USA > New York > Bronx County > Navy service : a short history of the United States Naval Training School (WR) Bronx, New York > Part 4
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Recruit watch, which is now instructed by the Master-at-Arms, has undergone a transformation, too. Mates of the Deck, comprising four watches in each 24-hour period, formerly swabbed decks, delivered mail and piped messages. Each watch was completed by a quartermaster and two messengers. At present, four recruits stand watch in each barracks for a four-hour period - the Quartermaster, the Aide to the Master-at-Arms, and two Security Watches who make regular tours of the barracks.
Full recognition of Specialist (S) ability has justified the responsibility entrusted to them. Brigade hopes ultimately that just one Company Com- mander and six Specialists (S) will be necessary to a barracks. Night building watches, which have been stood by officers, will eventually be stood by enlisted personnel. Early experiments with petty officer watch failed not because of incompetent enlisted personnel, but because of insufficient experience, which has been remedied with time.
On the second anniversary of the Women's Reserve, 54 officers and 142 Specialists (S) are on the Brigade muster, a reversal of the two-to-one ratio topheavy with officers last year - a tribute to the well-laid plans of organization which have materialized according to schedule.
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Logging into Armory.
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€
0
Assigned to Billet.
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WAVES
"Navy Nylons."
bell
SNAVY
Quartermaster Watch in Barracks.
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C
Inspecting Party Comes Aboard.
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Captain's Inspection.
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Passing the Scuttlebutt in Barracks.
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Homework.
U. S. AYY
U. S. NAVY
U. S. NAVY
Stowing Gear.
MONDAT SEPTEMBER 70 1943
THE WAR FRONTS
Learning to Salute.
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Officer's Front and Center (Marines and Spars).
A M
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Passing in Review.
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Reviewing Party Arrives.
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Color Company.
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Back to Barracks.
Parade Rest!
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Eyes Right!
Summer Reviewing Party.
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Commanding Officer and Commandant of Seaman Come to Captain Amsden's Birthday Review.
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Review Field.
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Band at Review.
عرض الد
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Section Marching to Class.
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Section Drilling.
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Fire Drill.
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Leaving Review Field.
Review "on the beach."
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THE BY
Color Guard En Route to Review.
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.....
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Summer Review.
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L
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Summer "Boots" Pass in Review.
USN
Piping Ashore.
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Marching Down the Field.
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Officers' Salute, Front and Center.
Wave Drum and Bugle Corps.
Around the Bend.
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Colors in the Breeze.
Returning to Barracks.
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Inspection Before Shoving Off.
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Goodbye to "Boot" Days.
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DRILL OFFICER
T EACHING recruits to respond to orders quickly, unhesitatingly and accurately, drill is an important part of any military training. The Drill Office at the U. S. Naval Training School (WR), The Bronx, New York, is responsible for instructing petty officers in drilling and giving military commands, supervising recruit drill, establishing drill policies to maintain uniformity throughout the station, and planning Regimental Reviews and review practices.
Before Waves had acquired the necessary experience for drilling re- cruits, Navy men were in charge of all drill at this school. In the early days of the "U.S.S. Hunter," Lieutenant (junior grade) Albert Frost was Drill Officer, and male Chief Petty Officers drilled the Wave "boots." Mr. Frost was assisted by Lieutenant Margaret E. Kuechle until she was appointed Brigade Executive Officer and Lieutenant (jg) Elizabeth Bogart became Assistant Drill Officer.
The first Regimental Reviews were held on the street by the reservoir, with recruits marching in platoon front formation and section leaders giving them the command "Eyes - Right!" In the Spring of 1943, the site of the reviews moved to the present Drill Field, facing Jerome Avenue, and the organization of the review changed to company mass formation. The change in formation for Regimental Review necessitated intensified drill and review practice, as the company mass formation requires the sections closely welded into a compact marching unit.
When the complement was increased from two regiments to three in September, the Regimental Review plan had to be changed to include two regiments. The company formation was retained, and the senior regiment was stationed on the right side of the field, with the junior regiment on the left, the color guard separating the two.
Lieutenant (jg) Mildred B. Emmelhainz (then Ensign) replaced Mr. Frost in January 1944, as Drill Officer. Wave officers and Specialists (S) had replaced the male Chief Petty Officers in August, and several months later even the bugle calls at reviews were sounded by a Wave bugler - Specialist (S) 3c Vera Watts.
