This article is addressed principally to midshipmen at the Naval Academy, their colleagues in Naval R.O.T.C. units, and the younger naval officers. An effort has been made to highlight some of the salient characteristics of the various careers open to a young naval officer within the naval service.
In the first few years after his graduation from the Naval Academy, the young ensign comes to a most important cross-roads in his life—choosing a line of advance in his naval career. There are other decisions he must make which may be of greater consequence, such as whether to strike for the Air Force or Marine Corps upon graduation rather than the Navy, and whether he should get married, and if so, when and to whom. But we will assume that our reader has chosen the Navy; we are also assuming he will not heed any marital advice, even if we were presumptuous enough to give any? Our subject of discussion is the puzzle: how should the junior officer decide the choice of his professional naval future? Should he specialize? If so, in what field?
General Comment
At the outset, it should be stated emphatically that the fundamental influences in the officer’s choice of a line or specialized career in the naval service should be his aptitudes, natural inclinations, and personal likings. No statistical advantages of pay, promotion, duty, or other material advantages should be allowed to overshadow this cardinal principle. Older officers are practically unanimous on this point. Nevertheless, it is appropriate to analyze the specific facts of future life facing the young officer. The object in view is to assist him in formulating a decision in the event that his mind is still open on the subject. The common denominator of all the corps, branches, and categories is that the principal requirement is leadership.
Although the writer has selected engineering duty as his own career, such choice was made entirely as a matter of personal inclination and preference. This article is not intended as propaganda to proselyte young officers into the business of engineering duty or any other specific field. It will not dwell on advantages and disadvantages as much as on the tangible characteristics of the various groups and corps. In order, we shall consider: (a) unrestricted line, including aviation and submarine qualification (b) engineering duty (c) aeronautical engineering duty (d) special duty (e) civil engineer corps, and (f) supply corps.
It may be appropriate to point out here that the provisions of law imposing restrictions on the authorized personnel strength of any component of the Armed Forces have been suspended until July 31, 1954, by Public Law 655 of the 81st Congress, but orderly personnel planning must anticipate, of course, return to the legal limits imposed.
Officers in the line of the Navy consist of several classifications: those not restricted in the performance of duty (usually referred to as “unrestricted,” “general” or “straight line”) and those designated for engineering duty, aeronautical engineering duty, special duty, and limited duty. The latter—limited duty officers—are ex-enlisted men, and a discussion of this group is not pertinent to this particular article. The Civil Engineer Corps and Supply Corps are the only two staff corps with any appreciable number of Naval Academy graduates in their groups, and consequently this discussion will include them but not extend to the other staff corps. Little mention is made of the Medical, Dental, and Chaplain Corps, since their ranks are filled with professional men who have made their career decision in their undergraduate days.
(a) The Unrestricted Line
The man whose predominant interest in life is to become the Chief of Naval Operations, Commander-in-Chief of a Fleet, or even the commanding officer of a ship or aircraft squadron should read no further. He should pick the unrestricted line. The four men who rose to Fleet Admiral in the last war are all unrestricted line officers. Fleet Admiral Leahy is a general line officer; Fleet Admiral King is qualified in both aviation and submarines; Fleet Admiral Nimitz is a submariner, and Fleet Admiral Halsey, an aviator. The four-star admirals on the active list are all unrestricted line officers: two are general line, two are qualified aviators, and one is qualified in command of submarines. Of the vice admirals on the active list—some twenty odd—only one is other than unrestricted line. . . . Vice Admiral Fox, the Chief of Naval Material, is a Supply Corps officer, but his predecessor was an unrestricted line officer. (Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, and Civil Engineer Corps officers are eligible for this position and have served in it.) The Chief, Vice Chief, and Deputy Chiefs of Naval Operations, the Commanders of all Fleets, Forces, and Ships, the Commanders of Sea Frontiers, and the Commandants of Naval Districts, and many other high commands—the Naval Academy, Gun Factory, operational naval air stations, and the senior naval attaches and heads of foreign missions, as well as the Chiefs of several of the Bureaus (Ordnance, Naval Personnel, and Aeronautics) are unrestricted line officers.
