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Executive Order 10168 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 10168—Regulations Relating to the Right of Enlisted Members of the Uniformed Services to Additional Pay for Sea and Foreign Duty

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Wednesday, October 11, 1950
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4 min read (863 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 4 min read (863 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

I hereby prescribe the following regulations relating to the right of enlisted members of the uniformed services to receive additional pay (referred to herein as sea-duty pay or foreign-duty pay) while on sea duty or while on duty in any place beyond the continental limits of the United States or in Alaska: SECTION 1.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners Foreign Nations & International Entities

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Harry S Truman on October 11, 1950, this order concerns Regulations Relating to the Right of Enlisted Members of the Uniformed Services to Additional Pay for Sea and Foreign Duty. I hereby prescribe the following regulations relating to the right of enlisted members of the uniformed services to receive additional pay (referred to herein as sea-duty pay or foreign-duty pay) while on sea duty or while on duty in any place beyond the continental limits of the United States or in Alaska: SECTION 1.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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I hereby prescribe the following regulations relating to the right of enlisted members of the uniformed services to receive additional pay (referred to herein as sea-duty pay or foreign-duty pay) while on sea duty or while on duty in any place beyond the continental limits of the United States or in Alaska: SECTION 1.

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Enlisted members entitled to receive basic pay shall be entitled to receive, additionally, sea-duty pay while on sea duty as defined in section 2 hereof, the period of such duty to include the date of reporting and the date of detachment as stated in orders.

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For additional-pay purposes, and except as otherwise provided in section 3 hereof, sea duty shall mean duty performed by enlisted members: (a) While permanently assigned to a vessel, other than a vessel restricted to service in the inland waters of the United States or a non-self-propelled vessel, pursuant to orders issued by competent authority, including periods not in excess of fifteen consecutive days each while on temporary additional duty ashore.

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While permanently assigned to a ship-based aviation unit pursuant to orders issued by competent authority, including periods not in excess of fifteen consecutive days each (1) while on temporary additional duty ashore or (2) while such unit is temporarily based ashore.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
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"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)

Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.

Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)

Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.

Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)

The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
45 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

High Friction

Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Low Friction

Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Moderate Friction

The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.

Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
863
5,233 characters
Estimated Read Time
4 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
20.3
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 206 of the Career Compensation Act of 1949, approved October 12, 1949 (Public Law 351, 81st Congress), and as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the armed forces of the United States, I hereby prescribe the following regulations relating to the right of enlisted members of the uniformed services to receive additional pay (referred to herein as sea-duty pay or foreign-duty pay) while on sea duty or while on duty in any place beyond the continental limits of the United States or in Alaska: SECTION 1. Enlisted members entitled to receive basic pay shall be entitled to receive, additionally, sea-duty pay while on sea duty as defined in section 2 hereof, the period of such duty to include the date of reporting and the date of detachment as stated in orders. SECTION 2. For additional-pay purposes, and except as otherwise provided in section 3 hereof, sea duty shall mean duty performed by enlisted members: (a) While permanently assigned to a vessel, other than a vessel restricted to service in the inland waters of the United States or a non-self-propelled vessel, pursuant to orders issued by competent authority, including periods not in excess of fifteen consecutive days each while on temporary additional duty ashore. (b) While permanently assigned to a ship-based aviation unit pursuant to orders issued by competent authority, including periods not in excess of fifteen consecutive days each (1) while on temporary additional duty ashore or (2) while such unit is temporarily based ashore. (The term "temporarily based ashore" refers to a ship-based aviation unit that has been landed ashore with intent to return to a ship.) (c) While on a vessel pursuant to orders issued by competent authority although based or stationed ashore, but only when such duty is eight days or more in duration in each case. (d) While on a vessel restricted to service in the inland waters of the United States or on a non-self-propelled vessel, but only on days when such vessel is actually operating outside of inland waters for a period of eight days or more in each case. (e) While permanently assigned, pursuant to orders issued by competent authority, to a commissioned landing-craft-tank squadron or a commissioned motor-torpedo-boat squadron which is a tactical component of an operating fleet in an active status and subject to movement as an integral unit of such fleet. SECTION 3. Except as provided in section 2(c) hereof, no enlisted member shall, for additional-pay purposes, be considered to be on sea duty: (a) While on duty on a receiving ship or station ship. (b) While on duty on a vessel which is in an inactive status. (c) While on duty with shore-based administrative or maintenance organizations of any unit. SECTION 4. Enlisted members entitled to receive basic pay shall be entitled to receive, additionally, foreign-duty pay while on duty beyond the continental limits of the United States or in Alaska. Such duty shall include duty performed by enlisted members: (a) On the date of departure from the continental limits of the United States to join a vessel or to report for sea duty or other duty beyond the continental limits of the United States or in Alaska. (b) While en route between duty stations, afloat or ashore, beyond the continental limits of the United States or in Alaska. (c) While en route to the United States after detachment from sea duty or foreign duty, the period en route to include the date of return to the continental limits of the United States. (d) During periods spent on temporary additional duty or temporary duty or on operational aircraft flights outside the continental limits of the United States or in Alaska while assigned to permanent duty in the continental United States, but only when such duty or flights are eight days or more in duration in each case, including the date of departure from and the date of return to the continental limits of the United States. SECTION 5. Foreign-duty pay shall not accrue for periods of temporary additional duty or temporary duty within the continental limits of the United States. SECTION 6. Enlisted members shall not be entitled to additional pay for sea duty or foreign duty under circumstances which, under the provisions of supplementary regulations prescribed hereunder, do not constitute either sea duty or duty in a place beyond the continental limits of the United States or in Alaska. SECTION 7. No enlisted member shall be entitled under this order to receive both sea-duty pay and foreign-duty pay for the same period of time. SECTION 8. The Secretaries concerned (within the meaning of section 102(f) of the said Career Compensation Act of 1949), with respect to personnel of the uniformed services within their respective departments, are hereby authorized to prescribe such supplementary regulations, not inconsistent herewith, as they may deem necessary or desirable for carrying out these regulations, and such supplementary regulations shall be uniform for all the services to the fullest extent practicable. SECTION 9. This order shall become effective on November 1, 1950. HARRY S. TRUMAN

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

October 11, 1950

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (4)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 10,168 (Oct. 11, 1950), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10168-regulations-relating-the-right-enlisted-members-the-uniformed.