Steady growth and progress have marked the 9 years since the creation of the U. S. Naval Communication Reserve, designed to provide a trained communication personnel for national emergencies. The organization is composed of officers and men who are duly appointed and enlisted in the Volunteer Communication Reserve branch of the Naval Reserve and they receive no drill pay. The majority of the personnel are amateur and professional radio operators, but many former regular naval officers and men are also members. Canvassing and other routine work incidental to making appointments and enlistments is conducted by qualified officers of the Communication Reserve. The required medical examinations are conducted by regular officers attached to recruiting stations or by reserve medical officers, when enlistment examinations are conducted at remote points.
Because of the large personnel and the geographical areas involved it was found necessary to adopt a decentralized organization policy in order to provide for the training of the greatest number of individuals, and to equalize the burden of work involved in carrying out the necessary administrative and routine details. To accomplish this in the Ninth Naval District, the geographical area of the 13 states involved was further divided into section areas, and these in turn into unit areas, each being assigned a section commander and a unit commander, respectively. The section and unit commanders are charged with the responsibility of growth, organization, and training within their respective areas of command, and are so charged by the commandant upon assignment to command status. The great bulk of the work involved in conducting the activities of the organization falls upon the office of the section commander through which must pass all routine correspondence, enlistment papers, orders, and other paper work bearing on activities in the field. It is, therefore, highly essential that such officers assigned to command sections have a detailed knowledge of naval administrative duties if they are to function efficiently. This requirement applies to unit commanders who must also carry out the training activities and routine as defined by the commandant and the section commander. The national policies are defined by the Navy Department, where a communication reserve liaison officer is maintained on active duty to supervise and direct all activities relating to the Naval Communication Reserve organization and training.
In the early days of the organization it was extremely difficult to find officers having the necessary knowledge of naval administrative details and paper work, but as a result of training and instruction we now have officers who can carry on efficiently. When it is considered that such individual efficiency was arrived at voluntarily (and in most cases during spare time) it can be seen that a high degree of personal interest in the work of the organization prevails.
The work of administering and training officers and men requires careful planning, for all participation in such activity is entirely voluntary. Officers must rouse the element of personal interest in each individual so that officers and enlisted men will maintain active participation of their own volition. The majority of officers and men joining the organization are in some measure qualified in radio but are inexperienced in naval communication routine.
Thus the success of the organization in arriving at the proper strength and efficiency has depended primarily upon the interest, efficiency, and activity of the various section and unit commanders, because all work in the field rests upon their shoulders. They may be truly termed the keystone to the arch of successful fulfillment of our mission of providing a trained communication reserve. They are charged with the direct responsibility of securing new officers, recruiting enlisted men, providing quarters and office equipment, establishing radio stations to take part in the radio network drill activity, assigning officers and men to duties within the organization, besides carrying on the necessary routine correspondence and administering the command areas assigned them. No funds are provided for this work but stationery and training manuals and some obsolete radio materials are furnished. Section and unit commanders have demonstrated strong personality, good leadership qualities, organization and promotion ability, and they have developed good local contacts in order to secure assistance in the matter of obtaining quarters and other help to carry on the work. Of course, where there are Fleet Reserve armories, the problem is simplified as regards quarters and office equipment, but in the main the officers must promote what they require locally. And, it might be added, this has been done by individual officers in command of sections or units. As an example, the writer, who commands Section 1, of the Ninth Naval District, has secured quarters, heat, light, and power for the section headquarters office and radio station gratis in Cincinnati, and at the present time a drive for funds with which to construct and erect an alternate control station (NEG) is underway and gives every prospect of success despite the adverse economic situation. Such work requires much time and effort as well as self-denial, but there is a great deal of satisfaction to be derived in seeing a going organization being built up through voluntary effort in the interests of the Navy and national defense. Of course, unless material is obtained with which to train officers and men, and to provide the incentive to attend instruction meetings, then training activity cannot be carried on and instead of having trained personnel in the true Navy sense, we would have merely a paper organization which would mean nothing.
The methods of training utilized in the field must of necessity be well-planned and intensively concentrated on the basic methods of procedure. This is necessary because of the limited time available for instruction at meetings which average about 3 hours duration each, and arc held every week in some units, and every 2 weeks in other units. The work of training is all-important, for the effort spent in procurement, organization, and administration is so much time wasted unless the men are trained professionally in the duties of their respective ranks and ratings.
The system of training in the field comprises classes at which qualified officers and men teach the elements of naval radio and visual procedure, material aspects of technical radio and visual equipment, and other subjects incidental to general naval indoctrination. These meetings also include code instruction for the slower operators. These classes are followed by weekly radio drills on the air.
To accomplish this radio-drill activity on the air, definite schedules and frequency channels have been established and a widespread radio station network built up. These stations, other than the master and alternate master controls, are primarily personally owned stations of members operating under amateur licenses on amateur frequencies. Members have shown great interest in these drills, and in the Ninth Naval District they have been placed on a competition basis, with plaque awards to the winners at the end of the drill year. There is scarcely a point in the United States or its territories which cannot be reached through some member station of the national Naval Communication Reserve network.