As concerns promotion: although it has often been said, and it may be true in a general sense, that performance of duty in the job assigned is the most important single factor in selection to high rank, no one denies the influence of the professional qualifications and types of billets held by the officers concerned. To choose the more favorable between submarine and aviation training as far as succession to high place is concerned would be difficult. Either one or the other is a decided asset. In the last ten years, for example, unrestricted line captains who are qualified aviators have enjoyed about a 40 per cent selection to flag rank, a figure almost twice as high as the nonaviators. In the last selection to rear admiral, although the promotion zone terminated with the class of 1924, the majority of the selectees were in ’25 and a few in ’26 . . . many of these officers were not qualified in aviation or submarines, but the general philosophy still applied. However, this disparity is decreasing rapidly. Graduates of the National and Naval War Colleges also were successful. Despite all the criticism of the selection system, it is still conceded that in general the best men are selected.
Concerning pay: in these times of the shrinking value of the dollar, the advantages of extra pay have even greater attraction for the naval officer. The $180 per month extra for the aviator and submarine officer of the rank of commander, $210 for captain, often make the difference between just barely managing and living a life of reasonable comfort. Pay of service folk has never kept up with the cost-of-living index and probably never will during inflationary times. From a pay standpoint, the aviator has a decided advantage in that his orders have invariably contained the “duty involving flying” clause as long as he remains a qualified aviator. The submarine officer only draws his extra money while actually a member of an undersea boat crew or in the few submarine staff billets which require considerable sea-going in connection with the job. Incentive pay is under study at the moment, and there is a chance of revision in the future. There are other billets which the unrestricted line officer may be assigned to, especially of the attaché nature abroad, which entitle him to extra monies, but there are not too many of these proportionately, especially in the junior ranks. In addition, these latter cases frequently require a large cash outlay before receipt of any extra allowances.
Legal aspects: the principal law which governs the personnel administration of naval officers is the “Officer Personnel Act of 1947.” It is the source of most of the legal authority on selection, retirement, and distribution in grade. Many of the provisions are detailed and complicated; furthermore, a considerable portion of the Law has been amended since its original establishment. In general, however, the Law relates all selections to those in the unrestricted line. The “line fraction” is the standard applied to restricted line and staff corps selection; this is a fraction whose numerator is the number of unrestricted line officers who are selected and whose denominator is the total number of such officers in the unrestricted line promotion zone. The Secretary of the Navy determines this fraction for selection to each rank below flag rank based on the needs of the Navy and the limitations of the budget and law. Restricted line selection opportunity through Captain must in each case be not less than the corresponding line fraction. Staff corps selection is equal to the relevant line fraction percentage-wise, except for Medical, Dental, and Chaplain Corps officers being considered for lieutenant commander and lieutenant. This latter case is unusual in that it permits 100 per cent selection, depending only on the qualifications of the officers concerned.
Retirement is generally similar for all naval officers at present. Voluntary retirement is, for the time being, practically impossible except in cases of extreme hardship. The Secretary of Defense must approve such cases and, so far, approval has been rare. There are some unique features of unrestricted line retirement. Flag officers come before a continuation board after 35 years commissioned service and five years in grade, whichever is later; those continued remain until age 62, those not continued retire the following June 30th. The Act specifies that a number which shall not exceed 75 percent nor be less than 50 per cent shall be offered a selection board; the actual continuations have been running about two- thirds. Restricted and staff corps flag officers retire after 35 years total commissioned service or seven years in grade—whichever comes—later unless specifically retained on an annual basis by a board convened by the Secretary of, the Navy. All unrestricted Captains have an added provision in their retirement also—if they have twice failed of selection and have 30 years total commissioned service, they retire at the end of the fiscal year. Restricted duty captains not on a promotion list retire after 31 years unless especially retained on the active list by a special board.
The unrestricted line officer must enjoy sea duty—he is going to spend about half of his tours of duty aboard ship. Although the younger officer anticipates his first tour of shore duty, for which he may wait five to seven years unless he goes to flight training, submarine school, or takes a postgraduate course, the older officers usually relish the thought of going to sea, and there is keen competition for the more desirable seagoing commands. Possibilities in tours of shore duty are almost limitless but typical assignments are in the office of CNO, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Naval District, Base and Station staffs, etc. A wide variety of postgraduate courses are open to these officers, especially those given at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, and the various Service Colleges. Some of the major courses available are: two year engineering courses at the PG School, three year law course at one of three civilian universities in Washington, D. C., and the widely taken general line course—one year at the PG School.
A limited program has recently been instituted which permits unrestricted line officers on a probationary commission status because of physical condition, such as vision, to apply for specialization in aeronautical engineering duty (aerology), engineering duty including ordnance, special duty (communications, intelligence, and public information), Civil Engineering Corps and Supply Corps. Applications must be made after completion of one year’s commissioned service and before completion of three years’ service.