In addition to drill and Regimental Reviews, the Drill Officer selects companies of recruits to take part in special events, such as parades and ceremonies. She selects and supervises the guard of the day, the sideboys and specialists serving as boatswains when honors are rendered a visiting flag officer.
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TRAINING OFFICE
T RAINING is the purpose for which this activity exists, and it has come a long way since the days when the first Training Office was established under Lieutenant Robert W. Percy, USNR, who was, at the same time, Aide to the Executive Officer and Communications Officer.
To avoid duplicating male "boot" training, which is preparation for sea duty, Training was set up similar to that at the Naval Reserve Mid- shipmen's School (WR), Northampton, Massachusetts, but this was still found to be unsatisfactory for the training of enlisted personnel.
There were only three Training activities at first: Physical Education, Instruction and Training Films. Then Training, as a department, was abolished in May, 1943, and Planning and Scheduling took over the work under the Commandant of Seamen and the Executive Officer.
On 5 January 1943, the Training Office was reestablished with Lieu- tenant Mary Bowman as office head, operating under the Commandant of Seamen and with the Brigade Commander. The office now embraces Plan- ning, Scheduling, Instruction, Physical Education, Training Films, Special Devices and War Orientation.
It is the activities under Training rather than Training itself which have changed. Training is set up to integrate the activities and to make changes according to the needs of the station. Under the January 5th reorganization, Special Devices had assumed enough importance to be an office in itself, and War Orientation was launched by sending Lieutenant (jg) Florence K. Stannert to Washington to take the course.
Training films have shifted as new films were issued and new uses for women in the Navy were discovered. The films coordinate with other phases of training, as in the showing of "The Nazi Strike" which ties up with the European Conflict lecture in War Orientation.
In Instruction, Ships and Aircraft, Naval Organization and Naval Personnel were the only subjects taught until Lieutenant Reynard intro- duced the Special Devices program and advanced recruit training program, and Lieutenant Harris drew up the basic instruction course.
The Training Aids Workshop is Training's newest acquisition, and so far it is popular beyond even its capacity to meet the demands upon it. Material for bulletin boards in smokers, aids for Specialists (T) in Instruc- tion, the new West Lounge murals depicting uniforms of different nations all come from the Workshop where Specialist (X) (VA) 3c Benscoter and her experienced crew turn out the material.
To insure that the over-all program is balanced and working toward a common purpose is the major job of the Training Office.
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Training Aids Workshop.
CORNING KANT OR
BOLD 10 SALUT
Profilm Cutting for Silk Screen Process Reproduction.
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INSTRUCTION*
T HE problem of the Instruction Department, since its beginning days under Lieutenant Edward D. Homans, USNR, has been one of adapting the Navy training program to the Women's Reserve enlisted per- sonnel. A duplication of male "boot" school was not the answer, nor was an abbreviated officers' training school course. With no parallel set-up to copy, the U. S. Naval Training School (WR) has succeeded first under Lieutenant Elizabeth Reynard, who was Instruction Officer after the detachment in July, 1943, of Lieutenant Homans and from October, 1943, under Lieutenant Mary Virginia Harris who followed as Instruction Officer, in gearing Instruction directly to the needs of enlisted personnel by laying a thorough Navy foundation for the recruit to rely upon wherever she is assigned to duty and in whatever job she is called upon to do.
When Lieutenant Reynard became Instruction Officer she saw, as one of the greatest needs of Instruction, a standardized method of evaluating the learning progress of recruits while in Instruction. Accordingly, she secured from the Bureau of Personnel in Washington, permission to record a grade in the recruits' service records. A program to develop a standardized test was begun, and since the 12th regiment approximately 50,000 trainees have been tested.
Probably Miss Reynard's most valuable contribution to Wave training was the widespread utilization of visual training aids which grew to such proportions that she was soon obliged to devote all her time to the expan- sion of that phase of the training program. Lieutenant Harris was then assigned to duty as Instruction Officer, and Lieutenant Reynard became Special Assistant to the Commanding Officer.
