Wetherhorn

Joining the Navy?

When I graduated from the University of Michigan in 1962 there was still a law in effect, called the Selective Service Act. That law required men to register for military service with their local draft board, and the local draft board would select individuals to be sent to perform service in the armed forces. The individual could carry out his obligation under the law in a variety of ways. He could wait for the local board to send him to the Army. Then he would spend 2 years on active duty, at least one year in an organized reserve unit that met regularly for drill and training, including an extended training camp which usually took place in the summer, and that would be followed by another  5 years in a ready manpower pool from which he could be called at any time. The total was 8 years of eligibility for military service. Anyone who wanted some kind of choice in how he spent his service time could enlist in any of the armed services, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard.  Enlistments were almost always for a longer period of active duty time, and could be accompanied by a choice of learning some military professional specialty. Regular officers were commissioned from the national service academies. Reserve officers were brought in via enrollment in a university Reserve Officer Training program, or by an Officer Candidate Training course.

Students at recognized universities and colleges were given student deferments of their required service during the time they were learning. Without a deferment, a man became eligible for selection for military service at age 18. The local boards tended to ignore individuals who had continued their studies beyond the age of 26 unless they were doctors or lawyers. I had been accepted for a course of advanced study, but failed to get a scholarship grant to fund it. My local board informed me that I could expect to be called up for service and directed me to take a series of classification exams to determine my suitability for service.  I scored well on those exams. It wasn’t a surprise. I was, after all, a university graduate and had spent a couple of semesters as an honor roll student. But individuals who waited to be called to active duty by their local draft board usually spent the 2 years of active duty that followed as either a basic infantry cannon-fodder rifle carrier, or a base maintenance broom pusher.  Those options were not very appealing.

I had wanted to go abroad to visit Israel, and asked my local board for a further deferment in order to do so. They were happy to grant my request. I could go for one month and then immediately report for duty in the Army upon my return. I didn’t like that possibility, either. So, I went shopping. I visited the local recruiting offices for the various services. In return for an enlistment of longer duration they would be happy to let me choose a military occupation, or some other program from what was available at the time. The Army recruiter made me a very tempting offer. If I signed up with him, he would enroll me in the Defense Language School at Monterrey California. I would be promoted to staff sergeant at the end of the course,  and in return for signing up for one more additional year, I could then attend the Army Officer Candidate School and become a second lieutenant. Could I have my choice of which language to learn?  Yes, but within the limits of what was currently being offered.  Could I learn Arabic? That was a more difficult question. A quick look at the list of languages currently being taught narrowed my choice to one of only three; Russian, Chinese, or Polish. Not exactly what I had in mind, but an interesting option, nevertheless.

My next stop was the Navy recruiting office. Just like all the other services, the Navy presented a tradeoff of an illusion of having more control over what you might do in return for a commitment to do it for a longer, or even much longer, time. After a brief interview, the recruiter took a long look at me, noting that I was wearing glasses.

“Just how bad are your eyes?” he wanted to know.

A quick glance at the results of my earlier physical exam provided the answer.

“According to this,” he said, “you’re just inside the limits for becoming an unrestricted line officer.”

“Because you are a college graduate, I can enroll you in Navy Officer Candidate School. “ He continued, “We only take people who have already completed a degree. But I must warn you that only two thirds of the men we send to OCS make it through to the end. The others are sent to the fleet to finish their obligated service time as regular, unskilled, sailors.”

He didn’t give me any guarantees. He promised nothing else. All he offered was an opportunity. And it was one that some 30% of those who took it were unable to complete.  I later learned that his statistics were quite accurate. But it sounded to me like a challenge.  I picked up the gauntlet, and soon found myself en route to Navy officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island.