14 U.S.C. § 3
Section 3 · Relationship to Navy Department
Amended 5 times on record
Applied in 9 court decisions — leading case O'Toole v. United States (1953)
Most recently applied in Crediford v. Shulkin (December 2017)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) In General.—The Coast Guard shall be a service in the Department of Homeland Security, except when operating as a service in the Navy.
(b) Transfers.—Upon the declaration of war if Congress so directs in the declaration or when the President directs, the Coast Guard shall operate as a service in the Navy, and shall so continue until the President, by Executive order, transfers the Coast Guard back to the Department of Homeland Security. While operating as a service in the Navy, the Coast Guard shall be subject to the orders of the Secretary of the Navy, who may order changes in Coast Guard operations to render them uniform, to the extent such Secretary deems advisable, with Navy operations.
(c) Operation as a Service in the Navy.—Whenever the Coast Guard operates as a service in the Navy—
(1) applicable appropriations of the Navy Department shall be available for the expense of the Coast Guard;
(2) applicable appropriations of the Coast Guard shall be available for transfer to the Navy Department;
(3) precedence between commissioned officers of corresponding grades in the Coast Guard and the Navy shall be determined by the date of rank stated by their commissions in those grades;
(4) personnel of the Coast Guard shall be eligible to receive gratuities, medals, and other insignia of honor on the same basis as personnel in the naval service or serving in any capacity with the Navy; and
(5) the Secretary may place on furlough any officer of the Coast Guard and officers on furlough shall receive one half of the pay to which they would be entitled if on leave of absence, but officers of the Coast Guard Reserve shall not be so placed on furlough.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 14, U.S.C., 1946 ed., §1 (Jan. 28, 1915, ch. 20, §1, 38 Stat. 800; July 11, 1941, ch. 290, §§5, 6(a), 55 Stat. 585).
Said section has been divided. The provisions relating to when the Coast Guard operates as a service in the Navy are in this section. The provisions relating to the establishment of the Coast Guard are placed in section 1 of this title. The provisions relating to appropriations are placed in section 4 of this title.
Changes were made in phraseology. 81st Congress, House Report No. 557.
Amendments
2012—Pub. L. 112–213 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “Upon the declaration of war if Congress so directs in the declaration or when the President directs, the Coast Guard shall operate as a service in the Navy, and shall so continue until the President, by Executive order, transfers the Coast Guard back to the Department of Homeland Security. While operating as a service in the Navy, the Coast Guard shall be subject to the orders of the Secretary of the Navy who may order changes in Coast Guard operations to render them uniform, to the extent he deems advisable, with Navy operations.”
2006—Pub. L. 109–241 inserted “if Congress so directs in the declaration” after “Upon the declaration of war”.
2002—Pub. L. 107–296 substituted “Department of Homeland Security” for “Department of Transportation”.
1976—Pub. L. 94–546 substituted “Executive” for “executive” and “Department of Transportation” for “Treasury Department”.
Effective Date of 2002 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 107–296 effective on the date of transfer of the Coast Guard to the Department of Homeland Security, see section 1704(g) of Pub. L. 107–296, set out as a note under section 101 of Title 10, Armed Forces.