Termination of service through action of Efficiency and Separation Board.
Section 10
SEC. 10. Termination of service through action of Efficiency and Separation Board.— (a) No officer shall be retired or separated under this section except by order of the President and upon the recommendation of the Efficiency and Separation Board as herein provided and the Secretary of National Defense. (b) Such number of Efficiency and Separation Boards as the President may prescribe, each composed of at least five commissioned officers above the grade of lieutenant commander, shall be convened to receive evidence and make findings and recommendations as to the fitness of officers to be retained in the active service, or to retain their appointments and commissions. The members of each Board shall be senior to the officer whose case is under consideration by that Board. The Boards shall hear and determine cases wherein the fitness of an officer is in question due to: (1) Charges or official reports of specific acts of intentional misconduct, willful failure or neglect, or vicious or immoral habits; (2) His failure to achieve the standard of performance which the Secretary of National Defense shall prescribe by regulations. (c) The Secretary of National Defense shall, at least once a year, require the review of the records of each officer in the active service to determine whether he shall be required, because of failure to achieve the prescribed standards of performance, to show cause before an Efficiency and Separation Board for his continued retention on the active list. (d) Any officer whose fitness is under consideration by an Efficiency and Separation Board is entitled to a fair and impartial hearing, which shall include as a minimum: (1) Written notice of the pendency of any proceeding against him, and the specific cause or causes for inquiring into his fitness; (2) Reasonable time to prepare his defense; (3) The right to appear at the proceedings and to defend himself in person and by counsel; and (4) The right to full access to, and to be furnished copies of, records relevant to his case at all stages of the proceedings. (e) The Efficiency and Separation Board shall recommend specifically in each case that the officer be separated from or retained in the active service. If retention is recommended and concurred in by the Director of the Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey, the case shall be considered closed and the officer shall be notified thereof in writing. If the Director does not concur with the recommendation for retention, the case shall be forwarded to the Secretary of National Defense for review and determination. (f) If the Secretary of National Defense determines that the officer is fit for retention, the case is closed. If he recommends the compulsory retirement or discharge of an officer, he shall send his recommendation, with the records of the proceedings of the Efficiency and Separation Board, and all other records pertinent to the case, to the President for his action. (g) If the President approves a determination made under this section that an officer is unfit to be retained in the active list due to his failure to meet the standards of performance required of an officer, and such failure is not attributable to his intentional misconduct, willful failure or neglect, or vicious or immoral habits, such officer shall be separated from the service in accordance with the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of Section eleven of this Act. (h) If the President approves a determination made under this section that an officer's unfitness is due wholly or in part to his intentional misconduct, willful failure or neglect, or vicious or immoral habits such officer shall be separated from the service. An officer so separated forfeits all benefits due on account of, or incidental to, an honorable separation from the service.