Middies to Be Ensigns June 1

The status of 180 Midshipmen at the Navy Supply Corps School was clarified this week by Lieutenant Commander Ernest C. Collins administrative head of the Midshipman School.

As indicated in the circular letter announcing the course some time ago, Midshipmen will be commissioned as probationary ensigns in the Supply Corps on June 1, "upon successful completion of the first four months course at the Harvard Graduate School of Business."

Although final examinations will end on May 19, the midshipmen will not be given leave until examination papers have been marked, standings posted, and commissions granted. Work for the second semester will begin immediately after examinations and will continue until the two weeks leave begins on June 1.

For precedence purposes, commissions will be dated May 1, "three months after arrival at Harvard," although pay will not be retroactive to that date. Upon completion of the one year course, commissions will be for general service, dating from May 1, 1943. Promotions earned by time in service will be effective only after the whole course is completed. Under the V-7 plan, from which schools the men were chosen, commissions were to have been granted to some on April 7, and to others on April 20.

With regard to academic standards of the Midshipman School, Commander Collins said, "There are no rules on how many courses you must pass. Each case will be considered on its own merit, on the qualifications of the individual. The question is "How high can we raise Harvard's standard!" rather than "How low can we go without failing out!"

Students who do not complete the course for academic reasons may be considered for transfer to another classification of the Naval Reserve for which they are round qualified. Such transfers will be made by Bureau of Naval Presonnel.

Disappointing to many men was the announcement that for at least the first eight months of the year course they will not be permitted to live off the station as had been hoped. Neither can the 50 mile radius limit on travel be extended. However, more liberty off the station can be expected and Mr. Collins indicated that, through the efforts of Mrs. Elisabeth S. White of Harvard Committee on Relations with Wartime Personnel, accommodations will be ready for officers' wives when classes resume on June 14th. He also urged that midshipmen apply now for National Service Insurance, since cash will be made available for premiums, in place of allotments which cannot as yet be made.

Turning to the purpose of the Midshipman course, Commander Collins said that it is designed to produce a thoroughly indoctrinated Naval Supply officer, by teaching the Why's and How's of industry, food and commodities distribution and supply, and government relations with business. He expressed the hope that many of the men present would choose the Navy as a permanent career.

Some reconstruction work will be in store for Naval Supply officers, but the men were advised to "get the South Seas coconuts out of your hair, since you are here to learn your duties as general supply and disbursing officers, and not to become "form filler outers" or island chieftains."

Harvard will not grant a degree to the midshipmen-officers, but certificates indicating successful completion of the course will be given at the end of the year