OFFICERS (File #2a) Contents Officer Appt, Promos, Demotions.............p.2 Officer Promotion Policy, WWII..............p.3 Battlefield Commissions.....................p.5 Frocking....................................p.7 Brevet Rank.................................p.8 ............p.10 See also: USAMHI Officers-Promo RefBranch dv Apr 1990 OFFICER APPOINTMENT, PROMOTIONS, DEMOTIONS A Working Bibliography Glover, Michael. "The Purchase of Commissions: A Reappraisal." Journal of Soc for Army Hist Research LVIII (Winter 1980): pp. 223-235. Per. Hargreaves, Reginald. "Ladder to the Stars." Army 20 (Sep 1970): pp. 42-48. Per. Historical review of officer commissions and promotions. Karsten, Peter. "Ritual and Rank: Religious Affiliation, Father's 'Calling,' and Successful Advancement in the U.S. Officer Corps of the Twentieth Century." Armed Forces & Society 9 (Spring 1983): pp. 427-440. Per. Kester, John G. "Politics and Promotions." Parameters XII (Dec 1982): pp. 2-13. Per. Analysis and advice concerning top-level civilian involvement in military appointments & promotions. Lenney, John J. Rankers: The Odyssey of the Enlisted Regular Soldier of America and Britain. NY: Greenberg, 1950. 215 p. UB413.2L4. A history of promotion from enlisted ranks to officer grade. U.S. Forces, European Theater. General Board. "Reclassification and Demotion of Officers in the European Theater of Operations." Study No. 7, Bad Nauheim, Ger, 1945-46. 45 p. D769A5no7. Incl stats pp. 6-7, on officers below grade of general. USAMHI Officers-Promo RefBranch js 1985 OFFICER PROMOTION POLICY, WWII A Working Bibliography The Officer's Guide. Harrisburg, PA: Mil Service PUb, 1944. pp. 377-382. U133A603. And 1945 ed, p. 28. Nice summary U.S. Army Field Forces. "Report of Army Ground Forces Study on Comparisons of General Officers and Colonels (Infantry)." Photostat, n.d. 67 p. UB413A3. U.S. War Dept. Bulletin No 8, 24 Feb 1942. p. 1. Circs. Reprint of Public Law 455, 77th Cong, "An Act to Provide for Temporary Promotion in the Army of the United States...," _________. Commissioned Officers, Promotion in the Regular Army, Except in Medical, Dental and Veterinary Corps. Army Regulation 605-40, Mar 1942. 4 p. AR. _________. Commissioned Officers, Temporary Promotions in the Army of the United States. AR 605-12, Feb 1944. 6 p. With Change No 1. 2 p. AR. See also 17 Aug 1944 ed (6 p.) with Changed Nos. 2 & 3 (5 p.) and AR 605-10, 10 Dec 1941. _________. Medical Department, Standards of Miscellaneous Physical Examination. AR 40-100, Change No. 1, 5 Mar 1943. 2 p. AR. Examples: Omar N. Bradley was promoted to full general (temporary) on 12 Mar 1945. His permanent grade at the time was major general, dating from 8 Sep 1944. George S. Patton, Jr. was promoted to the temporary grade of full general on 14 Apr 1945, while his permanent grade was major general, as of 2 Sep 1943. Walton H. Walker was promoted lieutenant general (temporary) on 14 Apr 1945, while his permanent grade was colonel, from 1 May 1942. The following individuals held the permanent rank indicated when promoted to the new temporary (5-Star) grade of general of the army: Officer Promotion Policy p.2 Arnold, Henry H. - major general, since 31 May 1941. Eisenhower, Dwight D. - major general (2 Star), since 30 Aug. 1943. MacArthur, Douglas - general, since 21 Nov 1930. Marshall, George C. - general (4-Star), since 1 Sep 1939. Reference: U.S. War Dept. Adj Gen's Off. Official Army Register, 1 January 1945. Wash, DC: GPO, 1945. BiogRm. Also 1946 ed, pp. 76 & 713. USAMHI Officers - Promo RefBranch js 79; dv 89 BATTLEFIELD COMMISSIONS A Working Bibliography Contents Gen/Misc..................................p.1 World War I...............................p.1 World War II..............................p.2 Korea.....................................p.2 GEN/MISC Lerwill, Leonard L. The Personnel Replacement System in the United States Army. Dept of Army Pam No 20-211, Aug 1954. 492 p. Pam. Smith, Mark A. A Brief History of Battlefield Commissions in the Armed Forces. Natl Order of Battlefield Commissions, 1986. 2 p. BibFiles. See also: - Newsletters & material, Natl Order of Battlefield Commissions, MiscFiles. WORLD WAR I U.S. Army. Amer Exped Forces. General Order No 32 (18 Feb 1918), Para 11, Bulletin No 53 (6 Aug 1918), Para II, & GO 162 (23 Sep 1918), Sec VII. UBs. U.S. War Dept. Adj Gen's Dept. Comm on Classification of Personnel in the Army. History of the Personnel System. Vol 1. Wash, DC, 1919. UB337A46v1. Battlefield Commissions p.2 WORLD WAR II Army-Navy Journal (1 Jul 1944): p. 1336. Per. Indicates 200 awarded in No Africa. Palmer, Robert R., et al. The Procurement and Training of Ground Combat Troops. In USAWWII series. Wash, DC: Dept of Army, 1948. 