AUTHORIZATION FOR EXAMINATIONS
Section 4 of the Naval Militia Act of February 16, 1914, states in part as follows:
“That when the military needs of the Federal Government, arising from the necessity to execute the laws of the United States, suppress insurrection, or repel invasion, cannot be met by the regular forces, the Naval Militia qualified as herein provided and any existing Naval Reserve now or hereafter organized shall be called into the service of the United States in advance of any volunteer naval force which it may then be determined to raise.”
Section 5 of the same act states in part as follows:
“That every officer and enlisted man of the Naval Militia who shall be called forth in the manner hereinbefore prescribed shall be mustered for service without further professional examination previous to such muster, except for those States and Territories and the District of Columbia, if the case may so be, which have not adopted a standard of professional and physical examination prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy for the Naval Militia, and whose officers and petty officers shall not have been examined and found qualified in accordance therewith by boards of officers which shall be appointed by said Secretary.”
It will be seen from the above: first, that the Naval Militia and any existing Naval Reserve shall, in time of need, be called into the service of the United States in advance of any volunteer naval force; and second, that officers and enlisted men of the Naval Militia shall be mustered for service without further professional examination previous to such muster, provided their states have adopted a standard of professional and physical examination prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy for the Naval Militia, and provided they have been examined and found qualified in accordance therewith by boards of officers which shall be appointed by said secretary.
The importance of having a Naval Militia of ample strength and whose officers and enlisted men are qualified professionally and physically is at once apparent. By the terms of the Naval Militia Act, the creation of professional and physical standards which will accomplish this end, and the appointment of professional and medical examining boards to examine the Naval Militia in accordance with such standards, devolve upon the Secretary of the Navy.
GENERAL NATURE OF EXAMINATIONS
Navy Department General Order No. 153 establishes the qualifications required by the Navy Department of Naval Militia personnel, and in this general order is included the specific “scope examinations” for all officers and enlisted men.
Navy Department General Order No. 150 prescribes the physical examinations for Naval Militia officers and enlisted men and gives in detail all the physical requirements which must be met.
It will thus be seen that the Navy Department has accomplished the first step, and established professional and physical standards for the Naval Militia.
The states, must, to comply with the Naval Militia Act, adopt these standards for their Naval Militia. This matter has been taken up with the governors of all states having Naval Militia organizations. The militia laws in the various states differ materially. In many cases these standards can be adopted by executive order of the governor, while in others the approval of the state legislature is necessary, and as in some states the meetings of the legislature are bi-annual, the final adoption by all states of the above standards cannot be accomplished without considerable delay. However, the necessary action has been taken and the final adoption by all states will be accomplished with as little delay as possible.
METHOD OF CONDUCTING EXAMINATIONS
The Secretary of the Navy is required to appoint boards to conduct the above-mentioned examinations. To this end, boards composed of officers of the regular navy and known as “Naval Militia Examining Boards” have been convened in Washington, D. C., to prepare questions and mark the professional examinations of the following Naval Militia officers:
Line Officers (Line Duties Only).
Line Officers (Engineering Duties Only).
Medical Officers.
Pay Officers.
Marine Officers.
Chief Boatswains and Boatswains.
Chief Gunners and Gunners.
Chief Machinists and Machinists.
Chief Carpenters and Carpenters.
Chief Pay Clerks and Pay Clerks.
Chief Pharmacists and Pharmacists.
The examinations of enlisted men will, by the provisions of General Order No. 153, be conducted by the Naval Militia officers, and the results reported to the Division of Naval Militia Affairs.
The actual examinations of officers are conducted by naval officers designated by the department for the various localities and known as “Supervisory Examiners.”
In order that the states might comply with the terms of the Naval Militia Act and the officers and enlisted men be qualified prior to February 16, 1917, at which time the provisions of the act become effective, it was decided to hold examinations for officers at four different times as follows:
- October 15, 1915.
- April 15, 1916.
- October 15, 1916.
- February 1, 1917.
Officers may take all, or any parts of the examination for their rank or grade at any of these examinations, the only requirement being that all officers now in the Naval Militia fully qualify prior to February 16, 1917, for the rank or grade they hold. After that date all officers who take the examinations for promotion, or entering the Naval Militia as an officer, will be required to take the entire examination at one time.
At this time it is only necessary to consider the present requirements, those in effect before the Naval Militia Act finally becomes effective.
