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Show By A. W. Ashbrook Lieutenant Commander, U. S. N. When the recruit arrives at the Main Gate of the Training Station Sta-tion he is given a short lecture by the Deputy Officer, being told in a few words how to conduct himself him-self through the station enroute to the Receiving Unit. The Duty Officer examines the papers of the recruit, makes the proper entry in the station log and notifies the galley and Receiving Unit by , phone of the number of recruits received. He then directs a sentry to escort the recruit to the mess hall where he is given a meal regardless re-gardless of the time of day or night. While the recruit is eating as well as when passing through the grounds, he is kept well clear of all other personnel. This precaution pre-caution is in case he happens to have some contagious disease. After completing his meal the recruit is escorted by a sentry direct to the Receiving Unit where his recruit card is filled out. This card gives the essentials of identification iden-tification of the recruit-name, where enlisted, service number, etc. Regardless of the hour of arrival, ar-rival, the recruit immediately removes re-moves all his clothing, thoroughly bathes under the supervision of a Chief Petty Officer, and is issued a temporary outfit of clothing consisting con-sisting of underclothes and undress uniform. This clothing is not issued from the regular small stores Issuing room but comes from a supply maintained at the Receiving Unit. 'X enables the recruit to be in clean, sanitary clothes until the time when his regular outfit is issued. When the recruit draws his regular outfit he returns his temporary clothing to the Receiving Receiv-ing Unit where it is laundered, sterilized and used again. After the recruit removes his own civilian clothes, these are wrapped in a package for him to express home, C. O. D. When the recruit takes his fipst bath in the Receiving Unit he is given a tooth brush and tooth paste. These items are advanced tc the man by the ship's service to be paid for out of his first $5.00 book of ship's service tickets. This book of tickets is used for toilet articles, tobacco, etc., and is paid for the first pay day. As scon as he is bathed and in clean c;&thing the recruit goes! immediately to the Medical Offcfrl of the Detention Unit where l;e is ex-ur.ined physically. If he is found qualified he is then sent to the barber and after having his hair cut is outfitted with a full bag of clothes. This outfitting is done under the supervision of a Chief Petty Officer (not the Small Stores Storekeeper) who sees that proper sizes are furnished. From the small stores issue room the recruit goes to the marking or stencil room where another Chief Petty Officer instructs him how to mark his clothing, using pictures for reference. The actual marking is done by the recruit himself, under un-der very close supervision of this Chief Petty Officer. Only after all clothing has been received and marked is the recruit re-cruit assigned to a company. Each company has a company commander, a regular naval officer, offi-cer, Lieutenant or Lieutenant junior jun-ior grade, who, in addition to having at least seven vpfl.rs py- perience aboard a seagoing ship, has completed a special postgraduate postgrad-uate course of study in the art of handling men. These officers are constantly with their companies, and are able to bring out in the recruit those qualities of honor, manliness and sportsmanship so helpful to a young man. There is no school or college in the entire United States where the students receive such A HIGH STANDARD of instruction along these lines. Recruits are taught how to take care of their clothes, how to tie knots, how to handle a boat, how to keep themselves clean, how to handle men, what to do in case of emergencies, and, lastly, how to handle themselves. They are vaccinated against smallpox, inoculated against typhoid ty-phoid fever, given a thorough dental den-tal examination and have any necessary nec-essary dental work completed .by an experienced naval dentist. Their program is one of devel--pment, both physically and mentally. men-tally. Reveille at five thirty in the morning starts them off on ctnir daily work. Speed being very essential es-sential in the Navy, they are al- lolted a minimum amount of time! for the performance of their tasks, j After lashing their hammocks and stowing them away, they clean up ; their barracks. Each man is given a station which he must clean. Six twenty brings the mess call, when they are marched off to the i mess hall for breakfast. Menus j prepared by an experienced Com- j mlssary Officer are well balanced and wholesome. That quoted be- low is taken from September 2, 1 1931 and is typical of all menus. Breakfast: Oranges, boiled hominy ho-miny grits with sugar and milk, scrambled eggs with fried