service. Each Service shall consist of a Chief of Service and such assistants as the President may direct. The head of each service shall be responsible, under the supervision of the Chief of Staff, for the efficient performance of duties herein assigned to his service, and for the execution of all instructions and orders issued him by the Chief of Staff. The Adjutant General's Service shall be charged, under such regulations as the Chief of Staff may prescribe, with the operating functions of procurement, assignments, promotion, transfer, retirement, and discharge of all officers and enlisted men of the Regular and Reserve Forces. The Judge Advocate's Service shall render such legal assistance as may be required by the military forces. The Quartermaster Service shall be charged with the purchase, procurement, storage, and issue for the Army, of all supplies, except those whose procurement is assigned to other services; with the operation of utilities, with the acquisition of real estate and the issue of licenses in connection with government military reservations; with the transportation of the Army by land and water, and with the disbursement of all funds for the National Defense, the accounting for same, and with such other fiscal duties may be required by law or directed by the Chief of Staff: Provided, That such commissioned technical assistants from other branches or services as may be required shall be detailed to the Quartermaster Service for a period of not to exceed three years: Provided, further, That under such officers regulations as the Chief of Staff may prescribe, officers of the Quartermaster Service, accountable for government moneys, may entrust moneys to other officers for the purpose of having them make disbursements as their agents, and the agent officer as well as the officer who entrusts the money to him shall be bonded and held pecuniarily responsible to the Philippine Government. The Medical Service shall be charged with all matters pertaining to the physical examination, health, and sanitation of personnel and animals of the Army, including the procurement of technical medical equipment. The Ordnance Service shall be charged with the purchase, procurement, storage, and issue of such ordnance, chemical warfare, engineer and signal material as the President may direct. The several sections of the Ordnance Service are charged with the study, experiment and development of all technical material and equipment pertaining to their respective services. The Chaplain Service shall have charge of the religious welfare of the Army.
Section 26
SEC. 26. The offshore patrol shall comprise all marine equipment and personnel acquired by the Philippine Government and assigned either in peace or in war to the control of the Chief of Staff. It shall have such duties and powers as may be prescribed by the Chief of Staff.
ARTICLE III.—Enlistment and Reenlistment
Section 27
SEC. 27. Any male citizen of the Philippines between eighteen and thirty years of age, able-bodied, free from disease, of good moral character and habits, of average intelligence, and possessed of such educational attainments as may be prescribed, may be enlisted in the Regular Force under the following restrictions: Enlistments shall be for a term of three years, and may be made by the recruiting officers at stations of the Regular Force. Unmarried minors between eighteen and twenty-: one years of age may be enlisted only on the written and duly attested consent of the father, the mother when she is the only surviving parent, or the publicly known guardian. Enlistments for service in any province, except for the Regular Division, the Artillery Corps, and Air Corps, shall be from among residents thereof. In so far as practicable, enlistments in these forces shall be apportioned among the various provinces of the Philippines.
Section 28
SEC. 28. Regulations applying to the reenlistment and to the retirement privileges of noncommissioned officers of the Regular Force shall be prescribed by the President.
Section 29
SEC. 29. An enlisted man who shall have served honorably, at least three years and does not reenlist shall be exempt from further military service except in a national emergency. He shall be required, however, to register his address at the military headquarters nearest to his place of residence.
ARTICLE IV.—Military Academy
Section 30
SEC. 30. There shall be established a military training school to be named the Philippine Military Academy, for the training of selected candidates for permanent commission in the Regular Force. The student body in the Military Academy shall be known as the Cadet Corps of the Army of the Philippines.
Section 31
SEC. 31. The President is authorized to appoint to the Military Academy annually, subject to such physical and examinations as he may prescribe, the number of examinations, cadets necessary to maintain the Cadet Corps at a strength of not to exceed three hundred and fifty. Cadets shall be selected from among qualified candidates as hereinafter provided. Candidates for admission shall be single, in good physical condition, not less than seventeen nor more twenty-two years of age, and shall be nominated by the Members of the National Assembly, each of whom may nominate any number of candidates. The President shall appoint from among those who pass the physical and mental examinations with the highest ratings the number or numbers necessary to fill the existing vacancies: Provided, That a quota of three members of the Cadet Corps shall be allotted to each Assembly district: Provided, further, That in case no candidates from a given Assembly district attain the required minimum ratings, a second examination shall be given during the same year to nominees from that district. If on the second examination no candidate shall attain the required minimum rating, the vacancies in the district quota shall be filled by the President from successful candidates at large. The pay and allowances of students at the Military Academy shall be fixed by the President. Any student who shall, after entrance to the Academy and before completion of the prescribed course of training, be found to be physically unfit for military duty by reason Of injury or disease incident to the service, shall be retired with the rank of cadet and shall be entitled to the retired pay and allowances of a third lieutenant of the Regular Force. Upon satisfactory completion of the course of instruction at the Military Academy candidates shall be commissioned third lieutenants in the Regular or Reserve Forces with relative rank in the order of final general standing' as determined by the Faculty Board and Commandant of the Academy, and approved by the Chief of Staff.
ARTICLE V.-The Reserve Force
Section 32
SEC. 32. The Reserve Force shall consist of such number of Infantry Divisions located as the President may direct; of such additional separate regiments, battalions, companies, and similar separate units as the President may authorize; of all reserve classes not assigned to the above units, and of the Reserve elements of the Offshore Patrol. The organization of reserve land and air units shall, in so far as practicable, be that of corresponding tactical units of the Regular Force. SEC. 33. The Chief of Staff may detail or assign to duty with Reserve units such enlisted men of the Regular Force as he deems necessary.
