SECTION I. GENERAL.

237. Officers in General.- The definitions of " Service " contained in this chapter are applicable to all officers except where otherwise specially provided for.

238. Half-pay Time.- Time on half pay will not count for increase of full or half-pay, or for promotion except when the latter depends upon seniority.

239. Civil Employment.- Civil employment at or under the Admiralty, or service under any other Department which may be declared by the Admiralty, with the consent of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, to be for this purpose Naval Service, if it does not count for or towards civil superannuation, and service as Naval Attaché, shall count as " Service " for all purposes, except that it shall not qualify for promotion without the requisite period of " r Service in a Ship-of-War at Sea." See 247 (Service for Medical Officers).

SECTION II. MILITARY BRANCH-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.

240. " Service " shall mean service on full pay, subject to the exceptions provided for in Articles 317, clause 2, and 321, clauses 5 and 6.

241. " Service in a Ship-of-War at Sea" shall mean

1. All time served on board His Majesty's ships or vessels commissioned for sea service, or in vessels actually employed in surveying, or on board His Majesty's ships or vessels during trials before being commissioned, from the date of the arrival of the navigating party on board to the date of its departure.
2. Service in such tenders as the Admiralty may declare to be sea-going tenders.
3. Time on leave to the United Kingdom (Article 869), subject to the approval of the Admiralty, and not exceeding the maximum foreign service full pay leave to which the officer will be entitled by length of foreign service.
4. Service in a ship-of-war maintained by a Dominion Government and commissioned for sea service, at the discretion of the Admiralty, under conditions similar to those prescribed in Appendix XIV., Section III., paragraph 10,

2. "Service."- All other time on full pay shall count as " Service."

3. Officers attending signal, gunnery, and torpedo courses, and receiving the difference between full and half pay, shall count the period for which such difference is paid as " Service " in the same manner as officers borne on ship's books for the courses:

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4. How "Service" Counts.- All "Service" shall count in full for promotion and for increase of full pay, half pay, and retired pay, provided

1. that as regards promotion, the officer has completed the minimum qualifying period of "Service in a Ship-of-War at Sea," and has ' never avoided service ; and
2. that as regards increase. of 'full and half pay, he has completed the necessary periods of " Service in a Ship-of-War at Sea."

(For definitions of "Service prior to 1st April 1890," See King's Regulations, 1899. )

242. Colonial Employment. An officer who with the consent of the Admiralty may accept and hold employment under a Colonial Government, under the rules contained in Appendix XIV., shall, if his employment appears to the Admiralty to be of a nature affording practical experience likely to be of public advantage, in the event of his return to employment in the Royal Navy, count his time under the Colonial Government, if the Admiralty think fit, as -" Service."

2. Such officers will be borne on the books of the flag-ship on the stations on which they may be employed, and will consequently be subject to the Naval Discipline Act.

243. Shore Employment.- No officer of the Military Branch will be allowed to hold an appointment or appointments that may be defined by the Admiralty to be " Shore Employment " for wore than five consecutive years, or, in the case of members of the Board of Admiralty, for more than seven consecutive years, except in special circumstances which may in the opinion of the Admiralty justify an extension of the appointment in particular cases.'

2. In calculating the period of employment ashore, time on half pay will be included.

3. Temporary employment in any capacity during naval man�uvres will not qualify an officer for a further period of employment on shore.

244. Acting Time.- Service as Acting Lieutenant, Acting Commander, or Acting Captain shall count as time served in the confirmed rank only, for all purposes, and in no case as time served in the superior rank in which the officer was acting.

245. Commissioned Warrant Officers, &c., promoted.- Time served prior to promotion to the rank of Lieutenant under Article 299, clause 4, will reckon as follows :

Time served prior to promotion is in no case to count as service for promotion to the rank of Commander.

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SECTION III. NON-MILITARY BRANCHES-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.

246. "Service" shall mean service on full pay except as provided in Article 331, clause 3.

247. Medical Officers.- As regards medical' officers :

1. Acting time is not to count for increase of full and half-pay iii the superior rank. See 253 (Acting Time).
2. " Service " as resident medical or surgical officer in a recognised civil hospital, not exceeding one year from the date of entry, will count as full pay service for all purposes except for gratuity on withdrawal after four years.

248. Engineer Lieutenants (Senior List).- Engineer Lieutenants (Senior List) will count junior service for half and retired pay as laid down in Article 251. Officers promoted to the rank of Chief Engineer or advanced to Engineer Lieutenant (Senior List), after having been passed over on account of unsatisfactory conduct or failure to qualify, will not count junior service for full or half pay, subsequent to the date of being passed over, nor for retired pay if they did not elect to come under the new conditions of retirement introduced on 1st April 1908. Junior service subsequent to the date of promotion to the rank of Chief Engineer may, however, be allowed to reckon for increase of half and retired pay, in accordance with Article 251, in the cases of officers considered deserving of such consideration.

2. Additional time granted for 1st and 2nd class certificates gained at the Royal Naval College, to engineer officers entered between 1st April 1877 and 30th June 1885, counts in all respects as service as Assistant Engineer.

