Navy World War 2 Recruitment
In the spring of 1941 with the "Two-Ocean" Navy program gathering momentum, recruiting began to fall behind requirements. In November 1941, the Secretary of the Navy requested standby approval for the Navy to induct selectees since the prospects for further expansion by wholly voluntary enlistments were not bright. By that time there were approximately 290,000 enlisted men in the naval service. However, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 resulted in a mighty flood of enlistments which led the Navy once again to affirm its traditional attitude toward Selective Service.
Brigadier General Hershey, Selective Service Director, and Secretary of War Stimson opposed unrestricted naval recruiting on the grounds that it took no account of the needs of vital war industries. BuNav countered that the Navy took relatively small numbers of men; a majority of whom were less than 20 years of age. Other arguments were set forth: duties of naval personnel required higher physical and educational standards than those of other services; volunteer recruits were more receptive to training and assimilation into the naval service, as they were on the average,younger than inductees; a service exclusively volunteer was a major factor in high morale; Selective Service made no provision for obtaining the special skills needed by the Navy.
In a memorandum to Secretary of War Stimson dated 24 February 1942, the President approved the Navy's stand "at this time." It would seem that the President's decision to keep the Navy outside of the Selective Service system at the time was not based on nationwide manpower plans, or on an accurate study of the military performance of selectees, but rather on the traditional view as to what it takes to make a man-of-war's man.
The post-Pearl Harbor rush of naval recruits was short-lived. The Navy, having just won its argument to remain outside of the Selective Service procedures, was soon compelled to redouble recruiting efforts. Recruiting stations were expanded, officers and men with a salesman background were assigned to recruiting duties, and a large scale advertising campaign was opened.
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Navy World War 2 Recruiting
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