Evening star., 1935-06-09
w WITH the idea of keeping the
a personnel of the 1st Bat
NN talon. United States Naval
Reserves of the District

Reserves of the District
of Columbia, on the high
est plane, rigid recruiting policy
has been established by Lieut.. j. E.
Sullivan, battalion commander. Not
only must prospective applicants be
we'll educated, but they must be able
to pass a rigid physical examination.
While waivers can be obtained, 1t
was said. on certain very desirable
applicants, nevertheless, Lieut.. Sui
livan pointed out that this is not
favored. He also pointed out that a
very large number of young men are
applying weekly for entrance into
the battalion, but only a few are sue
cessful. He added that the number
of reflections for physical defects is
running extremely high and as a re-
suit the battalion is getting a very
high type of man. Particular atten-
tion is given to the education of the
applicants, and the majority of men
who have been enlisted recently have
completed a high school course.
Boys as low as II years OF age may
be enlisted, but they must have the
hlillCll VI tAANAA PoA
In so far as the limitations of the
vessel will permit, recruits are per-
mitted to participate in the week end
cruises down the Potomac. However.
there is hope that the organization in
the near future will obtain larger
vessel so that division or more can
be taken out each week end.
During the last week end cruise
the launch under the command of
Lieut.. j. F. Carpenter went as far as
Colonial Beach and Leonardtown
and on the return trip picked up
disabled cruiser from one of the local
yacht clubs and towed it distance of
43 miles to Washington. On one OF
the trips last year the launch crew
rescued two people from drowning
after their boat had capsized on Ket-
tie Bottom Shoals
There were indications last week
that when the officers and men of the
lSt Battalion, United States Naval Re-
serves in the District of Columbia,
leave the Chesapeake Bay on their
annual training cruise this Summer,
their next stop will be Halifax,
Nova Scotia. If the tentative program
is carried out, it was said, it will be
the first foreign cruise which the bat
talon has participated in for several
years, and it will be the first time that
many of the ReServiStS have ever been
on battleship cruise. the battleship
Wyoming having been designated to
take not only the local Reservists but
those from Baltimore and Richmond
on this voyage.
In connection with the announce
ment as to the proposed liberty port
which is visited on the week end in
the middle of the cruise, Lieut.. Sulli-
van. division commander, said that 1t
is desired to advance to the next
higher rating as many men as pos
sible prior to the cruise in order that
they may receive the increase in pay
and increase in authority and re-
sponsibility that accompanies ad-
vancement.
Many of the men of the organiza-
ton, he said, are qualified for ad-
vancement except for failure to COM
plete the Bureau of Navigation train
ing course for the next higher rating.
He is urging all men in this status to
expedite completion of their training
courses.
Lieut.. Sullivan also announced that
the Examining Board will convene
during the week of June II. and all
candidates eligible to take the exami-
nation will be called up for the tests.
In addition to the increase pay earned
by an advancement in rating, the
petty officers have more privilege on
a battleship than do the enlisted men.
The lst Fleet Division led the
others in the matter of attendance
during the month of May with
percentage Of 883, it was announced
bv Lieut.. Sullivan. The I'd Division
scored 85.7 and the Sd Division 82l.
Orders have been issued for the
recruit class to hold its weekly drills
on Monday nights All newly enlisted
men must complete three years in
the recruit class before they can be
assigned to the regular divisions for
duty.
The Navy Department has an
nounced that the first class of avla-
ton cadets of the Naval Reserve Force
has been selected and probably will
be ordered to duty in the near future.
This first class of 66 candidates will
be followed in succession by six other
classes at intervals of approximately
one month. A total of $50 cadets
will be selected for preliminary and
elimination training, out of which
it is expected to obtain eventually
some 500 qualified aviators of the
Naval Reserve.
The flight training takes place in
three phases: Selected candidates are
enlisted as seamen. second class. in
the Naval Reserve and given elm
ination flight training at the Naval
Reserve aviation bases: upon success
full completion of this course the
candidate is appointed an aviation