Navy officer

“ Intensive training of all officers is being conducted in the fleet with the purpose of preparing them to assume the duties of positions of higher responsibility which they must immediately occupy in the event of the fleet being mobilized, and some progress has been made on plans to train in peace time the abundant and excellent naval officer material to be found in the colleges and elsewhere throughout the country. ”

“ I believe there are few exceptions to this rule; and I think it may be observed, that, in the navy, precisely as an officer rises in the service, so his means of travelling to good purpose are improved likewise. As he advances in rank, his introductions to society become more easy and extensive, and his facilities for seeing strange things are multiplied at every step, till at length, when he arrives at the command of a ship, he finds himself in one of the most agreeable situations, perhaps, that the nature of things admits of, for viewing the world to advantage. ”

“ After this, by order of the officer of the deck, silence reigns. At a word from the commander the senior lieutenant begins to read the articles of war, and as he does so all heads are uncovered. Simple yet eloquent is this expression of the faith in [Pg 79] which every naval officer must live. "The commanders of all fleets, squadrons, naval stations and vessels belonging to the navy," runs the wording of the first article, "are required to show in themselves a good example of virtue, honor, patriotism and subordination." ”

“ He is a representative young naval officer, proud of the history and traditions of the navy, thoroughly equipped by highly specialized training for the work in hand, high-spirited and yet recognizing that the high order of ability and daring found in the personnel of the navy can only be made available to the nation's service by discipline. ”

“ For these services the United States naval commander-in-chief received the thanks of the Panama Railroad Company, the several Pacific Mail Steamship Companies, and all the consuls and foreign merchants.
These are a few instances of which the writer is cognizant of what the navy does in time of peace. Scarcely a naval officer of moderate experience and length of service but has witnessed similar scenes in different parts of the world. They do not attract the attention of the public, and naval officers are not apt to blow their own trumpets.—March 13, 1884. ”

“ Always obey the command of an officer; bear that in mind, young men. No matter if it does mean getting an associate into trouble. Your officers will never make a request of you that is not for the good of the service. You are well fitted for the duties that are before you. Be obedient, courteous and willing. Never allow soreheads—‘sea lawyers’ we call them on board ship—to make you discontented on board. Remember that there is no more honorable calling in the 98 world than that which you have chosen. See that you do honor to it.”
“We shall try, sir.” ”

“ You can hardly find a finer, keener, better-trained bunch of men anywhere than the officers of our navy, but the profession has grown so complex and the duties to be learned so manifold that it takes an exceptional man to grasp all the possibilities science has developed and to see them in a proper perspective. The average naval officer takes far more interest in ordnance and gunnery than he does in communications. ”

“ An American naval officer protects an American citizen—protects even his own shipmates—from insult at the hands of a foreign official at his peril. When an American naval officer raises his sword between even the most contemptible of foreign officials and one who wears the American uniform the shadow of “the Foxardo affair,” and of a long train of similar affairs, comes upon him to relax his grasp.
Captain Lewis Warrington having succeeded Porter, he found the work almost completed. ”

“ At the Admiralty the principal naval member of the Board is made responsible not only for the distribution and movements of ships—a definition which includes the whole domain of strategy and tactics —but also for the fighting and sea-going efficiency of the fleet, its organisation and mobilisation, a definition so wide that it includes the greater part of the administration of the navy, especially as the same officer is held responsible for advice on all large questions of naval policy and maritime warfare, as well as for the control of the naval ordnance department. ”

“ As Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, the officer holding the combined offices as herein provided shall have supreme command of the operating forces comprising the several fleets, seagoing forces, and sea frontier forces of the United States Navy and shall be directly responsible, under the general direction of the Secretary of the Navy, to the President therefor. ”

“ When the individuals of the guns' crews have become expert in the performance of their particular duties, then each man shall be instructed by the officer of his division, until he shall have become acquainted with the special duties of every station at the gun. ”

“ He told us that by the Navy Regulations he was instructed, as our commanding officer, to keep up, in such sad conditions as we were thrown into, the organization and discipline of the Service so far as applicable; that he would in the event of our rescue [29] (which we should all hope for and look forward to) be held responsible for the proper administration of law and order; that officers and crew should fare alike on our scanty store of food, and that with care we should probably make out, with the help of seal meat and birds, a reduced ration for some little time. ”

“ An admiral of any grade, when appointed as the commander-in-chief of a fleet or squadron, is authorized to nominate to the Navy Department an officer not below the grade of a commander to serve as the head of his staff, or as the captain of the fleet, and to be borne on the books of the vessel carrying his flag in addition to her established complement. ”

“ Send Hickey to-morrow.”
“Very good, sir.”
“I would rather have my own boys act as my orderlies than have the marines do it.”
The captain’s orderly is supposed to stand outside the captain’s door at all times while the commanding officer is in his quarters. When the captain moves to any other part of the ship his orderly follows at a respectful distance, so as to be on hand to carry orders and to perform such other small duties as the captain may command. It is considered an honor to be chosen for the duty. ”

“ I aver, and I shall die in this opinion, that no man that is an officer, who knows his duty, will make the signal for line abreast to steer down upon an enemy, until the fleet has been stretched and extended in a line of battle, according to the 19th Article of the Fighting Instructions. ”

“ Now, no study of naval strategy can be thoroughly satisfactory to a naval officer unless it assists him practically to decide what should be done in order to make the naval forces of his country, including himself, better in whatever will conduce to victory in the next war. ”

