OFFICERS FOR THE NAVY

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXII, Issue LXII, 18 May 1912, Page 5

OFFICERS FOR THE NAVY

Much is written in these days of the increase in the number and size of British warships, and the power of British guns, but little is said about the supply of men to man those ships and work those guns. Seamen can be obtained easily, but it is different with officers. The increase in the number of ships necessitated by the German programme, has forced the Admiralty to go to a' new source of supply for officers to man them —the lower deck. A skilled rating of the lower deck can be produced in live or six years, but it takes a longer time to produce a trained officer. The Admiralty could, of course, meet the shortage in officers by admitting more cadets to Osborne and Dartmouth, but there is a great objection to such a course; the Navy could not offer a sufficient flow of promotion to the higher ranks to keep alive that spirit of emulation and ambition upon which the efficiency of the service so largely depends. There is a danger of creating a "bottle-neck" in the higher ranks, which would be injurious to the fighting value of the fleet. The Admiralty, therefore, are going to the lower deck for officers. There will, in future, be a long career open to the most ambitious and capable men of the lower deck, who now undergo a very thorough training. Those who develop unusual qualities at an early age may hope to obtain early promotion to the rank of warrant officer, and thence, passing upwards, become lieutenants. The rank of commander is the limit to which they may ascend. The Navy will get officers without a block in promotion to the higher ranks being caused, and any youngster who enters the Navy with nothing but the clothers he stands up in will have before him the goal of executive rank.