It is necessary to follow up the field training with periods of active duty ashore or afloat to accomplish best results in the matter of effecting complete training. This has been done in the Ninth Naval District until the recent economy program made cancellation necessary. This active duty, which the writer considers highly desirable and necessary, was in the form of officers’ and enlisted men’s training courses which were conducted at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station each summer for 15 days. Such men as were fundamentally qualified were also given training duty afloat with the Great Lakes Naval Training squadron, where they received not only communications training, but also general indoctrination in routine life and requirements aboard ship.
This form of training is the best medium to employ and it is considered essential by the writer and other officers in the field. It gives us a considerable number of completely qualified officers and men available in event of a national emergency, and also provides a trained nucleus for the work of training in the field. Personnel in the field who were not able to take such final training were able to benefit by the instruction given by these nucleus groups.
It is desired to point out that during such active duty periods the necessary disciplinary element and intensive training methods utilized in the Navy can be invoked plus a certain amount of other elements, and it is surprising what progress was made with men and officers in two short weeks. Many of these individuals reporting for active duty training at Great Lakes had little or no prior training and the rigorous course laid down and followed proved what could be done with such material. The officers and men taking this course not only received training in their professional duties, but also received the basic indoctrination with which every Navy man should be familiar, and in addition received instruction in allied naval subjects, such as infantry drill, semaphore and visual procedure followed up by practical application aboard the subchasers at Great Lakes Naval Training Station. Also, there was rifle range work, during which many qualified as marksmen, and watch standing at the radio station. Those who wished were also instructed in the care and operation of radio equipment aboard planes. Officers received instruction in the conducting of tactical maneuvers which served to emphasize the importance of accurate communications and the duties of communication officers in the broad sense.
The degree of aptitude displayed by these officers and men was such as to bring favorable comment from the commandant, and in the case of the enlisted radiomen, that officer commented, during a review marking the close of the training period, “They drill as well as the recruits who have been on the station three months!” It is interesting to note that the enlisted men’s class, many of whom had never had a rifle in their hands before, became so proficient in doing the manual of arms that they were able to put on an exhibition drill on a “silent count” with perfect precision. It was more than gratifying to see the results accomplished during these training periods, and it is felt that they should be made an annual routine in all districts. The tactical maneuvers and signaling proved especially valuable, for through this medium the lessons and needs of accurate visual and radio communications were driven home. It is felt that such active duty training periods have proved highly productive in promoting individual and collective proficiency, and should be adopted nationally as an integral part of the basic training policy in order to provide complete training in the true sense of the word.
The Naval Communication Reserve radio network, although intended primarily for training personnel in radio procedure, has as another important mission the responsibility of providing radio communication facilities in event of local or national disasters which disrupt the normal land-wire channels. The organization is in liaison with the American Red Cross and other local emergency committees for this work and has been called into action a number of times.
The organization has proved its worth not only to the Navy but to the citizenry of the nation in time of disaster and outstanding work was performed during the Florida hurricanes and the Nicaraguan earthquake. When the California earthquake disrupted almost all land-line communications in the area including Long Reach, Compton, Huntington, and parts of Los Angeles, the Naval Communication Reserve organization manned a number of stations in a short time and communication was established with the stricken area. A transcontinental radio relay was established through alternate control station NDP at Kansas City, Mo., to Washington, D.C., from the west coast. Many of the reserve stations along the west coast were on the job and remained there until normal land-line facilities were restored, while other reserve stations throughout the country rendered assistance. Unit control station No. 5 at Louisville, Ky., was requested by the Associated Press office at Louisville to make contact with California because normal facilities were disrupted. This was done by the unit control station (W9AJY-1,000 watts), contact being made and two-way communication established with station W6AOR at Los Angeles, through which news of the disaster was received and given to the Associated Press. It was stated that the unit control station was instrumental in getting the first news through to the Associated Press in New York and the New York Times contained very favorable comments on the work done by this reserve station. This station also cleared a considerable amount of traffic concerning survivors in the stricken area to other points throughout the United States. All stations which functioned during this emergency received letters of commendation from the Navy Department and the various district commandants.
The Ohio Valley flood during March, 1933, rendered thousands of people homeless and disrupted communications considerably. This emergency was reported to the commandant, Ninth Naval District, by commander, Section 1, with headquarters at Cincinnati, Ohio, whereupon all available reserve facilities swung into action. Such communications assistance as was required was given, and the Red Cross was afforded every possible element of co-operation in meeting its communication needs during the period of the emergency. When the U.S.S. Akron was destroyed during the severe storm of April 4, 1933, the amount of communications engendered by this emergency increased so suddenly as to require additional personnel to man the regular circuits. The gap was filled by officers and men of the Naval Communication Reserve, who volunteered to perform this duty. They performed duty at the radio station, Navy Yard, Philadelphia, and also manned circuits between that point, Lakehurst, and the searching vessels and planes. The personnel performed creditably during the emergency and were duly commended.
On April 25, 1933, the Secretary of the Navy addressed a circular letter to the entire naval service in which he commended the Naval Communication Reserve for the work of its members and said: “The best traditions of the naval service have been upheld by the Naval Reserve during these emergencies.”