Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub

(3) Welfare and recreation.

Under (1) the activities are covered in detail on a following page. Under (2) the following activities are administered: (a) Naval training stations, (b) trade schools, (c) Navy educational study courses. In general the section has supervision and the direction of training stations, trade schools, and all training of enlisted personnel (except Hospital Corps men); special schools; naval instruction study courses; the training and instruction of enlisted personnel of the Naval Reserve Force; plans for training during war; and State nautical schools.

Under (3) the following activities are administered: Athletics, motion pictures, allotments, libraries, ship and station newspapers, and supply and disbursing.

TRANSPORTATION AND RECRUITING DIVISION

Establishment and administration of recruiting stations; first enlistments; recruiting personnel; supervision of returns from recruiting officers; transfers of recruits to training stations; expenditures for recruiting under "Transportation and recruiting" appropriation; publicity and printing, Navy Recruiting Bureau, New York.

Contracting for, furnishing, and supervising the commercial transportation of the personnel of the Navy, including dependents; furnishing transportation on Government transports for the personnel of the Navy, including dependents; checking bills of the transportation companies and claims of the Navy personnel covering transportation furnished and purchased from personal funds.

Identification; disputed handwriting; passports for families of officers and enlisted men, records; photographing fingerprints, service records; officers and their families for passports.

Multigraphing and mimeographing work for bureau.

NAVAL RESERVE FORCE DIVISION

The Naval Reserve Division of the Bureau of Navigation has general supervision, through the district commandants, of the vessels, equipment, armories, personnel, etc., assigned to units of the Naval Reserve Force and records connected therewith; records of strength, activities, etc., of units of the Naval Reserve Force; supervision of the expenditures of Naval Reserve appropriations and memoranda accounts in connection therewith; preparation of estimates for Naval Reserve appropriations and recommendations in regard to legislation affecting the Naval Reserve Force.

This division has direct supervision of the examination of officers for promotion or confirmation; issuance of confirmations and promotions, transfers, discharges, enrollments, reenrollments, certificates of war service; officers' records, fitness reports, active training duty, general correspondence pertaining to Naval Reserve officers, and preparation of the register of officers of the Naval Reserve Force. In cooperation with the commandants of naval districts and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, this division has cognizance over the organization and administration of the Naval Reserve Force in accordance with policies laid down by the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and legislation connected therewith, and is charged with the preparation of regulations governing the organization and administration of the Naval Reserve Force.

CHAPLAINS' CORPS DIVISION

General supervision of the Chaplain Corps.
Member, examining board for chaplains.

MISCELLANEOUS DUTIES

Arrangements for local naval ceremonies and funerals; visé of passports for naval personnel.

Checking of ships' log books.

Estimates of appropriations under cognizance of this bureau; preparation of data for congressional hearings on appropriations.

Visé of requisitions for supplies and services; purchase and issue of office supplies for use in bureau; requisitions for printing at Government Printing Office.

Issue of bureau allowance lists for ships; preparation of correspondence and details with regard to sponsors for new ships.

Changes in Navy Regulations and Navy General Orders in which bureau is concerned; Uniform Regulations and questions regarding uniform for officers and men.

Upkeep and operation of Naval Academy.

Assignment of office space in bureau.

UNITED STATES NAVAL OBSERVATORY

Astronomical observations; collaborates with astronomical council. Supervises time service and time signals; has cognizance of chronometers and time-keeping instruments.

Issues magnetic compasses and appurtenances thereto; operates school of instruction in magnetic compasses.

Has cognizance of gyro compasses, gyro appurtenances, and interrelated gyro fire-control features.

Prepares publications used by mariners in connection with celestial observations.

HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE

Collecting and routing information of interest to mariners.

Issue of charts and hydrographic publications, weekly notices, and mine warnings to mariners; of pilot charts; also of various publications and tables of use for navigators.

Editing and issue of sailing directions and light lists; compilation of investigations on currents; surveys of oceans and lakes; preparation of navigational manuals.