Lieutenant Harris had drawn up shortly after her attachment to this station on 2 July 1943, plans for a basic course of 12 lessons, to fill the needs of enlisted women personnel working in the shore establishments. Previous to the introduction of this basic course, the program had not shaken down sufficiently for recruits to get their scheduled hours of Instruc- tion or even a desirable amount of classes. One company had gone through "boot" training with only four hours in the classrooms. The basic course was designed to insure that recruits learned the most important subjects, regardless of the hours of Instruction that they had or how much more information they had time to acquire. After its adoption, practically no classes were missed, and the utilization of Instruction officers as watch
* The Instruction Office as an office has been abolished and the following offices established in its place - Basic Orientation, Shore Establishments, Fleet Training, Aviation Training and Naval History.
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officers in barracks and their attendance at company meetings increased the services of the Instruction Department.
Instruction, staffed entirely by Women's Reserve personnel, at the "U.S.S. Hunter" is not an attempt to teach any special skills. It is a com- plete background in Navy routine. Of the 36 hours of classroom instruction, the first 12 cover basic recruit training : courtesy, law, records, the meaning and necessity of the chain of command, recognition of officers and enlisted personnel in this and other services. Following basic instruction, is the broad picture of the Navy as a whole, its personnel and equipment, ships and planes, its traditions and customs; all designed to help develop under- standing, appreciation and pride in the service.
Recruits learn their duty to the Navy in regard to work, liberty and leave. They get a picture of the Naval shore establishments, Naval districts and the types of activities to which they might be sent. They learn the importance of security in relation to the Navy as a whole and the meaning of security in a shore job. Upon the request of other activities and the knowledge that women have lower arithmetic scores than men, a two hour refresher course in arithmetic was introduced which raises the average recruit's arithmetical grade by 15%. While the recruits are seeing the Navy gas mask, both combatant and non-combatant, they are also learning to follow directions and to care for materials and tools. They learn the mean- ings and uses of different types of gas, and although the school is not equipped with a gas chamber, they get the information through movies and the use of visual material including sniff bottles.
A 45-minute test, composed of 90 multiple-choice questions, sums up the course. The test grade is correlated with the General Classification Test grade, and although no one fails because of her mark, the test is a measure of the recruits' progress in instruction.
In addition to the 36 classroom hours, every recruit has five hours of War Orientation, ten hours of training films, and two hours of Selection Orientation in Special Devices.
The use of visual equipment, brought about largely through the fore- sight of Lieutenant Reynard, has greatly facilitated the rapid training of recruits on a high level; and the quantity, quality and use of such equipment aboard the "U.S.S. Hunter" has been the subject of much commendation.
In security lectures, students see blinker lights, signal flags and other methods of Navy communication. These training aids are in addition to the Special Devices - Link Trainers, model Control Tower, JamHandy, Aerology and Parachute Equipment - that come under the Special Devices Officer, Lieutenant (jg) Eleanor Hyde.
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Training of Specialists (T) was recommended by Lieutenant Harris when officer instructors began to be detached at frequent intervals, owing to the many demands for officer personnel at other shore establishments. With the assistance of the Selection Department, qualified enlisted women were chosen for training, and a formal 4-week program was instituted to train the first class of 11 Specialists (T). Since the first class was trained, Specialists (T) have struck for the rating on the job.
The training of Specialists (T) is the culmination of another step in the plan to have enlisted training conform as nearly as possible to men's recruit training in which Petty Officers and Chief Petty Officers largely take over the job of teaching enlisted recruits. The ratio of Specialists (T) to officer instructors is growing larger rapidly, as their training on the job progresses.
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Each Square a Class.
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Planes Class.
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Rating Charts for Basic Instruction.
ORGANIZATION USS HUNTER
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COMMANDING OFFICER
Station Organization.
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U.S. NAVY
Taking Notes.
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Lecture.
1
USN
SCHOONER 'BLUENOSE' Ship Models.
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Specialists (T) Try Chemical Warfare.
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AVY
Hrl
Ship's Lantern.
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Harbor and Convoy Model.
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Airplane Identification.
