Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-12-11
u. G.. Naval Reserve

/ ards" Secretary Wilbur Of the Navy
| Department said in his annual report
! TO the President. Serious effort has
| been directed toward establishing a
proper distribution of officers of the
| active fleet reserve among the dlVl-
/ sions thereof. in order that drills can
/ be conducted efficiently and necessary
/ instruction given in preparation fol
I the annual training cruises which con
( slitute the raison d'etre Of this class.
/ Divisional quota strengths have been
! increased about 10 per cent during the
/ fiscal year aud to the limit permit
/ ted by appropriations, in order to more
nearly conform to the complement of
| the ships designated for mobilization
purposes.
THE volunteer Naval Reserve for
general service has been greatly
strengthened during the year by the
appointment of new officers, showing
that the general trend of sentimen'
among former Reserve officers with
war experience is in favor of retain
ing their connection with the Navy
through the opportunity offered b.
this class of Reserve. Many fleet Re
serve officers have also transferred
to this class or are being transferred
To it as the demands of their civil oc-
equations either force change O
residence or SO occupy their time as to
preclude attendance at drill.
Measures have been taken toward
getting the merchant marine Naval
Reserve established on merchant YES
sells under our flag, and it is believed
that the immediate future will show
marked developments in this prime
asset to the country and to the Navy.
The division of the fleet Reserve
have been trained as units and every
effort has been made to prepare each
division for the duties ii will be eX-
pected to perform in case of mObliZa-
ton. The reports from the command
ing officers Of the vessels on which
these organizations cruised during the
current year show that fleet divisions
as organized and trained units are
rapidly becoming a reality.
The training of Reserve naval avi-
ators has been carried on at all of the
four aviation training units operated
by the Reserve and has resulted in
considerable number of qualified avi-
ators being turned out for duty in the
aviation SQuadronS.
Ground schools have been estab-
lshed at some of the leading univers-
tiles. Assistance with technical publ
cations and material for instruction
purposes is given to the university
by the local squadron commander,
Efforts of the university staff are sup
plemented by Reserve officers. No adj
ditional expense is entailed to the
Government and the field for selection
of commissioned personnel is crafty
enlarged.
Fifty Naval Reserve officers of the
lower grades have been assigned to
duty with the aviation forces afloat
for a period of one year from July ],
1927. Reports received from the fleet
indicates that these young officers are
proving a distinct asset to the service.
The Naval Reserve Inspection
Board inspected all organizations of
the Naval Reserve during the past
fiscal year. The recommendations of
this board, together with the estab-
fishing of contacts and the liaison
with the naval districts, have been
most valuable from a constructive
viewpoint and will become more so
with the increasing indoctrination of
the Reserve"