Evening star., 1925-07-12
Naval Reserve.

Fear of West Indian hurrica nes is
believed at the Navy Department here
to have been responsible for the
Eagle No. SO. with naval reservists
of the District of Columbia aboard,
cutting short her cruise in West
Indian Waters and returning to the
Americas coast. Commander John A.
Schofeld. on regular duty at the Navy
Department, is in command of the
ship.
When the vessel left here her itin-
erary called for her to visit the ports
of Havana, Cuba; ports on the Island
of Haiti; San Juan, Porto Rico and
ST. Thomas, Virgin Islands. The men
were promised a long cruise in the
West Indies, but the itinerary was cut
short at Havana, and naval orders
show the vessel back on the Ameri-
can coast making various ports. Even
dispatches received from the vessel
after her arrival at Havana indicated
that she would leave there for Cape
Hatien. in carrying out the cruise
itinerary.
The vessel is on a 30-day cruise, and
what promised to be the longest for
eign cruise ever taken by the ship
with local reservistS. left Havana for
Miami, Fla, on July 3 and arrived
at the latter port on independence
day. She remained there until We'd
nesday when she left for Jackson
vile where it will remain for several
days. leaving there probably the first
part of this week.
Although 1t was said at the Navy
Department that the commanding Of
fiCer had been given authority TO
change the itinerary, no communica-
ton had been received to indicate
the reason for the change after reach
ing Havana.
Review of the new regulations for
the Naval Reserve by local officers dis
closes that the division officers have
had placed on them the full reSponsi-
hility of maintaining their commands
up to the maximum in enlisted
strength or lose their commissions in
the Reserve. 1t was pointed out that
the new regulations provide that II a
division fails in maintaining its eff
cheney during period of a year IT'S
officer personnel will be wiped out,
and thus the Navy will lose more
officers they would need in time of
war, especially in view of the vast
cuts made in the regular establish
ment. In fact, there are a number
of officers now in the local reserve
without assignments. and who will be
forced to lose their commissions on
January 1 next or go to the paper"
This class is supposed to be made up
of officers who could not be used at
sea aboard combatant ships in time
of war, yet these same officers, for
the most part, won their promotions
from their records made on sea as
signments during the last war.
This, it was pointed out by those
who are following the reorganization
closely, is another consistent method
u
ing of the Reserve of the Navy, while
the Army and National Guard are in
creasing their forces. In the Ma
tional Guard the company efficiency
is not on a yearly basis, but a weekly
drill basis. If a company does not
have a designated percentage of at
tendance on each drill night, the Off
GERS do not lose their commissions,
but they are merely denied their pay
for that drill.
Many of the things being done at
the Navy Department in connection
with the Reserve organization are
without any basis of reasoning, so far
as it can be found in conference with
| officers. They just simply make an
assignment, and then cannot give any
valid reason for 1t. For instance,
some effort was made to find out why
the local Reserve divisions were as
signed 10 ueSITOy0TS on the west
coast instead of destroyers out of
commission at Philadelphia. Not one
| officer in the department could be
| found by the office of naval informa-
| ton who could give any explanation
| as to why this was done.
The reorganization, according to
those in close touch with 1t, seems
to have put the Reserve, greatly need
ed in time of war, in a more serious
| predicament than it has ever been at
| any time before. Many of the chief
petty officers of the Reserve, many of
| them men who came directly from
| the Regular Navy, and men who fur
nish the backbone of the service, are
| leaving 1t because Of dissatisfaction,
| and the naval districts are now faced
with the possibility of recruiting green
men each year for the cruises, spend
| ing money on them, and losing their
services, for the experience in the
past has been that such men only
come in for the cruises and have lit
| tie interest in the permanent training.
The following statement on the re-
serve reorganization was issued by
the Navy Department this week:
The regulations for the new Naval
Reserve, created by the act of Feb
ruary %, 1925, effective July /, 1925,
were signed by the Secretary of the
Navy on June IL, 1925. These regula-