3. Acting Time is not to count for increase of full pay in the superior rank. See 253 (Acting Time).

4. Engineer officers entered for temporary service and transferred to the permanent list will, on promotion to the senior ranks, and subject to the exception in clause 1 hereof, count junior service in the proportions laid down in Article 251, as follows:

1. Those transferred to the permanent list by Order in Council, 26th August 1893, from date of seniority as Engineer on the permanent list.
2. Those transferred to the permanent list by Order in Council; 27th June 1894, from the completion of four years' service on the temporary list.

249. Accountant Officers who entered prior to the 1st October 1910 and did not elect to be paid at the new rates of full and half pay established on that date shall count time as follows :

2. Paymasters.- Time served as Secretary to a Flag Officer or Commodore of the 1st Class, after passing for the rank of Paymaster, and time served by a Paymaster as Secretary to a Commodore 2nd Class, is to reckon as Paymaster's time, except for the purpose of calculating seniority.

3. Assistant Paymaster as Secretary.- Time served by an Assistant Paymaster of four years' seniority as Secretary to a Flag Officer or Commodore Ist Class, shall reckon as Paymaster's and Secretary's time, though not for the purpose of calculating seniority, except in the case of those officers who entered the Service in or after the year 1909, whose time shall not count as ,Paymaster's time until they have passed . the examination detailed in Appendix X., Part IX.

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4. Assistant Paymaster.- All service as Assistant Paymaster will count for increase of full pay in the proportion set out in Article 251, except where an officer is promoted to the rank of Paymaster after having been passed over on account of unsatisfactory conduct, in which case junior service subsequent to the date of being passed over will not count.

Junior service subsequent to the date of promotion to the rank of paymaster may, however, be allowed to reckon for increase of full, half, and retired pay, in accordance with Article 251, in the cases of officers considered deserving of such consideration.

250. The provisions of Article 249, so far as the Article affects the counting of time for purposes of retired pay, shall apply also to those accountant officers who entered on or after the 1st October 1910, and to those who entered prior to that date and elected to be paid at the new rates of full and half pay then introduced. ,

251. Junior Service.- Subject to the provisions of Articles 248 and 249, Engineer Officers and Paymasters shall count the time of their junior service. in the following proportions, fractions of a year being included in both, instances, viz. :

Engineer Officers.- For half-pay, one-third of the period in excess of 12 years.

For retired pay, in full in the case of officers entered since 1st April 1908 and of those serving on that date who accepted the conditions for retirement then introduced. Officers serving on 1st April 1908 who did not accept the new conditions of retirement shall reckon half the full time until the completion of 11 years' senior service, after which they shall count the full time.

Paymasters.- Accountant officers who entered prior to the Ist October 1910 and did not elect to be paid at the new rates of full and half pay established on that date shall count time as follows:

For full, half, and retired pay, half the full time until the completion of. 11 years' senior service, after which they shall count the full time.

Other accountant officers shall count their time in the same proportion: for purposes of retired pay.

Senior Service reckons from the date of commencing full pay as Chief Engineer, as Engineer Lieutenant (Senior List), or as Paymaster.

252. Carpenter Lieutenants before promotion.- Time served prior to promotion to the rank .of Carpenter Lieutenant under Article 299, clause 4, will reckon as follows:

253. Acting Time.- Acting service shall only count as time served in the confirmed rank for promotion on the active list ; for all other purposes it shall count as time served in the superior rank in which the officer was acting, except in the case of the full and half pay of medical officers, and of the full pay of engineer officers.

SECTION IV. COMMISSIONED WARRANT OFFICERS AND WARRANT OFFICERS.

254. Confirmed and Acting Time.- Commissioned warrant officers and warrant officers shall be allowed to reckon for every purpose all time served in their confirmed rank; but, if not confirmed, time served as acting warrant officer under Article 300 shall count as chief petty officer time, unless failure to ,obtain confirmation is due to misconduct or inefficiency, in which case time served in the acting capacity shall count as time in the rating held prior to appointment as acting warrant officer.

2. Any petty officer, seaman class or otherwise, who may be granted temporary acting warrant rank by the Commander-in-Chief or Senior Officer under Article 231, will revert to a chief petty officer rating on being relieved in his acting capacity, the time served therein counting as chief petty officer time only, unless covered by a warrant from the Admiralty. Should, however, his relief be due to misconduct or inefficiency, he will revert to his former rating, his time served in the acting capacity counting only as petty officer time.

3. Forfeited by Court-Martial.- Time forfeited by sentence of court-martial by any of these officers, is provided for under Article 1915, sub-clause (j).

SECTION V. RETIREMENT AND HALF PAY.

255. General Regulations.- The regulations in force in regard to half pay and retirement are contained in the several Orders in Council relating thereto. See also 2017.

256. Resignation of Commissions.- Applications from officers to resign their commissions are to be made in accordance with the regulations as to correspondence laid down in Article 1884, with the approval of the Captain, and with the certificate prescribed by Article 595 ; they will be duly considered with reference to the urgency of each individual case and the exigencies of the Service.

Confidential and other books belonging to a ship, which may have been lent to individual officers for information, and also " personal copies " of such books, are to be dealt with as provided for in Article 1847, clauses 8 and 11.

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