Naval Training Station, Hampton Roads, Va. Buildings now used in common by trade schools and recruit train- Cubic feet ing schools 4, 904, 038 Buildings now used for trade schools exclusively 3, 634, 852 Present grand total. 8, 538, 890 Total capacity buildings now used for recruit training only. 1, 985, 362 Predicted trade-school total for 1926... 6, 553, 528 Mr. TABER. What is this $25,000 item marked "(1)"? new item that has never appeared before? Is that a Item (1) Captain TRAUT. No, sir; that has been in all of them. in 1923, for instance, adding together, in round numbers, the labor and material, amounted to about $71,000. In 1924 it was cut down to $40,000. Mr. TABER. What was it last year? Captain TRAUT. That was the amount last year, or for 1924. Captain TRAUT. I am giving the actual expenditures. The expenditures for the first quarter of 1925 amount to $10,100. Mr. FRENCH. Would you at this point insert the table that shows the allocation of the $175,000 for the trade school at Hampton Roads? Captain TRAUT. I will do so. (The table referred to is as follows:) Allocation of estimate for 1926 The commandants apportionment of $175,000 for 1926 to subheads is s follows: Total alloted. 3175,000.00 4) General care, repairs, and improvement to grounds. b) General care, repairs, and improvement to buildings. Fire apparatus and extinguishers k) Printing outfit, material, and maintenance of same. 1) Heating, lighting, and repairs to power plant equipment, dis tributing main tunnels, conduits, etc m) Stationery, school books, periodicals_ n) Fresh water and washing- ) Repairs and operation of motor trucks_ 4) Clerical, messenger, and drafting force. ) All other contingent expenses. ir) Heat... 7) Electric current. Repairs and upkeep of officers' quarters Total 18, 599. 39 25, 355. 84 1, 500.00 13, 500.00 1, 957. 93 1, 397. 76 11, 425. 00 84, 000, 00 8, 250.00 9,014.08 175,000.00 Mr. FRENCH. Will you insert, also, a table showing to total ex enditures for the training station and trade school for 1924? Captain TRAUT. Yes, sir. Mr. FRENCH. That would follow along the same line? Captain TRAUT. Yes, sir. (The table referred to is as follows:) Expenditures for fiscal year 1924, Naval Trade Schools, Hampton Roads, Va, Appropriation: General care, repair, and improvement to grounds. General care, repair, and improvement to buildings.... Fire apparatus, expenses_ Printing outfit, material, maintenance of same Heating, lighting, and repairs to power-plant equipment, dis tributing mains, tunnels, conduits, etc. Stationary, school books, and periodicals. Fresh water and washing. Repairs and operations of automobile and motor trucks. Clerical, messenger, and drafting force. All other contingent expenses. Heat_ Electric current.. Repairs and upkeep of officer's quarters, assigned training sta- Total. $9, 446. 10 41, 705, 21 312. 14 1, 523. 19 40, 679,96 2, 255. 33 16, 361. 18 3, 308. 28 3, 662.75 10, 729. 48 115, 007. 68 9, 379. 20 3, 633, 83 258, 004. 33 CONCENTRATION OF TRAINING Mr. FRENCH. In the matter of the trade school, would it be practicable to concentrate at this point, the training that now. possibly, is being held at other points, so as to effect .economies! For instance, while this is the major trade school on the Atlantic. vet, to some extent, training is going on at a number of other places. Is that merely a by-product, you might say, or could the training be concentrated here? Admiral SHOEMAKER. The reason why we can not concentrate our trade schools, for instance, at Hampton Roads is because the major part of the Navy is now in the Pacific. All of those who complete courses have to go to the fleet, either to the Scouting Fleet, in the Atlantic, which has about one-third the number that is in the Battle Fleet, based in the Pacific; also those that come from the Pacific for training go to the nearest school, which is at San Diego, while those from the Scouting Fleet, on this side, go to Hampton Roads. There are so many coming from the fleet in the Pacific that it would run the transportation charges up very materially if we tried to bring them over here and send them back to the Pacific. Mr. FRENCH. I also realize this, that at different places you have facilities for the training of men rather as the by-product of an institution. For instance, at Philadelphia you have a fuel-testing station. At that fuel-testing station it is economical and proper that the men should receive instruction in the economical use of fuel. You could not do that anywhere else, unless you had a plant like it. At New London you train men especially in the handling of torpedoes and in submarine work. You could not do that at any other place. Generally speaking, I thought that perhaps you could concentrate somewhat at Hampton Roads economically. I simply raise that question, and I do not know that you could do it. Admiral SHOEMAKER. We concentrate as much as we can, but with the present disposition of the force on the Pacific, it is necessary to have a great deal of that work on that side. With the fleet divided this way between the Atlantic and the Pacific, we practically have to duplicate the work to be done in the training line and in the trade-school line. Also, as you say, there are certain facilities in certain regions which control to some extent the different tradeschool locations. Mr. FRENCH. There is one other question: Could you not operate just as well as a trade school if we left the heading and the language in the bill as it is? Admiral SHOEMAKER. Absolutely. I personally do not see any reason for changing it. Of course, training is training, whether drilling recruits or giving them trades. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1924. NAVAL RESERVE FORCE STATEMENTS OF REAR ADMIRAL WILLIAM R. SHOEMAKER, CHIEF BUREAU OF NAVIGATION; CAPT. Z. E. BRIGGS, U. S. N.; AND COMMANDER J. A. SCHOFIELD, UNITED STATES NAVAL RESERVE FORCE GENERAL STATEMENT Mr. FRENCH. We will now take up the item for the Naval Reserve Force. The current law provides for an appropriation of $3,900,000, end you are asking for $3,900,000 for the fiscal year 1926. First, we will be glad to have a general statement from you, Admiral, touching the Naval Reserve establishment. Admiral SHOEMAKER. The Naval Reserve Force was brought ato existence under authority of the act of August 29, 1916. At he close of the war it numbered 21,985 officers and 273,094 men. n the years immediately following the war the expenses of maintainng this organization were very high, and the results obtained in the ay of maintenance of efficiency not commensurate therewith. In eptember of 1921, on account of lack of sufficient funds for connuing in this way, the entire Naval Reserve Force, with the excepon of the Fleet Naval Reserve, was either disenrolled or transrred to the inactive class, and all training activities involving penditures were stopped. Beginning with the fiscal year 1923, a w method was adopted by Congress in appropriating funds for the aval Reserve Force, so that all expenses of every nature necessary r carrying on the Naval Reserve Force were covered in this approiation. Accordingly, beginning with July, 1922, drills and activits were resumed in a modest way, utilizing those reservists still maining in the Reserve Force and augmented with recruits-young ood without previous experience. The activities thus resumed ve been continuing with increasing intensity and satisfaction till now have 107 drilling organizations carrying 1,963 officers and 642 men on their rolls and with a total reserve force of 4,014 officers d 16,990 men, exclusive of the transferred men of the fleet reserve. For the fiscal year 1923 there was appropriated $3,000,000, with hich it was proposed giving training to 1,500 officers and 5,000 Two million five hundred and six thousand four hundred and п. forty dollars of this was spent and 1,124 officers and 4,228 men were given training. Three For the fiscal year 1924, $3,594,000 was appropriated, with which it was proposed giving training to 1,640 officers and 5,400 men. million four hundred and fifty-three thousand seven hundred and sixty-six dollars of this was spent and 1,240 officers and 6.200 men were given training, not counting 87 additional officers maintained in the Merchant Marine Naval Reserve and paid from this appropriation. For the fiscal year 1925, $3,900,000 was appropriated. With this it is proposed giving training to 1,970 officers and 8,192 men, not counting 91 additional officers of the Merchant Marine Naval Reserve. Of this number approximately 970 officers and 5,500 men had completed the required 15 days' active duty for training by the end of the first quarter, September 30. In planning for the fiscal year 1926 it was originally hoped to increase the number who might be given training to 2,170 officers and 10,160 men; but the limitations of the Budget preventing, it is now proposed giving as many officers and men less than this number training as the funds available will cover. NUMBER OF OFFICERS AND MEN TO BE TRAINED, 1926 The amount carried in the Budget for the Naval Reserve Force for the fiscal year 1926 is the same as for the present fiscal year, namely. $3,900,000. With this amount the present number of actively drilling and training organizations can be continued and the following can be given training: This is the same program as is now going forward for the present fiscal year, except the 100 class 6 midshipmen, who are in addition but who can be covered with the funds available. It should be remarked in this connection that the costs of carrying on the Naval Reserve Force do not vary directly with the number trained. There are certain overhead costs which remain nearly fixed, within limits as to the number of reservists carried; these include such costs as armory rents and equipment, repair and upkeep of vessels assigned to this duty, officers and men maintained on active duty in connection with these vessels and organizations, and amount to $1,687,774 of the $3,900,000 asked for. This means that any decrease under the $3,900,000 asked for would result in a much greater proportionate decrease in the size of the Reserve Force who could be trained; and any increase over this amount would result in a much larger proportionate increase in the size of the Reserve Force who could be trained. AVERAGE COST PER OFFICER AND PER MAN TO DATE During the fiscal years 1921 and 1922 all expenses for carrying on he Naval Reserve Force were included in the expenses of the Regular Establishment; the only appropriation made specifically for he Naval Reserve Force was for armory expenses, which amounted o $50,000 for 1921 and $50,000 for 1922. In the accounting returns these expenses were not segregated as between the Naval Reserve Force and the Regular Establishment. To determine the cost per officer and per man of the Naval Reserve 'orce would therefore involve going back over all accounting returns or these two years and making this segregation. General Order No. 96, of March 1, 1923, charged the office of Naval perations with the initiation and formulation of the department's Olicies relating to the size, organization, administration, training, id mobilization of the Naval Reserve, and with coordination of the sultant duties imposed upon the various officers and bureaus of the avy Department. That part which pertains to the Bureau of avigation is the obtaining of these officers and the training of them, e distribution of their drills, and so on, in the various districts in mich they are distributed, and with their enrollment and disenrollent. That is practically all we have to do with it. Mr. FRENCH. Then at this point let us see if we understand just hat the Naval Reserve is. The Naval Reserve is made up of officers and men drawn from two urces, first, the Fleet Naval Reserve and, second, civilian life. 0 FLEET NAVAL RESERVE The Fleet Naval Reserve is made up of four groups. The first o groups are officers, class 1-A, and men, class 1-B, who have ved more than 4 years and less than 16 years in the United States avy, and who, to be paid, must train and drill with the Naval serve. These men must be paid from "Pay, Navy," and not from the m we are considering. Admiral SHOEMAKER. That is correct. Mr. FRENCH. The third group, class 1-C, and the fourth group, s1-D, are men who have had 16 years and 20 years' service, pectively, in the Navy. These two groups do not need to train drill, and receive retainer pay except when called into active vice; all four groups are paid out of "Pay, Navy." |