With some exceptions, the opportunities in civilian life for the unrestricted line officer in event of his separation from the Navy are not especially favorable compared to those of specialist and staff corps officers.
(b)The Engineering Duty Officer
The officer choosing this duty should prefer technical and engineering matters to those of an operational nature. A detailed description of this duty was contained in the article, “The Engineering Duty Officer in the Navy Today,” in the March, 1952, issue of the Proceedings. It contains more specific information than is possible to note here.
Engineering duty embraces the entire field of naval architecture and marine engineering in the broadest interpretation. Its field of interest covers ship and ship component research, design, construction, conversion, alteration, repair, and operation. Shore, as well as ship, electronics is included in this area of responsibility. ED officers are playing a leading role in the new science of nuclear engineering, as evidenced by the much publicized developments in submarine and aircraft carrier propulsion.
The article cited above is recommended reading for those young men who are interested in this specialty. In addition to the various types of engineers discussed in that article, there is also a group of engineering duty officer specialists in Ordnance. Except for the fact that they are under the sponsorship of the Bureau of Ordnance rather than the Bureau of Ships, all the legal and regulatory features of engineering duty classification pertain similarly to them. They are included in the various quotas limiting the size of the ED group: for example, the feature limiting the over-all size of the ED group, which is a maximum of 4^ percent that of the number of all line officers in the Navy, and the one setting the maximum limit of ED officers in the combined ranks of captain, commander, and lieutenant commander at 9 percent of the number of unrestricted line officers in these grades. As pointed out in the referenced article, this latter feature as applied to permanent rank is the one effectively limiting the size of the ED group today. It is difficult for an officer of the permanent rank of lieutenant commander or senior to become designated as an ED, and several officers previously selected for engineering duty are awaiting vacancies in this combined allowance.
As mentioned previously, the Officer Personnel Act envisioned somewhat better promotion for ED officers as well as aeronautical duty (AED) and special duty (SD) officers, than for unrestricted line officers through the grade of captain. The law specifies that percentage selection opportunity must be not less than the unrestricted line and may be 100%. This depends on the needs of the service, of course, and in actual practice percentage selection has varied from the one limit to the other; that is, from being the same as that of the unrestricted line to that which permitted selection of all qualified officers. There is a considerable difference in opinion in this matter on a policy level and it is difficult to predict the future, but it is likely that promotion in the junior grades at least will continue to be somewhat better than the unrestricted line. Counterbalancing that, however, is the fact that the restricted groups are still in some measure “selected” groups, and the competition from one’s colleagues may be a bit stiffer—especially in the lower grades. Selection to flag rank has been, and probably will continue to be, about the same percentagewise as the straight line . . . roughly 20 percent. Although the ED group has been lagging about a year or two in timing of this selection, steps are being taken in an endeavor to alleviate this situation.
Although the present ED groups (ships) consists largely of naval constructors on the one hand and naval engineers (including electronics) on the other in the senior officer echelons, it is rapidly becoming a more homogeneous group. A recommended path for the embryo ED to follow is to take the combined naval construction and engineering course at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he may specialize in hull, ship propulsion, electrical or electronics engineering, in addition, to obtaining his basic background of naval architecture and marine engineering. Some officers are sent to Webb Institute for a similar course. The call for these courses is issued by the Bureau of Naval Personnel in the ensign’s second year after being commissioned. If selected, the officer usually spends his third year at sea in an engineering billet, after which he begins his postgraduate studies. Designation as an ED officer normally follows satisfactory completion of this course. Entry into the ED group may also be achieved through completion of a two-year engineering post-graduate course at the Naval Postgraduate School. Electrical, mechanical, electronics, metallurgical, and petroleum engineering are the specialities. Provision has recently been made to send a few junior ED officers through the Submarine School prior to their assignment in submarine design and construction.
Typical duty assignments are in: Bureau of Ships, Shipyards, Laboratories, Fleet and Force Staffs, and engineering and repair billets afloat. Opportunities in civilian life in the event of separation from active Naval service have been good, especially in shipbuilding, engineering, and educational fields. Officers with an electronics background are in a particularly favorable spot in this regard.
