Midway (CVA 41) - Naval Cruise Book

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Lcdr. F. S. Kolbek X Division Officer or (5 IT - OcBEFORfyS? EXCEPT AFTER The list of duties performed in X Division reads like the directory of a small office building. It includes counseling service on everything from insurance to character guidance. X Division also houses facilities and personnel which conceive, write, print and distribute all of the complicated forms that keep the mighty ship functioning. Also included are such special services as the post office, one of Midway ' s biggest morale factors, and the athletic gear locker which maintains and dis- tributes sporting equipment to the crew. The words Administrative Department and X Division are so closely related that they are normally used interchangeably. In reality, the only difference is that the Administrative Department is headed by Cdr. W. L. Adams, the Executive Officer, and concerns itself with the primary duties of command and morale. The Divi- sion (called X for the unknown quantity) is headed by Lcdr. F. S. Kolbek and is concerned with the routine shipboard duties of keeping spaces clean, filling General Quarters Billets, maintaining discipline, etc. The splitting of the two is necessary to prevent confusion when submitting reports (just as it is necessary in Medical, Dental and Navigation— the other one division departments) . Special Services Someone long experienced a moment of truth and invented the name Special Services. This is the only term which can adequately describe the duties performed by a handful of men in an office the size of a large closet. The ship ' s radio station, popcorn sales, athletic gear locker, hobby shop, stage shows, movies, parties, etc. all originate somewhere in the Special Services organization. (STANDING): Hawkins, D. 1 Egg. D. W. Stanley. R. D. . ; (SITTING); Thornton. J. K Crowder. B. W.

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Cdr. W. L. Adams Cdr. W. L. Adams, whose biography appears on page 143, has a dual role aboard. His main job, and the one he is known for, is that of Executive Officer. But behind this job is the duty of Ad- ministrative Department Head. Cdr. Adams must control a staff of nearly 100 men whose duty is to aid him in pushing the paper which is so necessary in the modern Navy. administration DEPARTMENT 148 No doubt, the Egyptians were the first to establish a true papyrus empire. Earlier efforts were certainly weighed down by the materials at hand. With the invention of papyrus and the establishment of a written language, the Navy of Egypt and the fleets of the world launched their Administrative Departments. The earliest efforts in the administration of fleets probably covered three fu nctions; routine correspondence, morale (for those of the crew who were free men) , and helping the Commanding Officer exercise his power in command. The duties remain the same today. However, routine correspondence no longer involves a letter per month to the Admiralty telling of the ship ' s location. It is now a matter of hundreds of letters per week. The morale function has grown immensely with the coming of voluntary service and the hundreds of benefits which modern sailors expect. The helping of the Com- manding Officer in the execution of his duties has also become a staggering task. With the increase in the size of the vessel from 20 to 3600 men, the command function has become infinitely more involved. u a In order to run such a paper and counseling empire, nine officers and nearly one hundred men work in twelve offices which are related only by a common name— the Administra- tive Deoartment.

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ft • STANDING]: Jones. G. W. ; Ryland. C. W. ; Roluw, M. R. ; Eller, R. E. ; Schlaeger. R. K. ; Brockenbury, L. I. uvale. T. ; White, W. G. ; Dayao, R. G. ; Diaz, J. A. ; Short, M. L. ; S.m ons, J. F. ; Torgler, J. E. ; (SITTING) ,oslee, R. D., PNC; Ens. A. Krivy ; Walker, V. R. PNC. Petty, D. W. ; Hightower, C. H. ; Kelly. R. G. Personnel is the largest of all Admin. Offices, in space, in numbers, and in job. Fifteen men work in a room about the size of a one-car garage and somehow manage to keep nearly 2,500 enlisted service records straight. This includes making all pertinent record entries; handling leave papers; processing all orders for per- sonnel coming, going, and leaving temporarily; and counseling any of the ship ' s company men who might have a question on their careers. Then, there is the slight additional duty of authorizing and issueing liberty cards. Administrative Office The Admin. Office is known throughout the ship for its work in putting out the Plan of the Day (the daily listing of what is happening aboard the ship) . But this is just a small routine part of a busy, non-routine office. The official duty is to assist the Executive Officer in his administrative function. This includes everything from handling his cor- respondence to finding out the name of the number two starboard butter-cutter. 150 Loupe, L. W. ; Lcdr. F. S. Kolbek.