Editing of Notices to Aviators.

PERSONNEL REG UIREMENTS AND PROBLEMS

This completes the tabulation on the duties of the bureau. The personnel requirements for the Navy are based upon a policy of keeping sufficient regular personnel to maintain the naval material covered by the provisions and implications of the treaty for the limitation of armament, and to be prepared to operate it efficiency in an emergency at the ratio of total strength fixed in the treaty for the United States.

The policy of the Secretary of the Navy, to carry out the spirit of the treaty provisions, was published to the Navy in a document called "United States Naval Policy," which policy the Office of Naval Operations has expressed in terms of appropriate conditions of readiness of ships and stations. The expression of the policy, as modified by the availability of funds, is published by the Office of Naval Operations in the current operating force plan, and the actual distribution of naval personnel for the fiscal year to support this operating plan is the distribution data supplied this committee annually.

It will be seen that the problem of the Bureau of Navigation briefly is threefold-first, to get, train, and distribute the allowed personnel to meet the conditions of the operating force plan and when supplied, to conitnue its effective training and education; second, to keep the totals, especially of officers, at such a figure that the bureau can provide a trained nucleus of regular personnel to operate in an emergency all the material of the treaty provisions; and third, to keep in sight and train sufficient reserves to completely man all material.

In considering these problems it is obvious that there is some figure below which reductions in the strength of the regular Navy, especially of officers who can train men and operate material, will impair the ability of the bureau to man efficiently a Navy to carry out the spirit of the treaty, despite all other measures taken in the way of reserve personnel.

PEACE AND WAR COMPLEMENT

Based upon the provisions for the readiness of personnel and material specified by the Office of Naval Operations, the bureau considers the regular Navy would require in peace a total, based on. 100 per cent personnel for active ships, of 12,000 officers and 150,000 men, and based on 80 per cent personnel on active ships, 10,669 officers and 120,000 men, less apprentices, seamen, and Hospital Corps men which later figure compares favorably with the authorized strength of about 9,517 officers and 137,485 men. estimated total for war is 30,000 officers and 500,000 men.

The

While it is realized that this committee is conversant with the necessity of maintaining the spirit of the treaty ratio, of the danger of any reduction in the existing strength of the personnel of the Navy, and of the task that annually confronts the Bureau of Navigation in supplying the trained officers and men to operate the highly technical and intricate material of modern ships, especially due to the youth of the obtainable recruits and the necessity of an enlistment not longer than four years to obtain any, yet it is appreciated that such generally may not be the case and a proper understanding of the naval personnel problem is a necessity to obtain any appreciation of the condition of national defense in relation to the Navy. The most serious problem of the bureau is to provide competent commissioned and warrant officers, since upon them rests, in peace and war, the responsibility for training personnel, active and reserve, and of operating and keeping up the material.

Basically they are the framework upon which the Navy rests, and war-time expansion beyond a proper physical expression of their ex

perience and knowledge in the units of the naval organization would impair its efficiency or disorganize it. The success of the Navy in the late war may be attributed to the fact that the physical expansion did not exceed too far the availables of trained officers; this without prejudice to the splendid material from the reserves and from the country.

The existing authorized officer total represents a minimum figure for adequate naval peace preparation, and the reductions which have occurred in enlisted strength could be faced, although with misgiving, because the framework of officer personnel that could undertake training was left intact.

Distribution of this officer personnel in any year is effected with a view of training it and the commissioned and enlisted strengths of the Navy and reserve, and at the same time of maintaining the material in operating readiness. Facing abnormal wastage of officer personnel by resignation and retirement, confronted with the proper training for naval reserves, of the high percentage of officers necessary in submarines and aviation, and of adequate war college and technical training, together with an operating force plan, enlisted schools, the production, inspection, and supply of material, and naval administration, the bureau at all times has difficulty in adequately meeting naval necessities for officer material.