“Applications to take Naval Militia Examinations” are made by individual officers, through the adjutants general of their states, to the Division of Naval Militia Affairs, the adjutant general stating in each case the rank or grade of the officer, and the parts of the examination in which he desires to be examined. The Division of Naval Militia Affairs has established dates prior to which applications to take the examinations must be received, and no requests received after those dates are considered.
The applications are forwarded to the Bureau of Navigation, which bureau issues, for each officer wishing to appear, an “Authorization to Appear for Naval Militia Examination,” and forwards them to the Naval Militia Examining Board concerned. This board prepares questions in the various subjects for each applicant, and these questions are then sent sealed, via the Division of Naval Militia Affairs, to the “Supervisory Examiner,” who conducts the actual examination, and forwards the papers, via the Division of Naval Militia Affairs, to the proper Naval Militia Examining Board in Washington for marking.
The officers are informed of the results, and a notation is made on their individual record cards in the Division of Naval Militia Affairs of the parts in which they have qualified.
The physical examinations are conducted in accordance with the provisions of General Order No. 150. These examinations are made by medical officers of the Naval Militia, or when the number of Naval Militia medical officers is not sufficient, by medical officers of the organized militia or medical practitioners of known reliability. These officers are nominated by the governor of the state, and appointed by the Secretary of the Navy. The results of the examinations are made a part of the health record of officers and enlisted men, and results are reported to the Division of Naval Militia Affairs.
The same restrictions governing the adoption of General Order No. 150 by the various states hold as in the case of General Order No. 153. Several states have adopted both general orders and in several instances the medical boards have been appointed, and physical examinations are being conducted.
By the establishment of professional and physical standards and the appointment of boards for the examination of the Naval Militia in accordance with these standards, the Navy Department has compiled with the sections of the act quoted above and has gone far towards the creation of a qualified Naval Militia which shall be available for immediate call.
There is still much to be accomplished. The states must adopt the general orders as standards and the Navy Department must complete its examinations, but the initial steps have been taken and the results will, it is believed, be very materially worth while.
The first examinations of Naval Militia officers were held on October 15, 1915. At this time 258 applications for examination were received from all ranks and grades in all corps. The applications were in the majority of cases for certain parts of the examinations, while in some cases they were for all parts. After questions had been issued for all the officers, it was impossible, due to various reasons, for some to take the examinations, and about 60 sets of the questions were returned for cancellation. The reports of the results of the examinations have not yet all been received from the boards concerned, but to date 39 officers of different corps have been found fully qualified professionally for the ranks and grades they hold in the Naval Militia, while others have qualified in many parts. The results of the examinations show that the Naval Militia officers are seriously trying to prepare themselves for the service of the United States in time of war, and the spirit and interest shown are very commendable.
BENEFITS DERIVED FROM EXAMINATIONS
The benefits to the navy are great, in that there is obtained a body of Naval Militia officers and enlisted men, equipped and ready for service, who have been found professionally qualified in accordance with standards of professional qualification established by the Navy Department, and who are thus eligible, provided their states have adopted the Navy Department’s standards, to be called into the service of the United States without further professional examination.
A physical examination in accordance with the provisions of General Order No. 150 is required prior to being mustered into service, unless, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Navy, the emergency is deemed sufficiently urgent to warrant deferring this examination until after the muster, in which case it will be held as soon as practicable thereafter. In any event, a physical examination is required, and all officers and enlisted men found qualified are thus available for instant call.
The Naval Militia, when called into service, retain their status as Naval Militia. Officers are designated by their rank or grade “in the Naval Militia in the service of the United States,” and the same is true of the enlisted men for their rank or rate. The Naval Militia insignia is retained on the uniforms of both officers and enlisted men.
When it is realized that there are fully equipped and ready for service, approximately 600 officers and 8000 enlisted men thus made available for the navy, the full value of a Naval Militia is apparent.
There are also certain benefits to the Naval Militia.
“Certificates of Qualification” have been approved by the Navy Department for issue to Naval Militia officers who fully qualify professionally. These certificates will be signed by the Secretary of the Navy and will certify that the officer concerned is eligible to be called forth by the President of the United States as an officer “in the Naval Militia in the service of the United States,” without further professional examination.
The Naval Militia must be called out before volunteers, so that officers and enlisted men who are qualified may be reasonably assured of being able to serve the country in time of war.
OBLIGATIONS ASSUMED BY THE NAVAL MILITIA
There is also a certain obligation to the Federal Government assumed by the Naval Militia.
Section 5 of the Naval Militia Act provides that any officer or enlisted man of the Naval Militia so qualified—viz., professionally and physically— who shall refuse or neglect to present himself for such muster upon being called forth, shall be subject to trial by court-martial, and shall be punished as such court-martial may direct.
