The Washington times., 1935-06-14
BY RALPH B. JORDAN
International News Service

BY hALPh b. JOhDAN
international News Service
ABOARD U. S. S. PENNSYLr
VANIA, WITH UNITED STATES
FLEET, June 10 G.N.S0.-Uncle
Sans men-o'war have just had a /
taste Of war in all respects but !
the actual expenditure Of gun
powder. Fleet problem sixteen, as J
this years war game was labeled,
was no child'S play in any OF its
five phases. It was tough and
rough and dangerous, a severe
test for both men and ships. /
But the United States fleet
came through with colors tlyinE
and with heads UP, from the adj
miral to the mess boy. And quite
Justly, for ships and personnel
stood UP under the gruelling
pounding without a whimper and
with the implied challenge, Give
1t to us, Admiral, we can take It,"
Take it they did, over millions
Of square miles of ocean IN the
great Pacific triangle bounded by
Alaska, Hawaii and the main
land: in billiards, snow and icy
gales and in the blazing furnace
Of a tropic sun.
Biggest Test for Fleet
This was the most warlike
peace.time fleet maneuver ever
experienced by Americas first
line of defense and was carried
on in a tremendous theater OF
operations, much larger than ordl'
narily, and, like war, with prac'
tically no rules nor restrictions.
Problem sixteen was to drill the
fleet, something that can't be
done at San Pedro or San Diego.
Real drilling takes big theater
of operations. In all fleet PROB
lens there is no idea Of victory
for one side or the other. They
are designed to give every unit OF
the fleet all possible exercise the
battleships, cruisers, deStroyers'
submarines and aircraft. There
really can't be any victor for ships
play first on one side and tnen
on the other, according to the
provisions of the problem, and IN
the final analysis it's gunnery, or
accurate shooting, that WINS
battles.
But Admiral Joseph M. Reeves,
present commander-inchief OF the
fleet, certainly put everything into
his play but shell fire. The fleet
UoS divided into two forces,
"black" and white" with this
object: To test the security OF the
Hawaiian Islands. The problem
was in five phases and, stripped OF
it's secrecy, is here set forth.
The first phase found Vice Ad-
nairal A. j. Hepburn, commanding
the "black" fleet, putting out OF
san Francisco and San Diego Tor
Puget Sound while Admiral Ian
ing took the white" fleet from
San Pedro to San Francisco. Both
fleets engaged in tactical exercises
en- route.
Gave Submarines "Slip"
In the second phase Hepburn
and his ships, except his subna-
rines, went north to Alaska and
the Aleutian Islands as a Jump
ing off" point for the third phase
and to give his officers and men
an opportunity to inspect the
northern harbors, waters and an
chorages as the only American
men-o'-war previously in that area
were some submarines and planes.
Reeve took the white" fleet to
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to exercise
his ships and the "black" subma-
rines in day and night torpedo
attacks. At least, that was the
theory.
AS a matter Of fact, the ad-
miral gave the submarines the
slip" Just out of San Francisco
and they never found him again
until he got to Pearl Harbor. But
the underSea craft had plenty 81
exercise looking for him, and his
destroyers and aircraft had lots
of heavy duty guarding against
the submarine threat.
With Hepburn and his "black"
fleet around Alaska and the Aleu-.
tan Islands-and even Admiral
Reeves didn't know exactly where
he was-and with the white"
fleet in the great Pacific naval
base, Pearl Harbor, the stage was
set for the next phase, the third.
Admiral Reeves turned COM
mand of the white" forces over
to Admiral Harris Laning and be-
came umpire Of the problem.
Laning was to take his fleet,
heavier and slower than Hep
burns, to Midway Island, 1900
miles to the west, and capture
Midway, n possession Of the
"black" forces
Ia ~uea~