USA > Illinois > Lake County > Great Lakes > The Keel ; the story of initial training in the United States Navy, 1955 > Part 1
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UNITED STATES NAVAL TRAINING CENTER GREAT LAKES, ILLINOIS
USN
COMPANY 535
RECRUIT TRAINING COMMAND 1955
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 07473 1784
Wendell C. Hull. PhO Eng Sci
President
Wendell Hull & Associates. Inc. -
Forensic Engineering/Accident Reconstruction
1020 S. Main St., Las Cruces, NM 88005 800-3D-VIEWS · (505) 523-5623 · Fax: 523-5709
E-mail: wha@zianet.com www.wendellhull.com
GC 977.302 G798US, 1955A
GRADUATION
Every Saturday morning from late Spring to early Fall, friends and relatives of recruits fill the stands of Ross Field to witness a formal graduation review of those recruits completing train- ing. Included in the review are demonstrations of difficult and precise marching maneuvers performed by members of the recruit Drill Team and the recruit Drum and Bugle Corps.
Outstanding recruits are presented with awards in an im- pressive ceremony centered in front of the brigade, before a backdrop of massed competitive flags.
The review is concluded as the graduating companies march in review before a high ranking officer or distinguished civilian, to the strains of "Anchors Aweigh" played by the Recruit Band.
F
THE KEEL
The Story of initial training in the United States Navy
UNITED STATES NAVAL TRAINING CENTER
GREAT
LAKES
ILLINOIS
INTRODUCTION
A KEEL, as defined in Bluejackets Manual, is "the back- bone of a ship." In the Navy of today, as in the past, the enlisted man and his shipmates form the backbone of the NAVY. Recruit Training Command assumes the respon- sibility of transforming the young men of America into the earnest and dedicated sailors needed to man the fleets of the UNITED STATES NAVY.
This book is a pictorial representation of the training received by every recruit as he is indoctrinated in the du- ties and responsibilities he must take up in the billet of a man-o'-warsman, and so it is called THE KEEL.
In future years, THE KEEL should prove a pleasant re- minder of one of the most formative and important periods in a man's life whether he is a career Navy man or a civilian reminiscing over his "hitch" in the naval service.
The weeks and mouths served in Recruit Training Com- mand are not easy, but, of necessity, are rigorous and de- manding. This training is diligently planned and admin- istered in order to develop the strength of character, loyal- ty, and patriotism in every trainee so as to prepare him to defend his country, its ideals and people, against any foreign aggressor.
ALBERT LOVE ENTERPRISES
ATLANTA,
GEORGIA
All Rights Reserved
THE KEEL
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The Role of The United States
The Navy and Sea Power
Early in the seventeenth century Sir Walter Raleigh observed that "Whosoever commands the sea, commands the trade; who- soever commands the trade of the world, commands the riches of the world and, consequently, the world itself."
That principle is as true today as it was centuries ago. Nothing of major import has occurred, not even the advent of the modern aircraft, to lessen the importance of sea power and sea trade to our national defense and prosperity.
The day has not been reached, nor ever will be reached, when control of the seas of the world can be exercised solely by shore-based aviation, guided missiles, and the atom bomb. Control of the sea can be exercised effectively only by forces which travel the sea and can remain at sea for long periods of time.
Sea forces and sea-based air forces-in other words, sea power-furnishes the only effective control of the sea. Sea power has a mobility which land power can never have. What- ever the weapons used, aircraft carriers (highly mobile air fields) can be moved at high speed to the most favorable points for attack on enemy targets. Whatever the weapons used, large ground forces can be transported rapidly by naval means to selected coastal points and landed against opposition. The mere threat of such attacks at unpredictable points would im- mobilize large enemy forces held in reserve to meet them, thus forcing the enemy to effect a wide dispersion. Dominant sea power, therefore, in the hands of the United States and its Allies, would deny to an enemy the ability to attack us from the sea while conferring on us the ability to launch a seaborne attack at any selected point or time.
The continued vital importance of sea power is clearly evi- dent. When the oceans of the world are no longer required for the transport of men and goods, then and only then can the United States afford to dispense with a Navy.
