Sword or Mop?

The Army and Navy, matched in a highly competitive recruiting race, are constantly thinking up new schemes to snare manpower away from each other. The most recent Navy plan, which probably came as quite a blow to many an Army officer, is the V-1 training program which permits qualified men to attend at least two years of college before they go into active service, with the added possibility of finishing college if they transfer to V-7 in their Junior year. The Navy is providing for an enlistment under V-1 of up to 80,000 men a year. From these, approximately 20,000 men will be transferred to aviation cadet flight training, V-5, and 15,000 to V-7. The other 45,000 who enlisted in V-1 and who fail to pass either the scholastic or physical examination will have no choice but to go into active service in an enlisted status, with little hope of ever getting a commission.

Thus from one point of view, V-1 is a fine plan to give young men two years of higher education free from the spectre of the draft, as well as a chance to become an officer. From the Navy's angle, it's an assurance of securing up to 80,000 more men a year, which is presumably all they will need annually for a while. But the unsuspecting student who thinks V-1 means a sure thing commission may end up swabbing the decks for the duration unless he knew what he was doing when he signed up.

He is assured "two calendar years" of college, according to the Navy Department pamphlet describing V-1. But the program was primarily designed for colleges which have as yet no accelerated schedules in order to give men four terms of study. It is entirely possible, therefore, that a Harvard V-1 enrollee might be called for active service after only four terms instead of the six which he could crowd into two years by accelerating. Another pitfall is that only 35,000 of those who enlist each year are going to get commissions under present plans. The Navy will probably grade the examinations on a sliding scale, and many potential officers may be left out. There is no alternative for them. They go into the Navy as gobs. Still a further contingency, which students considering V-1 should be aware of, is that physical requirements for V-1 are not as strict as for V-5 or V-7. Five feet two inches and 100 pounds will admit you as an Apprentice Seaman, but it won't let you be a deck lieutenant or a pilot. Minimum weight for V-7 is 132 pounds, minimum height is five feet five and a half. Even eye standards are reduced for seaman, and accordingly for V-1 registrants.

So if you like the idea of being an officer in the Navy, V-1 provides the machinery. But read the requirements carefully, be pretty sure of your ability to pass both examinations, and think the whole thing over, or else you may find yourself in the foc'sle instead of on the quarter deck.