El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-07-27

recruiting station 10 change 20 an
other branch of the service he stated
that he had been informed that the
navy department was utilizing all ap-
prentice seamen for cargo handling
10 replace the civilian stevedores- IL
is for the information Of the mothers,
fathers and the men themselves, that
this article IS written by a man who
was once an apprentice seaman him
self
To begin with. the training must be
considered. Upon his reporting at a
training comprehensive on the At
lautic or Pacific coasts-the appren-
tice seaman is sent TO a receiving Of
fice-the rookie shack as It is
/. called by the men, Here he bathes
and shifts from civilian underwear to
that furnished by the navy. His en-
try into the navy, il may be seen,
commences with his skin After
changing underwear, he dons q suit
Of "spotIess white" and then Is tax
en- in hand by the outfitter of re-
f cruits, usually an experienced tand in
my day a crabbedl chief petty officer
F This official lines up the recruits and
3 issues 10 them their outfit Of cloth
f ing. SO many suits of blue, so many Of
white. so many of underwear. hats,
socks, shoes and all the other equip
ment used by blue Jacket, down TO
tooth brush.
Not All Work.
Life in O training camp is not all
work and drill by any means. While
the recruits scrub their own cloth
ing. clean their barracks and the adj
joining grounds and undergo an in
teusive round Of drill there is left
plenty of time for the various forms
Of athletics and for amusement
All forms Of athletics. baseball,
football. basket ball. track work. box
ing and wrestling are encouraged and
are. usually, under an experienced
az II 'a.HH 60
training camps the blue jacket teams
are the champions OF their localities. [
and the names OF the wen known
athletes OF the navy and naval re-
serve would fiji a fair-sized book.
Dances Popular.
Dances, moving pictures and ana
teur LheaLricals are also popular on
the stations. At most of the camps a
drill comprising the entire battalion
is held weekly, and visitors (the rel
atives and feminine friends Of the
recruits, usually are invited. A
dance follows. with sometimes a
baseball game after that All things
considered, the men in the training
camps have very few hours in which
time drags-
After Quitting comes what is, per-
haps the hardest three weeks Of the
mans naval career These he spends
fin detention or ed" barracks. Here
he is given the anti smallpox and ~
phOlu vaccine, and here also he learns
the rudiments Of many drills. Infan-
try drill the new Swedish system Of
physical drill, knotting and splicing.
signaling, the different parts Of boats
and sails and their use. In ID" bar
racks he becomes acquainted with the
men who viii stand beside him in his
company for several months and. per-
haps, accompany him 10 his first
ship.
The period Of quarantine over. his
company joins those at the regular
barracks and instruction in the vari-
Gus drills is continued and amplified-
The recruits receive actual exercise
in navy cutters and whale boats uu-
der oars and sail in handling three
inch field guns and in operating the
model rapid fire guns, which are ex-
act duplicates Of those used on ship
board.
After a short period Of training
ashore, the recruit is generally con-
sidered ready TO so aboard ship. 10
continue his training under the con- I
diti0ns which viii surround him dur
ing the rest Of his time in the service. |
Only those who have displayed pro-
ficieucy during their time at the sta
uou are considered fit and this makes