The Navy's Offensive Power
Fulfilling an historic role the United States Navy today, as in the past, maintains a vigilant guard over the freedom of the seas. Naval power, as exhibited throughout the struggles of World War II and as used in the United Nations' efforts in the Far East, is an indispensable part of modern defense upon which the security of our country ultimately rests. On the sea, under the sea, in the air above the sea, and in land operations where naval forces including the Marine Corps are committed, the Navy stands ready to meet any aggressive challenge when- ever and wherever offered.
Navy in National Defense
The modern fleet includes many task forces built around the present capital ship-of-the-line, the aircraft carrier. Fast carrier task forces composed of carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroy- crs and other combatant vessels, are the principal elements of today's offensive naval strength and, as such, comprise the Navy's main striking force. The Navy is no longer shackled by the historic barriers of the shoreline, nor by the range of its shipborne guns; but can strike blows deep in enemy territory, and can deliver at the target the atom bomb, when and if needed. Fast carrier task forces are able, without resorting to diplomatic channels, to establish offshore anywhere in the world airfields completely equipped with machine shops, ammunition dumps, tank farms, warehouses, together with quarters and all types of accommodations for operating personnel. Such task forces are virtually as complete as any air base ever established ashore. They constitute the only air bases which can be made available at the enemy's frontier without assault and conquest.
Amphibious Assault and Naval Bombardment
Whenever and wherever assault and conquest is deemed necessary, the accomplishment of an amphibious assault until a stable beachhead has been established is solely the respon- sibility of the Navy. The amphibious task forces are composed of all types of ships, naval aircraft, under-water demolition teams, reconnaissance facilities, and the specialized troops-the Marine Corps. Before, during, and after an initial assault naval guns and rockets launchers, in close coordination with naval aircraft, are able to devastatingly bombard enemy troops and installations, and lend close strategical and tactical support to our own ground forces in their advance to a desired objective.
Submarine and Anti-Submarine Warfare
The Navy's submarine forces, with a history of outstanding performance in World War II, are ready to assume again their vital tasks of offense or defense in any mission assigned. And, as a defensive measure, the Navy's "Hunter-Killer" task units, composed of escort carriers, blimps, and destroyers equipped with newly developed electronic devices, are training together as a team to track down and destroy any undersea craft of an aggressor nation.
Logistical Supply
In addition to its function of denying the use of the sea to an enemy, the Navy now has the responsibility of lifting cargo by sea for the supply of all the armed services abroad. This problem seems to become more enormous and complex with
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each war. The Far Eastern operations are no exception as shown by the fact that the cargo discharged in that area has averaged more than sixty pounds per man per day. This is well above the World War II average of forty-four pounds per man per day in any theatre of operation. The tremendous and ever-increasing task of logistical supply to overseas bases will always remain a naval responsibility.
Superior Naval Strength
Through all its varied components, the United States Navy exercises control of the seas and the coastal areas bounding them. All units of the fleet display unrivaled flexibility and mobility and, together, comprise a vast fighting potential- inimical to the interests of aggressive-minded nations-and a powerful safeguard of freedom.
In measuring our own capabilities against a potential enemy, due appreciation must be taken of the factors of relative strength and weakness. We may, for example, find ourselves comparatively weak in manpower. We know happily that we are superior in naval strength, which includes the strength of naval aviation.
It is axiomatic that in preparing for any contest, it is wisest to exploit-not neglect-the elements in which we have superior strength. We must lead from strength-not from weakness. We should "Accentuate The Positive."
Thus it is that a policy which provides for balanced develop- ment and coordinated use of strong naval forces must be fostered if we are, within the foreseeable future, to meet the challenge of arms of the forces which seem to oppose us.
Trained Naval Personnel
The Navy's fighting ships and aircraft represent the results of America's most advanced scientific research and develop- ment. They are precision products of American ingenuity and industry. But scientific research, improved equipment, and new naval construction alone will not insure that the Navy can maintain its present world leadership. The need for highly trained and qualified personnel to man the ships and aircraft is now greater than ever.
