Evening star., 1940-10-06

they will go to the nearest Marine
station at Quantico. Va.
The crack 1st Battalion Organ
ized Reserves, which rates in eff
cheney at the top of all the organ
lied reserve units in the country.
is a seagoing outfit, and undoubt-
edly will be assigned to a ship. =.
Explaining where the modified
units are to serve, the Navy Depart
ment said some of the organized
reserve of the Navy will be used
to complete compliments of COM
batant vessels of the fleet, but the
bulk of the reserve personnel will
be utilized to man the many auxil-
iary vessels of all types now being
acquired by the Navy Department.
The Organized Marine Corps Re-
serve, it was explained, will be
utilized to augment regular Marine
Corps units and to afford increased
protection to naval activities.
Battalion Proud of Record.
The 1st Battalion of Organized
Naval Reserves is proud of its stand
ing as the most efficient in the
country 1t has in its files a letter
from the Secretary of the Navy
praising it for its standing ahead
of all other battalions of its kind.
In addition to the top battalion
ranking, the three divisions of the
battalion took high honors among
the l49 divisions Of the country
The 3rd division ranked as num-
ber 2 on the list; the lst division
was number 3, and the second di-
vision was number 13.
The commander of the 1st Bat
talon, 1t. Jennings, is graduate
of the' Naval Academy in the class
of 1927. and now is Special Assist
ant to the Attorney General in the
field of tax litigation.
Miller Heads Fifth Battalion.
1t. Paul E. Kerst, commanding
officer of the 1st division, gradu-
ate Of the Naval Academy class of
1928. is a patent lawyer at Bellvue
r. search Laboratories.
1t. Winston S. Brown, in COM
mand of the End division, graduated
from the Naval Academy in 1929,
and is an attorney at the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
Commander of the 3rd division is
1t. Francis S. Kirk, Naval Academy
graduate in 1927 now OF the Mari
time Commission is in charge Of
training merchant marine cadets
Col. Miller commanding the
5th Battalion Marine Corps Reserve,
has been prominent in many circles
in Washington. He is executive
secretary of the National Boxing
Commission; secretary of the Dis
trict of Columbia Boxing Commis-
sion, editor of the Coast Guard Mag
azine. and boxing instructor at
Maryland University.
Two Aviation Squadrons.
In an official announcement made
public last night, he urged former
members of the regular Marine
Corps and members of the Reserve
now in a volunteer Gnactive) status
to Join the 5th Battalion. Former
Marines who are within the draft
age limits, he explained, are required
to register for the draft and are
subject to the draft unless they are
members of organized Marine Corps
Reserve units. The age limits for
enlistment in the Reserve are from
II to 35 Applicants for enlistment
are examined on Tuesday and
Wednesday evenings at 458 Indiana
avenue NV.
Two aviation squadrons, which
have been stationed at the Naval
Reserve Aviation Base, at Anacostia,
adjacent to the Naval Air Station,
are on the list for mobilization.
Under direction of 1t. Comdr.
Thomas U. Sisson, U. S. N, COM
manding the base, the two units
have been active, in reserve status
and are eager to get into active
duty.
Both Pilots and Ground Crews.
The two reserve aviation units
contain both pilots and ground
crews.
Comdr. Gillespie, who is in COM
mand of Scouting Squadron 6, Re-
serve, is a pilot and located at the
Civil Aeronautics Board. Second
in command of this squadron is 1t.
Comdr. C. NJ. Nickerson of the In
terror Department. The unit has
about IS officers. including 10 pilots
and about 100 enlisted men.
Capt. Ross Burchard, in command
of the Marine Scouting Squadron
3. reserve, is in the lumber business,
and is a pilot. His second in COM
mand is Capt. Jack Cram of the
Civil Aeronautics Board. This unit
has about officers including 4
pilots and about 80 men.
The Naval Reserve Aviation Base
has been busy not only with its
reserve activities. according to
Comdr. Sisson. but also with its
duties of training 80 young men
each month to fly. Under the eX-
pansion of naval aviation this base
accepts eligible young candidates
with two years of college education,
teaches them to fly and sends them
to the Pensacola. Fla, Naval Air
Station, where they can complete
their training to be commissioned
ensigns in the reserve. They can be
sent then to active duty at sea.
The activities of the First Bat
talon Organized Reserves center
on land in its armory at the Navy
Yard, but the group has taken a
cruise every year. 1t is under super
vision of Comdr. Arthur B. Nc
Creary, U. S. Navy, director of
Naval Reserve, District of Columbia,