Evening star., 1935-11-10

HClilOu VI llloIl uCtIlis oPCILoi-
II lists in the lst Battalion,
L y United States Naval Reserve
in the District of Columbia, has been
effected under the direction of Lieut..
James E. Sullivan, battalion COM
mander Under the system just ef-
fected Lieut.. Sullivan expects to raise
the efficiency of the local organization
to a plane such as never before has
been reached, with a view to being
at the top of the list following the an
nual inspections of all Naval Reserve
units in the country next Spring.
Fleet Reserve engineers, quarter
masters and signalmen have begun
new system of class room training and
instruction. The new plan will segre-
gate the enlisted men of these branch
es from their division assignments.
They will meet as separate groups and
during the period that the schools are
in session they will not drill with the
seaman branch.
Under the present arrangement en-
listed men in these specialist ratings
are given training and instruction on
the same night with their respective
divisions The revised system brings
all members of the quartermaster and
signal branches to drill on Monday
nights, while the engineering forces
of the three divisions will drill as a
unit on Wednesday nights.
The battalion commander, Lieut..
Sullivan. has assigned Lieut.. 81. G)
w. S. Brown, who recently reported as
executive officer of the 1st Fleet Di-
vision, to additional duty as supervis-
ing instructor of the quartermasters
and signalmen, who will drill on Mon
day nights. Lieut.. Comdr. w. C.
Lockhart, senior engineer officer of
the battalion. will supervise the train
ing Of the engineers on Wednesday
nights. Due to the size of this class,
the engineering platoon commanders
will be directly in charge of the work
of their respective platoons.
Although the new ARRANGEMENT is
said to be an experiment and a COM
plete change Of routine for the local
battalion, it has been used along sim
liar lines very successfully by other
Reserve organizations in various parts
OF the country, particularly by those
whose training quarters allow the en-
tire battalion to drill at one time. Due
to the inadequate space now assigned
the Reserves here, the specialist rat
ings will have to drill as a unit. ir-
respective of their division assign
ments.
Training under the new plan will
be in accord with an elaborate sylla-
bus which has been prepared by the
battalion commander and other Off
GERS of his staff.
No change has been made in the
seamen and deck forces. Enlisted
men in these branches, 1t was said.
will drill according to divisions and
receive their training under the direc-
tion of the various division officers.
Local Reserve officers have ex-
pressed themselves as being we'll
pleased with the change in the rou-
tine. The program is so prepared that
it will allow more time foI individual
instruction. 1t also will permit en-
gineers. signalmen and quartermas-
tiers Of the various divisions to op-
crate as units during training cruises
and tend to augment the uniformity
| Of instruction.
The plan also conforms to suggeS-
tions which have been made at va
rious times by inspection boards which
visit the organizations from time to
time. Fault has been found with the
method of instructing specialists. it
having been found that. while being
compelled to take large part in di-
visional work along with the other
specialists. they have been sacrificing
their training in special duties.
1t was for the purpose of deter.
mining the extent of specialist train
ing of these rated men that the in
spection board year or TWO ago de-
cided on the method of having the
petty officers take written examina-
tions at the time of inspection. They
do not examine all of the petty officers
in each group. as the limitation or
the time for the inspection prevents
this. It has been The practice to Sc
lect a man or two from each group al
random and on his success in passing
the examination depended the mark
of that phase of the inspection. In
order that divisions might not be
penalized they found it necessary to
specialize in instruction so that each
petty officer knew his job so well that
he could make good showing if Sc
lected from a group to represent the
battalion
The Reservists have only a COM
paratively few months before they
will again face the inspection board
from the Navy Department and they
hope by this class room instruction,
which will be shown at inspection
time, to give evidence that they have
formulated a plan which will build
the Reservists to the very highest state
of efficiency that can be reached with
training facilities on land. Even the
land facilities here are very limited,
housed as they are in a make-Shift
building that for many years served
as a commercial store. Not only dc
they have poor armory facilities. but
they are without a training ship as
many of the Reserve organizations
have, and this serves to retard them
in the efficient planning and training
for inspection.
1t is the option of Reserve officers
that those organizations which have
a training ship assigned to them for
regular use on weekly drill nights
show a higher state of efficiency