To meet this need, the Navy is constantly revising and improving its many and varied training programs and facilities in order to keep pace with modern educational and technical
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advancements, and thus provide the highly trained and qualified personnel required to maintain and operate "The greatest Navy the world has ever known."
The New Concept of Recruit Training
The recruit of today differs somewhat from his World War II counterpart. Today most of the men in recruit training are under twenty years of age. These men are young and im- pressionable; many of them are entering the Navy with definite intent to make the Navy their career. It is of importance to the Navy that these men get the best possible start in their new venture. The transition from civilian to military life must be smooth; indoctrination in the customs, traditions, and reg- ulations of the service must be thorough; basic Navy knowl- edges and skills must be developed; pride in and love for the Navy must be carefully cultivated. Especially in time of peace must there be an increase in the emphasis placed on the mental, moral and social development of the individual. He must be led to a desire for self-improvement and advancement; a real- ization of his status in and importance to the Navy-a sense of belonging; and understanding of his place in a democracy
as a sailor and a citizen-a fuller appreciation of the American way of life; the adoption, for himself, of high standards of responsibility, military performance and conduct.
The Navy's stake in this enterprise is tremendous. From these men will come the petty officers, the warrant officers, and some of the officers of the Navy of the future. That Navy can be no better than its men. The goals set forth above are stated in terms of ideals, hence can never be fully realized. But it is in recruit training that progress toward these goals must begin. And continued progress, wherever these men may be throughout the Navy, will ultimately produce the strong, effec- tive manpower required for the most powerful Navy in the world.
The information contained in this editorial, and in all other written presentations, features and captions appearing in this publication, was obtained from official United States Navy sources.
The pictures illustrating this editorial are official United States Navy photographs.
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RECRUIT TRAINING COM. HEADQUARTERS ·
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HISTORY O
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Great Lakes is the Midwest's largest Naval installation.
A veteran of two world wars and the Korean conflict, Great Lakes has served primarily as a recruit training establishment-bridging the gap from civilian to military life-by introducing recruits to Naval customs and dis- cipline, and preparing them through intensive training for the requirements of Naval service.
During World War II, approximately 1,000,000 Blue- jackets were trained at Great Lakes -- about one out of every three in the wartime fleet, and twice the number trained at any other installation.
In addition to its primary function of training recruits, Great Lakes provides advanced training in various tech- nical schools for the numerous specialists required in today's modern and complex Navy. In these schools, men of the fleet learn to be electronic technicians, machinists, gunners, enginemen, electricians, dental technicians, boilermen, and hospitalmen, to name a few of the spe- cialties. The Dental Technician School is one of the few Armed Forces schools offering instruction to Army and Air Force personnel as well as Navy. The Hospital Corps School, which can accommodate 1600 students, is a part of the U. S. Naval Hospital at Great Lakes.
The Naval Hospital is one of the Navy's major hospitals for treatment and care of ill and injured personnel. At the height of the Korean fighting, more than 700 battle casualties were under treatment here.
The establishment of two large Naval supply activities here in recent years has increased Great Lakes' impor- tance as a Naval supply center. Numerous Naval activities
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throughout the Midwest, as well as ships of the fleet, obtain equipment through the enlarged Naval Supply Depot. In addition, a large Electronic Supply Office at Great Lakes controls the procurement and distribution of repair parts required for the maintenance of electronic equipment at shore stations and in Navy ships.
Great Lakes also is the headquarters of the Ninth Naval District-the largest Naval district in the nation, encom- passing 13 midwestern states. The Commandant of the Ninth Naval District directs the hundreds of Naval ac- tivities in this land-locked area. Included among these activities is administration of the large Naval Reserve program in the Midwest, where civilians who are Naval Reservists receive practical instruction in weekly drills at 72 training centers. They also participate in annual cruises aboard ships of the Great Lakes training squad- ron.
Other activities at Great Lakes have all-Navy functions. These include: (1) the Naval Examining Center, which prepares and processes rating examinations for the en- tire Navy; (2) Fleet Home Town News Center, which receives news stories and photographs of Naval personnel from all parts of the world and distributes them to home- town newspapers; and (3) Navy Medical Research Unit No. 4, which conducts research into the cause, cure, and control of respiratory diseases.