FUREUNION LA
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Ship's .Lecture.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION OFFICE
AS S originally set up, the physical education program of the U. S. Naval Training School (WR), Bronx, New York, was designed to promote and maintain physical fitness among all apprentice seamen assigned to this activity. Physical training is required at all training activities of the Women's Reserve as an integral part of the "over-all training program" in accordance with standard curricula and policies determined by the Bureau of Personnel. To fulfill the physical fitness needs of enlisted personnel a program was set up to stress increase in endurance, strength, agility and better ccordination, and at the same time include activities of a relaxing and recreational nature. Activities designed to promote relaxation and to give the seamen an opportunity to "let off steam" became a function of this department since many hours of the training school day had to be spent in more formal group work.
To improve posture became one of the prime objectives of the program since good posture so definitely contributes to smartness in military bear- ing, to poise and assurance, as well as to correct alignment of the internal organs. In connection with the posture program all Brigade Officers and petty officers cooperated with the Physical Education Office by attending meetings and demonstration lessons in which posture was analyzed and possible teaching approaches discussed so that the Brigade Officers could work on posture with their troops during the drill period at the barracks.
This recruit training program consists of a variety of vigorous activities, conditioning exercises, special corrective classes for those seamen with out- standing poor posture, and games. It has been possible to offer swimming to approximately 14% of the recruits in each regiment, and this activity, which is in itself a good conditioner, has proved to be one of the most popular in the program. The swimming program for beginners is designed to teach the fundamentals of swimming so that a seaman can learn to take care of herself in deep water. The advanced swimming course is designed to increase endurance, to teach personal safety, and variations of the pre- viously learned fundamental skills. To date, 3,700 seamen have completed the elementary swimming course, and 2,830 have completed the advanced course. Seven hundred and forty-six of these advanced swimmers have successfully completed the American Red Cross functional swimming test and have been awarded Red Cross certificates. Tennis, softball and volley- ball also have proved to be popular sports at "U.S.S. Hunter."
Each physical education lesson is designed to show continuity and progression from the preceding lesson and to aim toward a final standard of
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accomplishment. In order to measure this standard of accomplishment the recruits are tested on their ability to perform conditioning exercises at the time they enter and at the time they leave the program. The most marked increase shows in endurance.
During recruit training the Physical Education Office is also responsible for one lecture on personal hygiene which is given in conjunction with a Navy personal hygiene film. One officer in this office is also responsible for one lecture to all recruit groups on mental hygiene. These two lectures were originally planned with the approval of the Medical Department.
The gymnasium building contains seven gymnasia, one swimming pool, three locker rooms, and staff offices. Although these facilities are outstand- ing, they are no more than adequate for the number of recruits who use the building each day. The large outdoor drill field is used for classes during the summer. Some Hunter College equipment was taken over by the Navy and since then a large supply of Navy equipment has supplemented the original amount.
The Bureau of Personnel recognized the need for a Physical Main- tenance program to carry on the fitness program initiated in the training school. Such a program giving both instructional and recreational oppor- tunity to Ship's Company has been included. This program was designed to raise the level of physical fitness among the enlisted personnel on active duty to insure a high degree of efficiency on the job. Members of Ship's Company have been given an opportunity to choose the activity in which they wish to participate under instruction. Such activities as softball, bad- minton, tennis, volleyball, swimming, fundamentals of movement and body conditioning exercises have been included. Ship's Company (WR) teams also participate in seasonal sports with other service groups in the district.
Physical Education has also undertaken the job of arranging a recrea- tional program for Women's Reserve and male officers, and opportunities for participation have been given in badminton tournaments, softball tournaments, tennis tournaments, riflery and swimming.
Members of Ship's Company (male) are required to maintain swim- ming ability in order to be better prepared for sea duty. Each male under 45 years of age is required to pass the Standard Navy Swimming Test for Second class once every month.
Physical Education has been given fourteen hours in the Specialist (S) School, and classes are designed to assist the Specialist (S) who may find herself responsible for the physical maintenance program as a regular part of her assigned duty on another station. In this Specialist (S) School recruits are given instruction in physical education activities and have an oppor- 4
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1
tunity to teach under supervision. They are also given materials so that they may become acquainted with the anatomical and physiological back- ground of exercise, posture analysis and teaching points, presentation of body conditioning exercises, emphasis on the lesson planning, and general instructions for setting up tournaments for physical activities of a recrea- tional nature. Since many Specialists (S) assigned to the field have col- lateral duty in physical education, a member of this office works with the Selection Department in interviewing seamen with physical education back- ground who could adequately fill these billets.