(c) The Aeronautical Engineering Duty Officer
Although much of the legislation governing the AED group is similar and parallel to that of the ED’s, there are some notable differences. The AED officers who have been most successful are those who have qualified as naval aviators and who have had fleet experience. Candidates then take a two- year postgraduate course at the Naval Postgraduate School which may be followed by a year at a civilian institution such as MIT, Cal Tech (Pasadena), or the University of Michigan. A recommended career prior to designation as an AED officer might be: graduation from the Naval Academy, two years at sea, one year flight training, two years fleet operational experience, and then the three years of graduate studies leading to a degree in aeronautical engineering.
There are really no shipboard billets for AED officers, although they do serve on seagoing staffs. Many of these officers think that the most interesting phases of their work are in research and development of new naval aircraft, and in their associations with civilian technical experts and commercial corporations. Aircraft design in the Navy is somewhat similar to design of ships’ machinery, in that the actual design and construction is largely done by commercial companies although specifications, inspection, and acceptance are of course a responsibility of the cognizant naval activity. In ship hull design, on the other hand, the preliminary design, contract plans, and specifications are prepared in the Bureau of Ships, although working plans may be contracted for commercially if the ship is to be built in a private shipyard.
The qualified naval aviators whose physical standards permit are normally issued orders involving flying and are eligible for the extra pay of naval aviators. Since the Bureau of Aeronautics is an operating as well as a technical Bureau (for example, it has management control over all naval air stations), it has not been the policy to have an AED officer as Chief of this Bureau. At the present writing, the senior AED jobs are as Deputy Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, commanders of the Naval Air Material Center and the Naval Air Development Center, Chief (or Deputy) of Naval Research, BuAer General Representatives, and Fleet Air Force Material Officers. The same general comments on selection mentioned under the ED section apply to the AED officers, although the AED’s have had in the past probably the highest percentage selection to rear admiral (almost 50%) of any group of officers in the Navy. It is not likely that this will be true in the future, although selection prospects should continue to be comparatively favorable. The limits in size of the AED group are set not to exceed 2½ percent of the total number of officers holding permanent appointments on the active list of the line of the regular Navy and 5 percent of the unrestricted line officers in the combined ranks of captain, commander, and lieutenant commander. The major subdivision specialties of the group are: general, aerology, electronics, and industrial management. Civilian opportunities in event of leaving the service, are comparatively good.
(d) The Special Duty Officer
There are seven major subdivisions under this heading: communications, law, intelligence, public information, photography, psychology, and hydrography. About the only ones of the foregoing that have been of particular interest as regards specialization to Naval Academy graduates are the first four. The numerical limitations in effect for the AED’s apply equally to the SD group; that is, the 2½ percent and 5 percent maxima. There has been (and is) one SD flag officer—he is a communication specialist. There has been recent reluctance on the part of Congress to permit regular naval officers to be sent to the Law post-graduate course, on the grounds that the Navy has lawyers on its rolls who are not being used in legal work, and this program is being curtailed. The 1953 Appropriations Bill permits only 20 officers in any one year for law training for the entire Department of Defense. The top job for a law specialist would be, of course, that of Judge Advocate General, although the recent incumbents have all been unrestricted line naval officers with legal training. The Director of Naval Communications also is an unrestricted line officer, although this might be hazarded to be the top goal for an SD officer (communications); presumably also, the top spot for an SD officer (intelligence) would be as Director of Naval Intelligence. It must be remembered that the SD group is a relatively new one, and is still undergoing evaluation and metamorphosis. The background and qualifications of its top officers will be reflected in their assignments and responsibilities.
(e) The Civil Engineer Corps Officer
The normal procedure for the Naval Academy or NROTC graduate to enter the Civil Engineering Corps is first to serve one to three years at sea, then to apply for and be selected to take a seventeen month postgraduate course at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. He is designated as a member of the Civil Engineering Corps upon reporting for duty under instruction at R.P.I. An advanced course is available at a later date at selected civilian institutions leading to a degree of Master of Civil Engineering. The Civil Engineer Corps officer is interested primarily in the design, construction, and maintenance of continental and overseas shore facilities for the support of the fleet and in the operation of Naval Construction Forces which assist in the occupation and development of Advanced Bases for fleet support overseas. The principal Naval Construction Forces billets for Civil Engineer Corps officers are as follows:
Commander Naval Construction Battalion Center
Commander Construction Battalions, Fleet
Commander Construction Brigade
Commander Naval Construction Regiment
Commanding Officer, Naval Construction Battalion
CEC officers are presently assigned to report to the Commanders of most major fleet, area, and force commands for duty as staff civil engineers and some are assigned as civil engineer advisers to Naval Attaches and Missions in foreign countries.