Waves have been stationed at Great Lakes since the Navy volunteer women's organization was established in 1942. A Wave recruit training school was located here from 1948 to 1951. In addition to filling essential jobs
at Great Lakes, Waves also attend some of the specialty schools here.
Great Lakes' history dates back to 1904, when a board appointed by the President selected the site of the Naval Training Center from among 37 locations on the Great Lakes. The Merchants' Club of Chicago raised the funds to purchase the property, and the land was presented to the Government as a gift from the people of Chicago.
On July 1, 1911-six years to the day after construc- tion began-Great Lakes was commissioned. It consisted of 39 buildings, with a capacity of 1,500 men. During World War I, the training center was expanded to 775 buildings with a capacity of almost 50,000 trainees. More than 125,000 men received their first Navy train- ing here during World War I.
Great Lakes' population dropped sharply during the years between wars, but population and construction be- gan a rapid increase after President Roosevelt pro- claimed a national emergency on September 9, 1939. Pearl Harbor threw the expansion program into high gear, with 13,000 civilians working in shifts, seven days a week, to build additional barracks, mess halls, and training facilities. A total of 675 buildings had been erected by the end of 1942, and in 1944 the population reached a peak of more than 100,000.
At the end of World War II, Great Lakes consisted of approximately 1,000 buildings. Since then, these facil- ities have been utilized in the continued training of recruits and in Great Lakes' expansion as an important advanced school center for the Navy.
REAR ADMIRAL E. P. FORRESTEL, U. S. NAVY Commandant, Ninth Naval District
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CAPTAIN J. B. McLEAN, U. S. NAVY Commander, Naval Training Center
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CAPTAIN CHARLES B. JACKSON, JR., U. S. NAVY Commanding Officer, Recruit Training Command
COMMANDER R. E. CUTTS, U. S. NAVY Executive Officer, Recruit Training Command
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WELCOME INTO The NAVY GREAT LAKES RECRUIT TRAINING COMMAND
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The transition from civilian to Naval life be- gins in the Receiving Unit where the new recruit is first introduced to the procedures of process- ing in. It is here that the recruit is given thor- ough medical and dental examinations, the Navy's General Classification Test Battery is ad- ministered and a complete outfit of Navy uni- forms and clothing is issued to him. These first few days of processing in are no doubt a little confusing to the new recruit, but in a short time he begins to adjust to his new surroundings and feel more at home.
After the initial logging in procedures, the first and one of the most important steps of the processing begins with the administering of the Navy's General Classification Test Battery. It is through the results of these tests combined later with an interview by a trained classification in- terviewer, that the Navy is able to select the ap- propriate career pattern for each man entering the service. Designations for special schooling after completion of recruit training are made at this time.
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At the completion of his processing in period, the recruit is getting the feel of his new Navy uniforms, having shipped his civilian clothing home, and is now ready to move, with his com- pany, to the main training area. The company
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commander, a carefully selected and thoroughly experienced, career Navy Petty officer, takes charge of the company at this point to begin his job of molding, guiding and leading his com- pany through basic recruit training.
Indoctrination represents an essential span in bridging the gap for recruits from civil to military life. The planks so necessary in the construction of a true man-o-warsman, the rev- erence for naval customs and traditions, the obedience to naval discipline and the irreplace- able esprit-de-corps are carefully laid in this process of indoctrination. In addition, the equally essential seed of personal pride is planted in order to promote within the individ- ual recruit high standards of responsibility, conduct, manners and morals. Indoctrination is successful when, along with what has been mentioned before, it instills within the recruit an understanding of the importance of team- work in joint tasks and the responsibility of the individual toward his shipmates and ship.
Success within the Navy is measured in terms of advancement. Included in the objectives of indoctrination then is the development of a de- sire for self-improvement and advancement.