“ The sphere of influence of the British Navy comprising as it does the waters of the entire globe, it follows that the average naval officer comes into contact with all sorts and conditions of men; and if he uses his opportunities he will inevitably become a rare judge of human character. He will tend to range men in groups whether they be his own officers or men, or persons of every race and grade of society with whom he comes into contact. ”

“ CASUALTIES OF NAVAL PERSONNEL.
Of the 60 naval medical officers, 12 naval dental officers, and 500 enlisted men of the Medical Corps of the Navy serving with the Marines in the American Expeditionary Force, 1 commissioned officer, and 12 enlisted men were killed; 8 commissioned officers and 101 enlisted men were wounded or gassed. ”

“ As soon as the crew is received on board the vessel, he shall cause a fire-bill to be prepared, the crew shown their stations, and see that they are duly stationed at quarters for battle (See Articles 78 to 103) , and exercised at general quarters, and by divisions, particularly the powder division (See Articles 180 to 201) , until each officer and man is thoroughly instructed in his duties; after which the exercises are to be frequent during the cruise. Exercises which are short and spirited are preferable to those which are long and fatiguing. ”

“ But in the royal ships the supreme command was always in the hands of a military officer, till the successes gained by the privately-equipped ships commanded by men like Drake and Frobisher introduced a new type of distinctly naval officer. But he did not supersede the military ship-commander much before the time of William III. Up to that time ships seem to have had sometimes a soldier, like Blake, in command and sometimes a sailor, like Sir George Rooke and others. ”

“ Because I am being trained to be an officer in the Navy. An officer must be a gentleman as well. Any charge affecting a Naval officer's honor or courtesy must be investigated, in order that the government may know whether the accused is fit to hold an officer's commission. ”

“ In January, 1780, Congress on the recommendation of the Board of Admiralty passed a resolution which was no doubt in harmony with administrative economy and thrift, but which pressed hard upon many naval officers. The pay of all officers in the navy not in actual service was at once to cease. Their commissions were to be deposited with the most convenient Navy Board, until the officers should be again called into service; each officer was to retain his rank. ”

“ There can be no impropriety, however, in making the general statement that in all navies the endeavor is made to keep the mobilization plans continually up to date, and to have them prepared in such detail that every officer and enlisted man in active service, the retired list, the naval reserve, and the naval militia, will become instantly available for a predetermined duty, and that every shore station and every necessary vessel will be ready to take part. ”

“ All the Division Officers on the spar-deck shall be First Boarders, except the officer commanding the quarter-deck division, who shall lead the Pikemen. On gun-decks the officer commanding the second division shall be a First Boarder; the commanding officers of the other divisions shall be Second Boarders. If there are two officers in any division, the second shall lead those Boarders who do not go with his principal. A Lieutenant or other responsible officer should be detailed to command the gun-deck in the absence of the boarders and pikemen. ”

“ Young men, that is the kind of man the United States Navy wants—men who will obey orders, who will carry them out, no matter what may happen; who will do their full duty as long as there is a breath left in them. Quartermaster, are there any marks against this boy?”
The petty officer consulted the records.
“No, sir. He has been here a very short time, sir, hardly long enough to get any.”
“Very good. You will see to it that his name is placed on record and read out in General Orders. Hickey, you will be appointed apprentice gunner’s mate, your promotion to take effect immediately. ”

“ In some sort he occupies a similar position to the old sailing-masters in the days when ships were commanded by soldiers. The ship couldn't get along without the special engineering knowledge of this officer and his understudies any more than William the Conqueror could have got across Channel without Stephen FitzErard, his sailing-master.
We may note, in passing, that to this day the executive ranks of the navy always call themselves the "military branch". They are, of course, the "militant" branch, though in one sense no one on board a ship in action can help being a militant too. ”

“ In Japan the minister of marine is by law a naval officer, and under him is a chief of staff, also a naval officer. The minister of marine has the direction of the navy as a whole, but the ideas of the chief of staff are supposed to be carried out in matters that are strictly naval. The Japanese naval officer has a higher regard for the office of chief of staff than for that of minister of marine, because it is given for professional excellence only. ”

“ The captain, acting through the helmsman, chief engineer, gunnery officer, and executive officer, can get very excellent information as to what is going on, and can have his orders carried out with very little delay; but the mere space occupied by an army of 870,000 men, and the unavoidable dispersion of its units prevent any such exact control. ”

“ When troops of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps are reviewed by the President of the United States or by any official or officer entitled to review them, they march past the reviewing officer with the bands playing a suitable march, the colors and standards saluting, officers and enlisted men rendering the marching salute and the drummers and buglers sounding the ruffles and flourishes appropriate to the rank of the reviewing officer. ”

“ The organization of the navy is as follows: The Navy Department, which consists of the office of the Secretary of the Navy and its various bureaus, and the officers of the navy, consisting of officers of the navy, officers of the marine corps, and warrant officers, besides volunteer and acting volunteer officers, these two last being new grades. There is no list of petty officers and seamen published in the Register, these being simply kept on the unpublished rolls, kept in the office of the Secretary of the Navy. ”

“ In lat 18° 35′ N., long. 30° 10′ W., sea account, at 8 o’clock in the morning, discovered a strange sail giving chase to us, and fired several guns; she gaining very fast. At half-past 10 o’clock hove to, and was boarded by an officer dressed in an English doctor’s uniform, the vessel also hoisted an English ensign. The officer proceeded to examine my ship’s papers, &c., &c., likewise the letter bags, and took from one of them a letter to the victualling office, London. Finding I had two American officers as passengers, he immediately left the ship, and went on board the sloop-of-war ”