Stories of the ShipsFreeman, Lewis R. (Lewis Ransome)
History
Stories of the Ships
Freeman, Lewis R. (Lewis Ransome)
World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations
Of the training of the cadets in the British and American naval
institutions, only the briefest comparison is possible here. On the
physical side there is very little difference, both giving the greatest
encouragement to outdoor exercise and bodily development. Each pays
equal attention to aquatics--rowing, swimming, and sailing--and American
football gives the Annapolis cadet the same vigorous, manly training as
"rugger" does those of Osborne and Dartmouth. Baseball and cricket are
more or less in the same class.
On the technical side there was also a good deal of similarity in the
training, though it seems probable that the "specialisation," which is
the principal differentiation between the British and American Naval
Officer (who is given an "all-round" preparation), is being given more
and more attention in the British schools as the necessity of turning
out officers rapidly has increased during the war. The fact that it
is the British rather than the American officer who is trained as a
"specialist" presents a curious anomaly, for, generally speaking,
the United States is, of all the nations in the world, the one where
specialisation is carried to the greatest length. Yet the fact remains
that it has always been the American practice not only to train the
naval cadet so that he is competent ultimately to perform the duties
of any officer on any ship of the Navy, but actually to require him
to serve several years in each of such various capacities as engineer,
navigator, gunnery, or torpedo officer.
This system gives the officer who has been "through the mill" an
incomparable experience by the time he attains his captaincy, but the
number of good men (who might have made most excellent specialists)
who "fell by the wayside" because they were not able to stand the pace
for qualifying for so great a range of duties makes one doubt if it is
practicable for any nation situated otherwise than was the United States
up to its entry into the present war--that is, with a huge population
and a modest navy. With the development of the modern man-of-war, the
increasing mastery of technical detail which such duties of those of
torpedo or gunnery officer entail would seem to make it inevitable
that such officers should not be required to divert their attention or
energies to anything else. This fact we may confidently expect to see
reflected both in the training of the cadet at Annapolis and in American
naval practice before very long--perhaps even during the war.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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