William E. Colbath, Laureat J. Gagne, Harvey J. Russell, Philip H. Smart, Herbert G. Williford v. The United States

COWEN, Chief Judge.

Plaintiffs were classified Civil Service employees with competitive status and were employed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the Electrical Fittings Inventory Controls Division, hereinafter referred to as E.F.I.C.D. Each of the plaintiffs is a veteran preference eligible. On July 2, 1957, the Secretary of the Navy sent the Naval Shipyard a communication informing it of his decision to disestablish the E.F.I.C.D. facility at Portsmouth pursuant to a program promulgated to create a more efficient and economic system of national defense. A later…