United States Naval Academy - Lucky Bag Yearbook (Annapolis, MD)

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0m seamanship navigation -.. . The most obvious and basic skill required by the Naval Officer is that of shiphandling. Our first contact came early in Plebe Summer as we learned that knot-tying and whale-boat pulling didn ' t go out with the old Navy, nor was the age of sail completely dead. We fancied ourselves the tradi- tional iron men in wooden ships as we sailed the yawls to learn the effects of wind and tide. We re- turned to S X two years later to discover DR tracks, three-point fixes, and the wonders of a del- ta-D sight form. We ended Second Class year su- premely confident and fairly competent navigators, and got the chance during First Class cruise to ce- ment the flaws in our learning with the mortar of experience. The final year instructed us in the fine arts of the use of ATP-i, CIC, and the Rules of the Road; we became experts at whipping our YP ' s through their paces after many hours afloat. W l m Bin 3fc l i ; ;i % F3 Ci-UfA- - t V 3

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If you had dared to mention the words Executive Department to a newly sworn-in Fifty-niner during Plebe Summer he would probably have ex- hibited little but fear of those he knew only as denizens of the Main Office. The same question two and a half years later, however, would have brought a ready (albeit somewhat strained) re- spect for this same department — and the System it represents. It wasn ' t until Second Class year that the budding officer first encountered class- room Naval Leadership, which presented the the- ory behind the military system. Then, during First Class year he was briefly introduced to Naval Organization and Leadership and Mili- tary Law, both necessary adjuncts to the devel- opment of a thoroughly versatile junior officer. executive

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It is the mission of the Department of Marine Engineering to give to the midshipman the know- how to keep his vessel in a condition of complete readiness. From the classroom work in engineer- ing drawing, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, boilers and auxiliary machinery to the laboratories with facilities tor experimentation in the fields of strength of materials, hydrodynamics and steam turbines, the midshipman was given a substantial background for his work in modern ships of the Line. marine engineering '