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The Services.ROYAL AIR FORCE MEDICAL BRANCH:

NEW PAY AND CONDITIONS.As was announced in THE LANCET last week,

improvements have been made in the conditions ofservice and emoluments of medical officers of theRoyal Air Force with the intention of attracting intothe Service the best type of medical man. The dutiesof a medical officer in the Air Force include not onlythe prevention and treatment of ordinary diseasesand of those to which the personnel of the fightingservices may be liable, but the special study of themental and physical stresses on the aviator.

Entry being by means of a short service com-mission for three years, extensible to five, the officeris not committed to a permanent career. Permanentcommissions are granted- by selection from thoseholding short service commissions, and every entranthas a 50 per cent. chance of permanency. Shortservice officers passing to the reserve after five yearswill receive an increased gratuity of 700, but thegratuity after three years’ service remains at 6350.

Increase of Pay.Increases of pay of from 2s. to 11s. a day have

been granted in all ranks above Flight Lieutenant andthe scale in force from July 1st, 1926, will be seenfrom the following table. The rates shown in thefirst column are " standard " and are liable to theextent of 20 per cent. to periodic variation accordingto the cost of living. The current rates are shown inthe second column, and in the third the total yearlyemoluments at current, rates if allowances are drawnin cash in lieu of provision being made in kind.The cash allowances included are at current homerates for unmarried officers. Married officers over30 years of age receive higher allowances.

Promotion to Flight Lieutenant occurs after twoyears’ satisfactory service and to Squadron Leaderafter ten years’ service, reducible to eight years inexceptional cases. Promotion above Squadron Leaderis by selection, subject to m nimum periods of service.The Director of Medical Services, if as at presentan Air Vice-Marshal, will receive the pay and allow-ances of his rank.

Retiring Allouanees to Permanent Officers.The gratuities issuable to permanent officers have

been increased to ;B51500 after 10 years’ service and£2500 after 15 years’ service. After 20 years’ qualify-ing service officers are eligible for retired pay, theamount depending on age and length of service andin the case of senior officers on rank. The maximumrates of retired pay are, subject to certain conditions,as follows, the rates for Air Commodores and AirVice-Marshals being new :—

Various Improved Conditions.Officers who have held resident appointments in

recognised civil hospitals for not less than one year(of which half may be spent as non-residents) will beantedated one year for purposes of seniority pro-motion, retired pay, and retiring gratuity, the valuableexperience provided by hospital appointments beingthus recognised. Every officer on entry will receiveeight weeks’ special instruction in the medicalproblems connected with flying and other Air Forceduties, while with a view to enable the officer to takegeneral or special courses, whether at civil or servicemedical schools, study leave up to nine months inall will be allowed during the first 16 years of service.The promise should be noticed that as far as possibleofficers will be allowed to take such study leave whenconvenient to themselves and to choose their subjectsand places of study.

The N’nrsing Service.The Air Ministry also announce a revised scheme

of emoluments, including pay and retired pay, formembers of Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force NursingService. A permanent member of the Service willnow be permitted to retire with a gratuity of j6250after ten years’ service and 3400 after 15 years.

ROYAL NAVAL MEDICAL SERVICE.

Surg. Capts. R. J. MacKeown and F. H. Nimmo to beSurg. Rear-Admirals, and are placed on the Retd. List atheir own request.

Surg. Capt. R. StG. S. Bond to be Surg. Rear-Admiral.Surg. Lt. C. H. Savory to be Surg. Lt.-Comdr.

ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS.Col. F. F. Carroll, half pay list, retires on retd. pay.Maj. R. G. H. Tate retires on retd. pay, and is granted

the rank of Lt.-Col.J. W. Kendall to be temp. Lt.

MILITIA.

Capt. H. C. Bazett to be Maj.

ROYAL AIR FORCE.

Wing Comdr. A. W. Iredell to be Group Capt.Squad. Leaders W. A. S. Duck and A. E. Panter to be

Wing Comdrs.Flight Lt. H. E. H. Tracy to be Hon. Squad. Leader.Flying Officer H. W. Corner is promoted to the rank of

Flight Lt. -

NORTH PERSIAN FORCES MEMORIAL MEDAL.-Dr.W. Corner, O.B.E., Iraq Health Service, has been awardedthe North Persian Forces Memorial Medal for the year 1925for his paper on Malaria in the Kirkuk Division of NorthernMesopotamia during 1923, published in the Transactions ofthe Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (1925,vol. xix., Nos. 1 and 2). This is the third award of the medal,which is awarded annually for the best paper on tropicalmedicine or hygiene published in any journal during thepreceding 12 months by any medical officer, of under12 years’ service, of the Royal Navy, Royal Army MedicalCorps, Royal Air Force, Indian Medical Service, or of theColonial Medical Service, provided that a paper judged tobe of sufficient merit has appeared.