During peacetime the major part of the work of the Corps is concentrated at permanent bases in the continental U.S. and its possessions where the principal Civil Engineer Corps billets are:
Chief, Bureau of Yards and Docks and Chief of Civil Engineers
Director, Overseas Division, Bureau of Yards and Docks
District Civil Engineer
District Public Works Officer
Civil Engineer Advisor to activities in the executive offices of the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy, and Navy Department Material Bureaus
Officer (or Resident Officer) in Charge of Construction Station Public Works Officers (at all major Marine and Naval Air Stations, Shipyards, Hospitals, Supply Depots, Ammunition Depots, and Training Centers)
An officer entering the Civil Engineer Corps is in most cases given additional practical instruction in the Civil Engineer Corps Officers School and sent to duty as an assistant in one of the billets listed above. The duty rotation system, in effect, is designed to give Civil Engineer Corps officers experience in all the general types of duty to which they may be assigned and also to provide familiarity with the continental United States and overseas areas in which the Navy may operate. The current Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks is an officer out of the Naval Academy class of 1927, Rear Admiral Jelley. One distinguished alumnus is Admiral Ben Moreell—the only non-line active list four-star admiral in the history of the Navy. He has added to his prestige by serving as president of one of the largest steel companies in the world after his retirement from the Navy. Promotion through the grade of captain has been excellent in the civil engineer group, but except for the Chief of the Bureau (who is on a “spot” appointment) it has not been outstandingly rapid or favorable to flag rank. Possibilities in civilian life are relatively excellent for an officer leaving the service. As concerns size of the Corps, the Officer Personnel Act stipulates that the Civil Engineer Corps shall have an authorized number of commissioned officers 3 percent that of the authorized number on the active list of the line (35,000) or 1050 CEC officers. The actual on hand count is close to 750.
(f) The Supply Corps Officer
The Supply Corps has grown in its position of responsibility in the Naval Establishment. The primary responsibility rests in the function of the integrated supply system wherein the Bureau of Supplies and accounts administers the supply support for the other Bureaus. The fields of logistics, mobile support, and transportation have opened new areas for the supply officers of today. Their promotion prospects from captain to flag rank are unexcelled for at least the next ten years, as they have relatively many flag officers and few captains. The prize postgraduate school assignment is the two year course leading to the degree of master of business administration presently given at Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia. This course is also open to one or two AED officers. Other fields of instruction open to Supply Corps Officers, in addition to Armed Forces Schools, are textile engineering, personnel administration, cargo handling and comptrollership. The current supply officer spends quite a bit of time at sea. His shore as well as his afloat jobs are, of course, primarily in supply and fiscal work. Typical assignments ashore are in Office of Naval Material, Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, naval supply centers and depots, inventory control points, staffs, and supply duties with all naval activities. As mentioned before, the current Chief of Naval Material is a Supply Corps officer as was one of the former incumbents. He is the only non-straight line vice admiral on the active list of the Navy today.
There is increased coordination and cooperation in supply matters among the Armed Forces today. Single service procurement and joint service cataloging and standardization are being undertaken. The Supply Corps has less rigid physical standards than the straight line, but recently a higher percentage input to the Corps is from graduating midshipmen who actually prefer supply duties. Line officers up to and including the rank of lieutenant commander can request transfer to Supply, if they so desire. The Corps is a “natural” for graduates of civilian colleges with degrees in business administration, although this means of entry is dependent on the program in effect for accepting officers into the regular Navy. By virtue of his business experience, the Supply Officer is better suited than the average naval officer to obtain a reasonably good job in civilian life upon separation from the service. The number of officers in the Supply Corps is authorized at 12% that of the authorized officers of the active list of the line (35,000) by the Officer Personnel Act, or 4200. Actually, considerably less are on board.
Conclusion
In summary, it takes a lot of different types and classifications of people to make up the group called naval officers. Each career has something to offer and to recommend it, and each perhaps has certain drawbacks. It is a matter in which the individual must use his own initiative and discretion. He should remember that gazing into the future as a way of determining a course of action involves a gamble. Whether the conditions that are described today will pertain ten to twenty years from now is problematical. It is hoped that the information contained here will assist some young men in the formulation of their plans for their naval careers.