Rochester (CA 124) - Naval Cruise Book

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my--' ff TTC LOTS OF PEOPLE tell him many things. IN THE PERSONNEL OFFICE his record is WHAT, AGAIN? His sea-bag is The MAA helps him square away his gear. checked and he gets his new liberty card. given a check for completeness. to W. I I I I I A I I 1 I I . 4,'?f,.,flv!,,a I S ,V K aaa r 4 I g . s I I LECTURES BY OFFICERS consume a lot of his time during the Legal Ohicer, the Chaplain, the Training Oiiicer, the Chief the week of indoctrination. He listens to the First Lieutenant, Master-at-Arms, and many others tell him about the ship. is I s II I EM- . ! I ' -Q53 .. L. . WL-,'.g'V:.ft2 I I V, ' ra i I KV., -,a ' N- . 1 1 X 4 W-fl. I , f .ff E: ff V 3 A I QI ' I I , ' ' A T . L! ' 4 , 4. 5 I . A NEW DIVISION OFFICER, and a new job. His new petty olhcers now begin the i training that will make him a real part of the ROCHESTER's crew, doing one. of the jobs that keep the ship moving. Shortly after his permanent assignment is made, he reports to the Training Oliice, where he gets a Seaman's Manual and signs up for his first Navy correspondence course, In the course of his Naval career, if he takes advantage of his opportunities the boot can advance up the ladder to chief petty officer or olhcer level, II II it

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saying for further assignment by the Commander of Cruisers and Destroyers in the Pacific Fleet. When he was about half way through his training the boot came to the attention of some oflicers aboard COMCRUDESPAC'S iiagship in San Diego harbor. He was theirs for further assignment, and they had the job of deciding which of the ships they are concerned with needed his services worst. Last fall one of their most serious problems was the ROCHESTER, allowed draw mattresses, when to report for muster, what would be expected of them their first week or ten days aboard. Except for the few who had been to sea before, all the new men were assigned to the I Division for a week of tours and lectures scheduled to get them acquainted with their new home. They had much to learn and not much time to learn it. They heard about Navy law, what they could do aboard, what they could not do, what oppor- tunities the Navy offered them for over 1100 men, below allowance, losing more daily, and scheduled to sail for distant duty shortly after the beginning of the year. To meet her commitments she would need men, and lots of them. So ten by ten by twenty the men were allocated to the ROCHESTER-a certain number of fireman apprentices, a certain number of seaman apprentices, some graduates of Class A schools, some skilled in particular fields: Aboard the ROCHESTER the boot was the principal topic of conversation long before he showed up. As the messages Of the 325 new men who reported aboard the ROCHESTER during the fall of 1954 an overwhelming percentage were new recruits. Of these men most received their recruit training at San Diego, though Great Lakes was also re- presented. A large percentage-about one third-came to the Navy from southern states. About twenty percent enlisted for the term of their minority. More than eighty percent were under twenty years of age, and over fifty percent were seventeen and eighteen. The average boot had completed his sophomore year in high school before enlisting in the Navy. education, what the maximum range of the ROCHESTER's batteries isg they saw the turrets and mounts, the engi- neering spaces, the superstructure, the bridge, radio and radar rooms, plotting rooms, equipment which makes the ROCHESTER's guns fire. They met officers who told them about ship's re- gulations, church services aboard, the history of the ROCHESTER, and standing watches. They learned not to stamp out cigarette butts on the deck and not to waste fresh water. They found out what liberty they could expect. kept coming in and the total number grew, division officers made mental calculations on how many they might expect to help man battle stations and keep routine work going. Petty officers smiled as they thought of extra help in keeping the ship clean. It was good to know that the tight manpower situation was about to be relieved. The job of assigning men to depart- ments and divisions within the ship is that of the Executive Officer. Working with figures and tables of personnel requirements, he mapped out a plan for dividing the men who were to report. ,e Everyone was short, but fire control ' .Q technicians and radarmen were needed the most. Thus F and OI divisions R were to have first crack. Gunnery was short, critically undermanned. Engi- neering needed men. They were slated to receive their proportionate share of the recruits. The Training Officer was given the job of setting up an indoctri- nation program for the new men and planning interviews which would be the basis for assignment of each particular man. Before the new sailors started showing up heads of departments knew how many they were to get. Everyone remembers the first day he spent aboard the ROCHESTER. For those of us whose first ship she was it was a bewildering experience. The recruits arrived by twos and threes, tens and twenties, usually in the late evening. Sitting on a foggy, cold dock in Long Beach they must have wonder- ed what was waiting for them. They were greeted by men who told them where to stow their gear, where to -f .35 While they were seeing their new home the Training Officer and chief personnelman were going over their service records, trying to fit individual men to the chart dictated by the needs of the ship. Which of them would make the best radarmen, which the best machinist's mates? Using information furnished coNnNuso ON PAGE 27 'facie' Q, . t. WEEKLY MEETINGS with the Executive Officer give heads of departments and their assistants a chance to hash over some of the problems concerning the draft of new men. Various requirements are discussed and decisions as to placement of men are made. 0 E ABU RD

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1 . I I 3 l I .V.,N.-...- ONE OF THE FIRST STOPS for the new man is the post office. He files a card to help the postal clerks deliver his mail to him. ,J 4 THE TRAINING OFFICER'S JOB is to fit each man into a division, using the Exec's needs-of-the ship list and the man's preference as his guides. SHORTLY AFTER REVEILLE THE FIRST MORNING IT'S SCRUB-DOWN B 0 0 T from the recruit training camp and scores recorded in the jackets, the inter- viewers got a rough idea of the direc- tion most of the men's interests would take. When each man was called in he was asked his preference. In about three fourths of the cases it was pos- sible to assign men where their personal preferences led them. When permanent assignments had been made, about two thirds of the new boots were in the gunnery department, learning the jobs of boatswain's mates, gunner's mates, and iire control tech- nicians. About one seventh were assigned to the operations department, where they began training to be radar- men, radiomen, telemen, signalmen, and electronics technicians. Approximately the same number went to the engineer- ing department, striking for the nine rates in the A, B, E, M, and R Divisions. The remainder were assigned to supply, navigation, administrative, and hospital divisions. From I Division to a permanent divi- sion is another big step. There were petty ofiicers to meet and a new divi- sion oflicer to know. They were assigned their cleaning stations, battle stations, watch stations. They began learning the trade they had been train- ed to work in. For men who went to deck divisions there was the first intro- duction to the holystone to remember. For men who went to engineering there was cleaning of iiresides to learn. Piece by piece and bit by bit they picked up the tools of their trade. Now they are old salts. Most of them mark their first anniversary in the Navy about the time the ROCHESTER pulls back in to Long Beach. It has been quite a year: from home to recruit camp to the ROCHESTER to the Far East and back to the States, and the first enlistment is only one fourth over. Some of them are seamen and firemen now, some will be competing for third class ratings in February. The group has already distinguished itself. Before the ship left the United States one new recruit was singled out by Rear Admiral Smoot, Commander of the Pacific Fleet Mine Force, for his outstanding appearance and military bearing. Admiral Smoot observed Donald Bosshardt, a hospitalman striker who had been aboard only a few months, while he was on the Long Beach Naval Shipyard grounds. Others have been singled out by heads of departments and the Captain at inspec- tions, by officers of the deck on watch, by their division ofiicers. New men at mast have been few and far between. This fall they will probably be loung- ing about on deck some evening when a new group of recruits reports aboard. Then for a fact they will be old vets, sea daddies with stories to tell, smiling wisely when the topic of conversation shifts to Keelung. Then the story of the boot will be finished.