696 p. D769A533v1pt2. See index. U.S. Army. First Army. First United States Army Report of Operations, 1 August 1944 - 22 February 1945. Wash, DC: GPO, 1945. Annex 1, pp. 16-17, 74-84. 03-1-1944v9, UH. _________. Forces in European Theater. General Board. Appointments and Promotions in the European Theater of Operations. Study No 6, Bad Nauheim, 1945-46. pp. 7-10. D769A5no6. U.S. War Dept. Commissioned Officers: Officers Appointed in the Army of the United States. Army Reg 605-10, May 1944. Paras 7e & 22b. AR. And Change 1 (Nov 1944). KOREA USAMHI Officers-Promo RefBranch dv April 1990 NOTE: FROCKING Frocking, an old naval custom, is a current US Army procedure for temporarily promoting officers and noncommissioned officers to higher rank without commensurate pay. See: U.S. Dept of Army. Promotion of Officers on Active Duty. Army Regulation 624-100, May 1979. Para 2-13. AR. No mention of frocking in same reg, Oct 75, with 4 changes (to Apr 77). _________. Message: Frocking of Senior NCOs, 27 Sep 1984. 3 p. Photocopy, BibFile(Officers). Frocking reportedly began after repeal of the legal basis of breveting (q.v.) in 1956. Many officers, esp general officers, have been frocked, notably in early 1970s. See also: - "Army Considers Major Changes in Officer Frocking Procedure," Army Times (1 Apr 1985), p. 3. BibFile (Officer-Promo) - AR 614-200 - "Brevets" (Officers-Promo) - Elting, Dict of Army Talk, p. 119 USAMHI Officers-Promo RefBranch dv Apr 1990 BREVET RANK A Working Bibliography A brevet promoted an officer to a higher rank but without commen- surate pay, authority, and insignia. Brevet commissions functioned as honorary titles to reward gallant action or meritorius service. The American practice of breveting is traceable to the continental Army in 1775. A proliferation of brevets occurred during the Civil War and thereafter, accompanied by a lessening of the usefulness and significance of the honor. The Distinguished Service Cross and medal of World War I replaced, in effect, the brevet as a military award. See: Dictionary of American English on Historical Principles. Vol I. Chicago: UP of Chicago, 1938. p. 313. PE1625D56v1. Etymology of term. Farrow, Edeard S. Farrow's Military Encyclopedia. 2d ed. Vol I. NY: Military-Naval Pub, 1895. p. 235. U24A5F241. More descriptive of British practice than American. Fry, James B. The History and Legal Effect of Brevets in the Armies of Great Britain and the United States.... NY: Van Nostrand, 1877. 576 p. UB430F7. Standard authority on the subject incl detailed historical account and list of all brevets conferred, 1776-01877. Memorial to the Congress of the United States, from Officers of the United States Army, on the Subect of Brevet and Staff Rank. Corpus Christi, TX, 12 Dec 1845. 23 p. UB433M53. Povlovich, Charles A. "What Was Brevet Rank?" Trading Post (Jul-Sep 1987): pp. 48-50. Per/BibFile. Nice explantion & survey. U.S. Code. Vol 1. Secs 521-528 (1952). Cites statutory basis of brevet rank. U.S. Dept of Army. Office, Chief of Military History. "The Significance of Brevet Rank." Fact Sheet, 27 Mar 1959. 3 p. UB433A4. Brevet Rank p.2 _________. Rank and Precedence. Army Regulation 600-15, Aug 1951. Para 2. AR. Indicates brevet rank still authorized, but 8 Aug 1955 ed does not. W.W.M. A Brief Dissertation on Military Titles and Brevet Rank by an Ex-Army Officer. Boston, Aug 1886. 7 p. LLColl, UHRm. Filed under "Military Titles..." Wiener, Frederick B. "Mex Rank Through the Ages." 2 pts. Infantry Journal LIII (Sep 1943): pp. 26-30 & (Oct 1943): pp. 57-64. Per. Historical survey of temporary rank, notably brevets. ("Mex"=Army slang term denoting such practices.) Wood, Henry Clay. A Plea for the Recognition of the Legal Rights of the Army Officers Confirmed to Brevet Rank, March Third, 1869. NY: Rankin, 1894. 15 p. UB433W6. Note: "Breveting" an NCO to officer rank first authorized in 1847. Such action could be taken by the President upon recommen- dation of the individual regimental commander when an NCO had "distinguished himself in the service." (See WD GO 9, 10 Mar 1847). Incidentally, Tasker H. Bliss was the last officer to be breveted. He retired at the end of 1917 as Chief of Staff and was then commissioned by brevet to full general. He served thereafter as US rep to Allied Supreme War Council. Peyton March, as the new Chief of Staff, filled Bliss's former position of full general rank. See: Wiener, cited above, Oct, p. 62. See also: - Frocking