Review of Promotions of Officers in the Armed Services

Admiral SMOOт. Thank you for those kind words, sir.

Mr. RIVERS. It is a big operation.

¡Admiral SмOOT. It is a tremendous operation.

Mr. RIVERS. It is a tremendous operation.

Admiral SмOOT. Tremendous.

Mr. RIVERS. I saw in the port of New York many ships under your charter for instance, McCormack Lines and so forth. That is a big operation out of New York.

Admiral SмOOT. It certainly is.

Mr. RIVERS. A big operation.

Mr. GAVIN. Mr. Nelson.

Mr. NELSON. Admiral, when did they take over all sea transportation?

Mr. BATES. March of 1950; wasn't it?

Admiral SMOOт. 1949 or 1950; I have forgotten when it was, sir.
Mr. RIVERS. It was about the same time they took over
Mr. BATES. The first of April 1950 is when it was scheduled.

Mr. BLANDFORD. About 6 months to a year after MATS was formed.

Mr. RIVERS. Admiral Denebrink is in charge of MSTS?

Admiral SMOOT. Yes, sir; he is on this list as being in charge now. Mr. BLANDFORD. Admiral, how many carriers do we have in operation in the Navy?

Admiral SмOOT. This is the Atlantic Fleet.

(Discussion off the record.)

Mr. GAVIN. Any time there is anything off the record, please so state, so that the recorder can handle it accordingly.

Admiral SмOOT. I will, sir.

In the Pacific Fleet, at the time of this organization, there were
Mr. GAVIN. That is off the record.

(Balance of statement off the record.)

Mr. BLANDFORD. Off the record.

(Discussion off the record.)

Mr. GAVIN. Mr. Bates.

Mr. BATES. Admiral, on page 2 of the report which you have given for the record, I would like to have you explain the justification for commander in the Philippines. It is a very small naval organization out there now.

Admiral SмOOт. Commander, Naval Forces, Philippines.

Mr. BATES. That is right.

Admiral SмOOT. He has taken over what used to be the duties of the 17th Naval District.

! Mr. BATES. Yes; but at that time we had that under our control. Admiral SMOOT. Well, it is true; yes, sir, but we have out there perhaps one of the largest far-eastern repair stations that we have ever had before.

Mr. BATES. What is that sir?

y Admiral SMOOт. At Subic.

Mr. BATES. Most of Subic is under construction at the moment. Admiral SмOOT. It is under construction.

Mr. BATES. Or going to be. But down at Cavite you have nothing. At Sangley Point you have a small, little airstrip. That is where the commander is located.

Admiral SMOOT. Well, he controls all of them, though, under one admiral. He has his commanding officers in the outlying districts to run these stations.

Mr. BATES. Well, from what I saw at Manila-now, we didn't get up to Subic, but you don't need an admiral down at Manila. Admiral SMOOт, That is hard to answer.

Mr. BATES. There is nothing there, but Cavite. We don't have Cavite any longer. All we have is Sangley.

Now, is that correct?

Admiral SMOOT. Sangley Point and-we have Subic.

Mr. BATES. Yes, sir, but that is not at Manila.

Admiral SMOOT. No; that isn't at Manila. But his headquarters are with the Ambassador at Manila, to represent the commander in chief, Pacific, in his seagoing activities in that particular area. Mr. BATES. Do you know who is the Ambassador there? Admiral SмOOT. Yes, sir; indeed I do.

Mr. BATES. Don't you think he can handle more than the naval problems?

Admiral SMOOT. He could very well.

Mr. BATES. He did a pretty good job in the last World War. Admiral SMOOT. I think he could very well, if that were his only duties.

Mr. BATES. Well, I don't know, Admiral.
Mr. GAVIN. What is the admiral's name?
Mr. BATES. Admiral Spruance.

Admiral SмOOT. That is Admiral Cruzen.

Mr. BATES. He asked me who was the Ambassador.

Admiral Spruance.

Admiral SмOOT. Spruance; yes, sir.

I said it was

Mr. BATES. I wonder if we could cover these next two. The first two are the type commanders, Admiral.

What is commander of operational development force?

Admiral SMOOт. Commander of operational development force was instituted following the war. He has under his command specialtype ships, like the Mississippi, 3 or 4 destroyers, specially designed with modern and unique equipment aboard them, and then forces. are assigned to him from the Atlantic Fleet as needed to carry out the practice demonstrations and other utilization of our modern inventions, to find the bugs in them. Quite frequently these things will operate very well in the factory and on paper. Put them aboard ship in the cramped and crowded conditions, operate them under actual conditions, and you find they have many bugs in them that have to be corrected.

The commander of operational development force goes into living conditions of men and officers aboard ship, air conditioning, all of the modern equipment of antisubmarine warfare, and antiaircraft warfare. All of these new equipments are placed aboard ships under his command and he is responsible to the commander in chief, Atlantic, to put them to practical use and demonstrate their practicability under actual use.

Mr. BATES. Does that have a counterpart in the Pacific?
Admiral SмOOT. No; it does not, sir.

Mr. BATES. I see.

Then I wonder the next one: I wonder if you could tell us the Commander of Blockading and Escort Forces operating in the Pacific, and how that varies from the submarine fleet?

Admiral SмOOT. Yes. I remember what he told me. When commander, Seventh Fleet, first went out there, he was required to assign forces to the blockading and escort of the Korean coast, but as ships were assigned to this duty from foreign navies he found that he could not administer them and continue his strikes at sea from his floating mobile base.

Consequently, under the Command of the Far East, who was Admiral Clark's predecessor, and commander, naval forces, Far East, they set up a separate command who had nothing to do with the strikes of the air from the 7th Fleet, but who control only the blockade and escorting of the Korean coast, and the forces that are assigned to him come from all nations that are participating in the United Nations in support of Korea, to control and run the blockading of the Korean coast, and all the support forces necessary to it.

He is afloat in a tender, usually in Sasebo, but makes his trips back and forth to coordinate the operation of these complicated blockading forces.

Mr. GAVIN. Proceed, Admiral, now, if there are no further questions. Mr. RIVERS. This is off the record.

(Discussion off the record.)

Mr. BATES. Do we have another admiral down at Sasebo?
Admiral SмOOT. Sir?

Mr. BATES. Do we have another admiral down at Sasebo?

Admiral SмOOT. Not as such; no, sir. The only admiral there is commander, blockade and escort force.

Mr. BATES. He is the admiral in charge down at Sasebo; is that right?

Admiral SмOOT. Yes, sir.

Mr. GAVIN. Does that about complete this fleet-type billets? Admiral SмOOT. Unless there are further questions, that about completes the fleet type.

Mr. GAVIN. Are there any further questions?

(No response.)

Mr. GAVIN. All right; proceed, Admiral.

Admiral SMOOT. The next one is the Continental United States shore.

Mr. GAVIN. That will be inserted in the record.

(The material is as follows:)

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Clexton.....

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Holloway..

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Gingrich

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