The advanced program also contains a unit of work in the Cooks and Bakers School, which consists of twenty-four hours of training in body me- chanics, correct methods of carrying, pushing, and mechanics of movement.
At the beginning of training at the U. S. Naval Training School (WR), the physical education staff consisted of ten officers headed by Lieutenant (then Lieutenant junior grade) Violet C. Boynton. As the school grew in size and the Physical Education Office increased the number of services rendered to the station, the staff was also increased. Following the trend of the training school a gradual shift has been made so that the major amount of teaching within the recruit program is now done by enlisted personnel. In October, 1943, the first petty officers entered the department with the rate of Specialist (S) 3c. The staff at the present time consists of one admin- istrator, Lieutenant (jg) Warrine E. Eastburn, eight officers who teach and carry on additional outside responsibilities, one Specialist (S) 1c, three Specialists (S) 2c, six Specialists (S) 3c and three Seamen 1c. In order to keep the caliber of the teaching at the highest possible level, all petty officers selected to teach in this program are graduates of qualified colleges and universities with a major in Health and Physical Education.
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Since physical education can so largely contribute to the morale of the station, every effort has been made by the Physical Education Office to make the activities enjoyable and to keep course work and facilities attrac- tive to all personnel.
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Outdoor Calisthenics.
Indoor Calisthenics.
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Softball Instruction.
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Medicine Ball.
Tennis Lesson.
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Swim Suit.
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Swimming Lesson.
Diving Lesson Learned.
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AVIATION SPECIAL DEVICES OFFICE
T O assist the Navy in carrying its share of the country's tremendous aviation program, Waves are trained as aviation ground crews and as operators and maintenance crews of the special devices used by the Navy for the instruction of pilots, navigators, bombardiers and aerial gun- ners. Waves are also trained to operate the Navy's weather prediction devices, the communications devices in Naval Control Towers and to pack and rig parachutes.
Accordingly, one of the greatest contributions to the training program at the U. S. Naval Training School (WR) are the Special Training Devices provided by the Bureau of Aeronautics and operated by the Aviation Train- ing Officer and her crew of Specialists. Under the supervision of the Selection Department, recruits see these devices in operation, and so when they make their requests for Service Training, they have a realistic acquaintance with the tools of the Naval Aviation jobs for which they apply.
Personnel from Floyd Bennett Field, Long Island, and Special Devices, One Park Avenue, New York, installed the devices and assist in their maintenance. The principal equipment for this program includes: an air- plane engine and complete kit of tools; two Link Trainers (one for advanced aviation instruction); an aerological thermoscreen and supply of weather forecasting instruments, including a theodolite; Aerial Gunnery Device (JamHandy, 3-A2 Trainer); parachute packing table and tools; safety devices for survival on sea and land; model control tower, Mirrophone, airplane identification equipment; automatic rating machines and visual quizzers for testing Naval information.
In addition to the Selection lectures and the Training lectures in which the devices are used to illustrate Naval Air terminology and the funda- mentals of air warfare, officers, Ship's Company and recruits have an opportunity, as part of the Recreation program, to ride in the Link Trainer, shoot the aerial gun, handle parachute equipment, study the aerological instruments and improve their speaking voices by Mirrophone auditions.
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U.S. NAVY
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NAVY
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Link Trainer.
Model Airplane.
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rezing Live
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Theodolite - Aerologist's Device.
-Italian
U.º NA
Mask
E
Jap?
Gas Mask.
Jamhandy.
Parachute.
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U.S.
Voice Recorders.
Question and Answer Game on the Navy.
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TRAINING FILMS OFFICE
W HEN the present Training Films Officer, Lieutenant (then Lieu- tenant junior grade) Katherine Davis, arrived on 10 February 1943 at the U. S. Naval Training School (WR), she was assigned to the Selection Department. It was the Selection Officer, Lieutenant Ewald B. Nyquist who, three days before Regiment I was expected, realized her enthusiasm for the use of Visual Aids in training recruits and suggested that she be made Visual Aids Officer at this activity. Accordingly, she was assigned to head a Visual Aids Office 15 February.
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