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Indoctrination is more a mental than a physical process and so the U. S. Navy goes one step further in ensuring that its sailors are the best prepared, mentally as well as physically. It strives to impress upon the recruit the fact that as a member of the military, he is now a sailor-citizen. With this in mind an attempt is made to inculcate an understanding and appre- ciation of the fundamental workings of democ- racy, the Navy's place in our democracy, and the American way of life.
INATION
Admiral Carney, Chief of Naval Operations has said, " ... the ultimate objective of the Navy is to prepare its forces for combat and by the same token, prepare officers to lead those forces in combat and prepare the troops -bluejackets-to do a resolute, discliplined, and successful job under the stress of combat." With regard to the bluejacket, the achieving of these objectives begins with indoctrination in the recruit training command.
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ORDNANCE & GUNNERY
Among the many varied operations ex- pccted of a ship at sea, perhaps the primary function of its existence is to be able to protect its country by virtue of possessing superior firepower. But having the guns is only half of the job . . . the other half involves providing highly trained men to operate the weapons.
The Ordnance and Gunnery Division presents to the recruit a series of classes which attempt to introduce the general types of ordnance equipment utilized in the Navy.
The recruit spends most of his time with his rifle. After becoming familiar with the feel and weight of it, he is instructed in the principles of operation. He learns to hold it, aim it, and fire it most effectively. He is introduced to the various small arms he will most likely encounter during his serv- ice years, i.e., the Garand M-1, the Brown- ing Automatic Rifle, and the Thompson Sub-Machine Gun.
His instruction also includes a series of lectures and demonstrations designed to familiarize him with the various types of ammunition and how to identify one type from another. Along this same line he is provided with some practical experience in the loading and firing operation of the 40MM and the 5"/38 guns. Although the ammunition used is of the dummy type, being completely harmless, still speed, thor- oughness, and safety factors are stressed as if the crew were performing under bat- the conditions.
When the recruit leaves the Command and reports aboard his first ship for duty he is assigned to a battle station, and more than likely that involves one of the gun crew billets. Through shipboard practice at drills he becomes increasingly proficient at his job, but without the preliminary training he received while a recruit, the period of learning this job would be in- creased and the efficiency of shipboard op- eration impaired.
In keeping with the highest scholastic standards of the Navy, the recruit has been exposed to a course of study in which the most modern teaching techniques and train- ing aids were employed. He has seen movies, charts and slides. He has seen the actual guns and ammunition and he has had the opportunity to apply this knowledge in the actual loading and firing drills. He has gained the confidence and pride that accompanies mastery of a particular task and we too share in his pride. We're proud to see the recruit learning to do a job well. taking his place in the ranks as one of our MEN OF THE NAVY.
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SEAMANSHIP
SEAMANSHIP
To men who will "go down to the sea in ships" a knowledge of basic seamanship is fundamental. Although some seamanship skills can be mastered only from long experience at sea, the foundations upon which these skills are based form an important part of recruit training. Emphasis here is placed upon teaching the recruit the language of the sea and the names and uses of the tools of his new trade.
Among the subjects taught to the recruit are marlinspike sea- manship and knot tying, steering and sounding, anchoring and mooring, and the recognition of various types of ships, their characteristics and structures. He learns the principles of ship- board organization and something of the role he will later play as a member of his ship's company. He receives practical instruc- tion in the use of the sound-powered telephones by means of which personnel stationed in various parts of his ship may communicate with each other.
By the time he completes recruit training the recruit will have learned many of the fundamentals of seamanship which will stand him in good stead on board ship.
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DAMAGE CONTROL
DAMAGE CONTROL
The purpose of the program of instruction at the Damage Control Training Unit is to teach the recruit the basic principles of shipboard damage control. The teaching of these basic principles is divided into two main topics. (1) How to fight fire. (2) How to defend effectively against Atomic, Biological, and Chemical Warfare.
The program is set up in such a way as to accomplish the following specific objectives: (1) Remove unwarranted fear of fire. (2) Develop a feeling of confidence within each recruit, in his ability to conquer fire. (3) Provide actual experience in the basic procedures of fighting shipboard-type fires. (4) Acquaint each recruit with the individual protective measures to be taken in the event of an Atomic, Biological, or Chemical Warfare attack.
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