ARTICLE VI.—Reserve Officers and Noncommissioned Officers
Section 34
SEC. 34. Any person who shall have completed his trainee instruction, instruction and who is selected for training as a commissioned officer shall pursue a theoretical course of training of not less than six months to be prescribed by the Chief of Staff, upon completion of which he shall be assigned to duty with a Regular unit as probationary third lieutenant for another period of six months. At the end of this service those who have displayed qualities of leadership and who have demonstrated their fitness to command may be appointed and commissioned third lieutenants of the Reserve Force and assigned to an organization thereof. Those who fail to complete the course of training shall be transferred to the Reserve Force as enlisted men and shall be assigned to an organization thereof.
Section 35
SEC. 35. At such colleges and universities as the President may designate there shall be established and maintained Reserve Officers' Training Units of such arms and services as he shall specify, where every physically fit student shall be required to pursue a course of military instruction designed to qualify him for a commission as a third lieutenant of Reserve. In so far as may be practicable, the student shall be permitted to choose the arm or service in which he wishes to train. This course of military instruction, if pursued to completion, shall exempt students from trainee instruction. It shall not exempt them from registration.
Section 36
SEC. 36. The Chief of Staff shall, by mutual agreement with the head of the institution, designate the senior military instructor and such commissioned and enlisted personnel as may be necessary for each institution. He is authorized to issue to such institutions the arms, equipment and other property which he deems essential to the conduct of this instruction.
Section 37
SEC. 37. Each year the senior military instructor shall submit to the Chief of Staff the names of those members of the graduating class whom he recommends for further training. These graduates may be ordered to organizations of the Regular Force for a six months' probationary period. At the end of this service those who have displayed their fitness for Commission may be appointed and commissioned third lieutenants of the Reserves and assigned to an organization thereof.
Section 38
SEC. 38. Graduates who are not recommended for training as third lieutenants and those who fail to qualify for appointment as such shall be assigned to the nearest age group in the Reserve and assigned to an organization thereof as private or noncommissioned officers as recommended. Students of military age who do not complete their courses of study at an institution of learning provided with a Reserve Officers' Training Unit shall be liable for trainee instruction immediately upon severing their connection with the institution. If more than 20 years of age, they shall be assigned to the trainee class next to be called.
Section 39
SEC. 39. The President shall appoint and commission, upon the recommendation of the Chief of Staff, such reserve officers as shall in his opinion be needed.
Section 40
SEC. 40. In so far as may be practicable, original appointments by the President in grades above third lieutenant shall be made from among those formerly holding Reserve commissions in the United States Army and from former officers of the Philippine Scouts and Constabulary.
Section 41
SEC. 41. Noncommissioned officers of the Regular Force regular force between the ages of twenty-one and thirty years who are recommended for appointment as third lieutenants shall pursue the course of instruction of six months prescribed for those who have completed their trainee instruction, and who are recommended for training to qualify as reserve officers. Upon satisfactory completion of this course they may be appointed and commissioned third lieutenants of the Reserves and assigned to an organization of the Reserve Force. Except upon mobilization, no service as a reserve officer may be performed by an enlisted man of the Regular Force.
Section 42
SEC. 42. Medical reserve officers shall be procured from graduates of medical colleges and universities under such regulations as may be prescribed by the President.
Section 43
SEC. 43. Reserve officers shall be physically examined upon each assignment to active duty. Any reserve officer found physically unfit for active field service shall be discharged.
Section 44
SEC. 44. Young men who complete their trainee instruction and are selected for additional training to qualify them as noncommissioned officers of the Reserve Force shall pursue a prescribed course of three months. Upon satisfactory completion thereof they shall be warranted in the officer grade for which they shall have and then transferred to the Reserve Force and to an organization thereof.
Section 45
SEC. 45. The Chief of Staff sha1l be empowered to organize and establish such special and advanced school for the special training of officers of the technical and supply sections and services, and for the advanced training of selected officers for field, staff, and command duties.
Section 46
SEC. 46. All candidates for appointment as reserve officers, except medical officers, shall be required to qualify for appointment as third lieutenants of the line before being permitted to pursue any special course pertaining to the technical and supply services.
ARTICLE VII.—Active Duty Training of Reservists
Section 47
SEC. 47. Periods of active duty training in the Reserve Force shall be as prescribed by the Chief of Staff. In so far as may be practicable, the active duty periods for the three echelons shall be as follows: First Reserves, annually, not less than ten days; Second Reserves, annually, not less than five days; and Third Reserves, every third year, not less than seven days. During such periods of active duty training the reservist shall be amenable to the laws and regulations prescribed for the Regular Force. Except with his own consent, no enlisted reservist may be required in time of peace to serve more than thirty days on active duty in any calendar year.
Section 48
SEC. 48. Any reservist who fails to report for active duty training as directed by the Chief of Staff shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Section 49
SEC. 49. Any employee of the Government called for trainee instruction, or for regular annual active duty training, shall not be compelled to lose his position or to suffer a loss of pay due to his absence in the fulfillment of his military obligations.
Section 50
SEC. 50. Mobilization centers shall be constituted as follows: Mobilization centers shall be established for the purpose of providing storage for the arms, equipment, clothing, and records of units, other than those of the Regular Force, to be mobilized in a national emergency, of making provision in advance of mobilization for the necessary shelter for men and animals of such units during mobilization, and of reducing to a minimum the period necessary for mobilization. One mobilization center shall be established for each battalion or similar unit or, when for the best interests of the Philippines, for regiments or larger units. Provincial Commanders, acting under the Chief of Staff, shall be responsible that all arms, equipment, and other material stored in such buildings within their respective provinces are properly cared for and secured, and that all records turned over to the chief caretaker by military units are preserved intact. The Constabulary shall, whenever practicable, be charged under the Provincial Commanders with the care of the arms, equipment and other materials, and of the records at mobilization centers.
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