46 U.S.C. § 51324 — Unfilled vacancies

In the event of an unfilled vacancy for any critical position at the United States Merchant Marine Academy^*, the Secretary of Transportation may appoint, without regard to the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, other than sections 3303 and 3328 of that title, a qualified candidate for the purposes of filling up to 20 of such positions.

In this section, the term “critical position” means a position that contributes to the improvement of—