WAR DEPARTMENT, CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS Hospitalization of members of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the various naval hospitals and stations within the United States, usually in small numbers at any one activity, is estimated to average 100 daily during 1938 and 1939. Hospitalization of Veterans' Administration beneficiaries and Civilian Conservation Corps personnel is reimbursed at the rates established by the Federal Hospitalization Board. Out-patient services and inspection services at the naval medical supply depot, Brooklyn, N. Y., are reimbursed at cost. Mr. UMSTEAD. Admiral, what is your per diem reimbursable rate? Admiral ROSSITER. $3.75, for hospitalization between Federal activities. Mr. UMSTEAD. How much revenue do you derive from this source during the course of a year, on an average? You might give us the actual figures for the last 3 or 4 years. Admiral RosSSITER. Yes, sir. Hospitalization and services rendered Veterans' Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps Mr. UMSTEAD. The revenue so derived is apart, of course, from the amount reimbursed on account of naval personnel employed in the care of sick of outside agencies. Admiral RoSSITER. Yes, sir. Mr. UMSTEAD. That figure for 1939 as supplied in these estimates by the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts is $215,585. DATA ON HOSPITAL BEDS, NUMBER OF PATIENTS, ETC. Have you a statement for the record showing the location of your hospitals, bed capacity, extent occupied, and so forth? Admiral ROSSITER. Yes, sir. Mr. UMSTEAD. Will you insert that at this point? Active duty: Analysis of beds occupied Dec. 1, 1937. by classes Officers, Navy and Marine Corps, midshipmen and nurses- Veterans' Administration beneficiaries__ Employees' Compensation Commission beneficiaries_ Pensioners... Civilian Conservation Corps personnel 189 2, 078 22 Supernumeraries-retired Navy and Marine Corps personnel, Fleet Naval CONTINUOUS SERVICE OF HOSPITAL CORPSMEN Mr. DITTER. Admiral, in the Medical Corps there is a certain number of enlisted men who are identified solely with medical work, is that correct? Admiral ROSSITER. Hospital corpsmen. Mr. DITTER. Hospital corpsmen? Admiral RosSITER. Yes, sir. Mr. DITTER. Do those men continue through successive enlistments if they so desire in the same character of work? In other words, do they progress as hospital or medical corpsmen? Admiral ROSSITER. Yes, sir. They remain in the Hospital Corps, through successive enlistments, and are promoted in that corps. Mr. DITTER. And, in your opinion, is the work of the hospital unit improved as a result of the added experience that the years give to these medical corpsmen? Admiral ROSSITER. Unquestionably. Mr. DITTER. Am I fair in assuming that a certain degree of professional proficiency comes to them as a result of this experience? Admiral ROSSITER. Yes, sir. Mr. DITTER. Have you any observations to make with reference to the proficiency of your enlisted personnel during the past year? Do you think the Hospital Corps has had a capable group of men identified with it? Admiral ROSSITER. I cannot speak too highly, sir, in commendation of the personnel of the Hospital Corps. Mr. DITTER. Would that include the officers identified with it as well as the enlisted men? Admiral ROSSITER. I am speaking now only of the Hospital Corps; let me separate them. Mr. DITTER. Have you any observations to make with reference to the officer personnel identified with the Medical Corps? Admiral ROSSITER. The Medical Corps of the Navy has today a corps of which I feel the entire Navy has just cause to be proud. They are a group of very highly trained, hard-working, efficier.t officers. This statement also applies to the personnel of the Hospital Corps of the Navy and to the Nurse Corps. Mr. DITTER. Opportunity is given, is it not, by the Naval Estab lishment to the officers of the Medical Corps to keep abreast of the advancements in medical science by permitting them to attend me:cal schools and other institutions where their development may be secured? Admiral ROSSITER. Constantly. We have annually a number under special instruction at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Pennsylvania, the Mayo Foundation, the University of California. Harvard, and at various other institutions throughout the United States. INCREASED NAVY WILL REQUIRE PROPORTIONATE INCREASE IN OFFICES PERSONNEL OF MEDICAL CORPS Mr. DITTER. Will the contemplated increase in the Navy require a proportionate increase in the officer personnel of the Medical Corps: Admiral ROSSITER. That is automatically provided for, sir, by the authorization of sixty-five one-hundredths of 1 percent of medica. officers authorized in direct relationship to the personnel. Mr. DITTER. Admiral, how many medical officers will be involuntarily separated from the service during the year as a result of the action of the Selection Board? Admiral RossITER. The number is limited. In the present year there will be 12. Mr. DITTER. How many will be retired during this present year? Admiral RoSSITER. Twelve. Mr. DITTER. Twelve? Admiral ROSSITER. Yes, sir; in all probability. Mr. DITTER. They will be involuntarily retired? Admiral ROSSITER. Yes, sir; involuntarily retired. Mr. DITTER. Has your service suffered any as a result of the character of the service which these 12 officers have rendered during the past year? Admiral ROSSITER. I would not say it has suffered, no, sir. Many of these officers have rendered excellent service. Mr. DITTER. Have rendered excellent service? Admiral RoSSITER. Yes, sir. Mr. DITTER. In fact, you were very generous in your words of praise before of the general type of service that your entire officer personnel has rendered? Admiral RoSSITER. Yes. Of course, there are cases of officers who are below average. Mr. DITTER. That is also true in the line and in the staff, is it not, Admiral? Admiral ROSSITER. Yes, sir; it is true in all walks of life. MEDICAL OFFICERS PASSED OVER BY THE SELECTION BOARD Mr. DITTER. How many officers have been passed over during the past year as a result of the action of the Selection Board? Admiral ROSSITER. I cannot give you the number exactly, sir. I cannot tell you exactly without the records. Mr. DITTER. Can you supply it for me at this point in the record? Admiral ROSSITER. Yes, sir; I will supply that number. (NOTE.-Fifteen medical officers have been involuntarily retired during the past year as a result of being passed over by Selection Boards.) Mr. DITTER. They will be carried as additional numbers, will they not? Admiral RosSITER. No, sir. Mr. DITTER. They will not? Admiral ROSSITER. That is not the law at present. They are carried the same as any other officers, but after they have been passed over three times they are automatically retired, with the limitation that there shall not be more than 7 commanders and 12 lieutenant commanders retired in each year. Mr. DITTER. How many additional officers will you take into the Medical Corps during the coming year? Admiral ROSSITER. We anticipate taking in about 75. Mr. DITTER. This number would be decreased were it not for the involuntary separation from the service of these officers that are being retired as a result of the action of the Selection Board; is that right? We would not need 75 if the 12 were not being fired, would we? We would need 63, then? Admiral RosSITER. We would, because we would still be short. Mr. DITTER. But assume that we could only secure 75, if the 12 were not being separated we would only need 63? That is a fact, is it not? Admiral RosSITER. That is correct, sir. Mr. DITTER. Will these 12 officers that are involuntarily separated from the service get any pay after they have been actually separated from the service? Admiral ROSSITER. Yes, sir. They will receive 21⁄2 percent of their annual pay for each year they have served in the Navy. Mr. DITTER. So that, to that extent, your medical outfit will cost the Government more than it otherwise would have cost as a result of the action of the Selection Board? Admiral RoSSITER. Yes. The retired list will be increased that much. Mr. DITTER. The Medical Corps will place upon the taxpayers the additional load of their retired pay as the result of that involuntary separation from the service? Admiral RosSSITER. That is correct, sir. |