(a) Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Navy prescribes, public quarters including heat, light, water, and refrigeration may be furnished for personnel in the following categories who are on active duty:

(1) Members of the naval service.

(2) Members of the Coast Guard when it is operating as a service in the Navy.

(3) Members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration serving with the Navy.

If public quarters are not available for any such member, the Secretary may provide lodging accommodations for him. Lodging accommodations so provided may not be occupied by the member’s dependents.

(b) The Secretary may determine in any case whether public quarters are available within the meaning of any provision of law relating to the assignment of or commutation for public quarters.

(c) The Secretary, to the extent he considers proper, may delegate the authority conferred by subsection (a), except the authority to prescribe regulations, to any person in the Department of the Navy, with or without authority to make successive redelegations.