RESULTS
From this it is seen that Naval Militia officers and enlisted men whose states have adopted the standards of professional and physical examinations prescribed by the Navy Department, and who have been examined by boards appointed by the Secretary of the Navy and found qualified in accordance with such professional and physical standards, are eligible to be called into the service of the United States, and are subject to court-martial if they fail to present themselves.
It is endeavored in the above notes to set forth, in general, the examinations required of the Naval Militia, the method of conducting these examinations, and the results obtained.
EXPLANATION OF NAVAL MILITIA EXAMINATIONS
The examinations for Naval Militia officers, for all corps, are divided into two general divisions.
Division I, “Record Examination,” is subdivided for all corps into three parts. Instructions governing the parts of this division have been prepared by the “Naval Militia Examining Boards” and contain full information covering this division of the examination. These instructions are similar for all corps, except the Medical Corps, and are as follows:
Instructions Governing Division I
“Record Examination” for All Corps except Medical Corps
EXAMINATION FOR NAVAL MILITIA
(For All Corps Other than Medical Corps)
Division I. Record examination.
Part 1. Submit a letter or testimonial from two or more reputable citizens of your community (the commanding officer of your Naval Militia organization may be one of these), as to citizenship, moral character and professional standing.
Part 2. Submit a signed statement giving a concise history of your experience in the Navy, Marine Corps, Naval Militia, Army, National Guard, Revenue-Cutter Service, Coast Guard, or Merchant Marine.
Part 3. Write a letter to the Naval Militia Examining Board stating concisely: (a) The date and place of your birth; (b) school, institution or college at which you received your general education, the several branches studied, including any academic or post-graduate degrees received, also the exact title of any technical school or schools at which you received instructions; (c) date of graduation and any diploma received; (d) dates of licenses or registrations obtained; (e) opportunities you have had for practical work in the profession or calling for which you are being examined; (f) any additional information from which professional standing may be judged, together with your occupation or profession.
Form of Letter
Chicago, Illinois, August 5, 1912.
The President and Members of the Naval Militia Examining Board.
Gentlemen:
(Here follows the body of the letter.)
Very respectfully,
James Henry Jackson.
Note.—In signing, write in full, giving all of your titles, and do not fold. The statement and letter called for by Part 2 and Part 3 must be in manuscript. The statement and letter called for by Parts 2 and 3 are to be numbered as directed in paragraph 2, of “Instructions” for officers undergoing examination.
EXAMINATION FOR NAVAL MILITIA
(For Medical Corps)
Division I. Record examination.
Part 1. Submit a letter or testimonial from two or more reputable citizens of your community (the commanding officer of your Naval Militia organization may be one of these), as to citizenship, moral character and professional standing.
Part 2. Submit a signed statement giving a concise history of your experience in the Navy, Marine Corps, Naval Militia, Army, National Guard, Revenue-Cutter Service, Coast Guard, or Merchant Marine.
Part 3. Write a letter to the board stating concisely: (a) Date and place of birth; (b) school or college at which you received academic education, the number of years in attendance therein, the dates of graduation, degrees, certificates or diplomas obtained therefrom; (c) name of school from which graduated in medicine; (d) year of such graduation; (e) interneship or resident physician in civil or military hospitals, duration of same; (f) licensed by State Board, with date of license; membership in local, state or national medical societies; professional positions held; (g) any additional information from which professional standing may be judged; present occupation or profession.
Form of Letter
Chicago, Illinois, August 5, 1912.
The President and Members of the Naval Militia Examining Board.
Gentlemen :
(Here follows the body of the letter.)
Very respectfully,
James Henry Jackson.
Note.—In signing, write in full, giving all of your titles, and do not fold. The statement and letter called for by Part 2 and Part 3 must be in manuscript. The statement and letter called for by Parts 2 and 3 are to be numbered as directed in paragraph 2, of “Instructions” for officers undergoing examination.
Division II, “Professional Examination,” is subdivided into a number of parts, varying with the corps, and each one of these parts is further divided into sub-parts. General Order No. 153 states the subjects covered by the parts of this division, and the further sub-parts give in detail the scope of the questions asked under each subject. No explanation of the parts of this division is necessary, as they can be at once understood from General Order No. 153.
Each set of “Examination Questions” sent out to Naval Militia officers is accompanied by a set of “Instructions for Officers of the Naval Militia Undergoing Examination.” These instructions give in detail full instructions covering the method to be followed in taking examinations, preparing and numbering papers, etc.