33 U.S.C. § 3079a
In any case in which the Secretary accepts an application for a position of employment with the Administration and limits consideration of applications for such position to applications submitted by individuals serving in a career or career-conditional position in the competitive service within the Administration, the Secretary shall deem an officer who has served as an officer in the commissioned officer corps of the Administration for at least three years to be serving in a career or career-conditional position in the competitive service within the Administration for purposes of such limitation.
If the Secretary selects an application submitted by an officer described in subsection (a) for a position described in such subsection, the Secretary shall give such officer a career or career-conditional appointment in the competitive service, as appropriate.
In this section, the term "competitive service" has the meaning given the term in section 2102 of title 5.
33 U.S.C. § 3079a