((a)) The Secretary of the Navy may authorize—

((1)) members of the naval service on active duty;

((2)) civilian officers and employees of the Department of the Navy;

((3)) members of the Coast Guard when it is operating as a service in the Navy; and

((4)) members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration serving with the Navy;

((b)) The Secretary, to the extent he considers proper, may delegate the authority conferred by this section to any person in the Department of the Navy, with or without the authority to make successive redelegations.