OFFICER FERSONNEL

As you gentlemen know, the authorized officer strength of the line of the Navy is 5,499 officers, which is 4 per cent of the authorized enlisted strength, and that the staff corps, except the Medical. Chaplain, and Dental Corps, are based upon an authorized percentage of the line. On September 30, 1924, there was a shortage in the line and all corps in the number of officers allowed by law. The line was 85.1 per cent filled (we hope to bring this up to 89 per cent for 1926); the Medical Corps was 64.5 per cent (it should be 69.3 per cent for 1926); the Dental Corps was 83.5 per cent (it should be 84.1 per cent for 1926); the Supply Corps was 87.8 per cent (it should be 86.6 per cent for 1926); the Chaplain Corps was 56.2 per cent (it should be 54.9 per cent for 1926); Construction Corps, 80.7. per cent (it should be 83.6 per cent for 1926); Civil Engineer Corps. 87.2 per cent (it should be 90 per cent for 1926).

The total number of officers, line and all corps, including warrant officers, was 8,148 on September 30, 1924. We hope to bring this number up to 8,410 for the fiscal year 1926.

RATE OF SEPARATIONS OF OFFICERS, 1924

For the past few months the rate of attrition in the line has continued to be unusually high; for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1924, the rate was approximately 5.3 per cent, which rate has nearly been maintained until September 30 of this year. This rate of attrition is above normal. Before the World War the rate of attrition ran around 31⁄2 per cent.

The actual separations from the active service during the last fiscal year were 241 line officers and 85 staff officers, as compared with the preceding year's figures of 219 line officers and 119 staff officers

Between June 30, 1924, and September 30, 1924, these figures have been increased by 52 line officers and 14 staff officers. Approximately one-fourth of the separations are retirements; considerably more than one-half are resignations; the remainder are deaths and dismissals. The actual stations of all officers as of September 30, 1924, are in tabulated form and will be furnished the committee. Also the proposed distribution for the number estimated for 1926 is available in tabulated form for the committee's information.

OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO AVIATION

Demands for officers in aviation are constantly increasing. Approximately 630 line officers will be detailed for aviation duty by February, 1926. That number is slightly below what aviation estimates as the number to fill the aeronautical organization. They think they ought to have about 707 line officers for that purpose. The number transferred for aviation duty must be determined by the number available. If we are short in other directions, they can not have as many as they want. Moreover, the bureau has difficulty in obtaining sufficient applicants physically qualified to enter this branch. Aviation now has allotted to it 487 line officers, with an enlisted personnel of approximately 3,500, exclusive of crews of the vessels of the fleet aviation detachments. For this duty it is not desired to detail officers without some experience at sea, and for this reason officers are not detailed to flight training who have had less than two years' sea duty since graduation from the Naval Academy. Inasmuch as aviation is in process of rapid development, the end of this process can not be foreseen. It seems, at any rate, that it will be some time before the proper balance is established between that branch and other branches of the service. In addition to aviation increases, it is earnestly desired to increase the number of officers detailed for postgraduate instruction at the Junior War College and at the Engineer and Ordnance postgraduate schools. This the bureau will be unable to do for some years.

NAVAL ACADEMY APPOINTMENTS

In view of the high percentage of separations from the service which has prevailed for the last two years, and taking into consideration the operation of the clause in the last year's appropriation bill reducing the number of appointments to the Naval Academy for each Congressman and Senator from five to three, it is believed that the best interests of the service will be served if the appointments were increased from three to five. The superintendent recommends five appointments for each Congressman and Senator. With three appointments there should be graduated each year, after the normal flow begins, about 240 midshipmen; with four appointments, about 320 midshipmen. A liberal policy is being pursued in the acceptance of resignations of the younger officers.

RESIGNATIONS AND RETIREMENT OF OFFICERS

With regard to this, I would like to say that resignations from the line at present are abnormal. We are losing from 16 to 20 per month. Mr. FRENCH. What is the cause of that?

« iepriekšējāTurpināt »