diced bacon, fried potatoes, coffee cake, bread, butter and coffee. Dinner: Barley soup-cracker?, grilled beef steak, onion gravy, scalloped corn, mashed potatoes, shredded cabbage, marble cake-iced, cake-iced, bread, butter and lemonade. Supper: Cold sliced meat, cold baked beans, potatoe salad, mayonnaise may-onnaise dressing, fresh pears, bread butter and iced tea. Assembly at seven-thirty brings the recruits out on the drill grounds. There, to the stirring strains of military music the men learn to march, drill with arms. I send signals by semaphore, and are then put through the physical drill under arms. The movements and drills are intricate and difficult diffi-cult and require constant alertness alert-ness and hard work in order to master and perform them in the proper manner. Nine o'clock brings a brief respite. From nine thirty until noon the men attend classes in seamanship. Here they are taught the art of rowing, how to handle a boat during emergencies. to recognize different ships, and other things that are so essential for a sailor to know. The afternoon periods are a repetition re-petition of the morning's. After supper the prospective sailors wash their clothes and prepare themselves them-selves for the next day's duty. From six until nine thirty their time is their own. A free moving picture shew at seven o'clock and athletic games provide relaxation to better fit them for the next day's work. Wednesday afternoon brings the recruit relief from his regular-duties regular-duties and non-swimmers are then taught hew to swim (no recruit is allowed to leave the station until un-til he is a qualified swimmer."' Baseball, boxing, tennis and handball hand-ball provide physical exercise and recreation. An excellent library furiishes a retreat for those who art- lovers of books. Wednesday ' night ii the high-spot high-spot in a recruit's career. A smoker, smok-er, ccnslstiuz c L boxing and wrjst-ling wrjst-ling bouts t let. These bouts, v.'h.'ch are tsng affairs, as vell as the entci'taitment provided by talented mc.'i f-oia the compan.s, leaves the l-cvuit in a high state of mind and the next day finds him eager to continue his duty of learning how to become a sailor. Thursday afternoon the recruits display their talents to the public. Dressed in spotless drill uniforms they parade before an audience made up of the public and naval officers. House cleaning, or field day as it is called in the Navy, comes on Friday. Each man is assigned a certain place to clean and devotes his time to polishing and shining. Captain's inspection on Saturday Satur-day morning finds the recruit in his best uniform. The Commanding Command-ing officer thoroughly inspects each recruit as well as their barracks and the surrounding grounds. There is liberty on Saturday afternoon af-ternoon and Sunday. On Saturday dances, shows and parties claim the attention of the majority of the men, while on Sunday the church services, lunches and informal in-formal discussions offered by the Naval YMCA provide them with entertainment and relaxation. The tenth week of training brings joy to the hearts of all recruits re-cruits for they are then taken to the rifle range at LaJolla, California, Califor-nia, there to strive for honors as marksmen. Under the watchful eyes of officers, who are themselves expert riflemen and who exercise elaborate precautions for their safety, they soon develop a surprising sur-prising degree of accuracy. The elementary training of a recruit is completed after he has been at the Training Station for twelve weeks. At this time the men are given an opportunity to learn a trade by entering one of the several Service Schools of the Navy. The schools open to recruits who have completed their elemen- I ary training are : Electrical School, Radio Operators Opera-tors School, Aviation Mechanic School, Carpenters School, Machinists Ma-chinists School, Musicians School, Buglers School, Boilermakers School, Hosnital Corpsmans School, Shlpfitters School. Applicants foil the Service Schools are given a series of scientific tests prepared" by nationally recognized re-cognized .psychololists. These tests are given under the direction of, tii.d selection of men for the schools is made by, an officer who has completed a special course in ihe 'Psychology of Selecting Men " The object is to place the right man in the right place. Should a man fail to be selected for a service school, he is sent to sea where he still has an excellent excel-lent chance of learning a trade aboard ship. The training station, not only carries out the twelve weeks elementary ele-mentary training of recruits, but it also conducts the several service ser-vice schools. The Navy has entered upon an educational campaign for its personnel per-sonnel which is so extensive and thorough that it has rightfully earned the distinction of being termed "The Nation's School." |