Chapter XX

Director of Distribution

 

The Director of Distribution served, under the Commandant, as the primary representative of the Bureau of Personnel on all matters pertaining to personnel distribution and demobilization - officer, enlisted, and Women's Reserve - including coordinating the administration of the six receiving stations that were functioning in the district during the war and the six separation centers that were established just after the war. He supervised all distribution of personnel within the district. He coordinated and followed up all personnel distribution services and facilities of the district in logistic support of the fleet and fleet echelons such as Service Force Commands and Operational Training Commands. As additional duty he served as Commanding Officer of the Naval Barracks (Woman's Reserve), New Orleans, and he supervised the disciplinary control of all enlisted personnel of the district headquarters staff, holding masts and meting out punishment on minor infractions of rules.

The following officers assisted him in the performance of his duties:

The Complement Officer was the primary channel of the Bureau in regard to complements matters in the district. His office kept a record

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of all activities, together with their complements and manpower needs, and both initiated recommendations on complement and endorsed favorably and unfavorably the requests concerning complement made by commanding officers of activities under the Commandant.

In maintaining essential records and performing special services for the Bureau and the Commandant, this office conducted numerous surveys. In December 1943, for instance, a study was made of all offices at District headquarters in regard to personnel on board and the amount of space occupied. The findings resulted in the reallocation of space for several departments. The Complement Office assisted in the extensive Manpower Survey ordered by the Secretary of the Navy in January 1944, and it later prepared various reports to show the progress made toward carrying out recommendations initiated as a result of the survey.

One of the major tasks of the Complement Officer was coordinating the movement of men at training schools so as to have crews ready for ships being commissioned in the district. In order to know precisely when crews would be needed, a file was set up showing for each ship that was building its type, location, complement, and probable date of completion. Liaison was maintained with the Bureau of Ships and Supervisor of Shipbuilding in regard to date of completion, as this frequently was determined by the availability of materials. The progress reports of prospective commanding officers were an especially helpful source. The District Operations Office provided information on the movement of vessels. As to the training program, schools were

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classified according to the types of training they offered and their capacity. Timing the training of the men so that they would complete their courses at the proper time was a difficult problem. Training stations throughout the country were jammed, so that they were loath to hold crews any longer than the period scheduled whether the ships they were assigned to would be completed on time or not. Facilities for accommodating personnel were grouped according to areas; if the receiving station that was scheduled to accommodate a crew was already filled to capacity, the crew was diverted to the nearest station that had the necessary space. The combination of factors involved made this logistics problem one of the most difficult that the Complement Officer had to solve.

Related to this problem was a survey to ascertain the degree to which the facilities of receiving stations in the district had been utilized. The statistics obtained were employed by the Assistant Commandant (Logistics) to determine the additional barracks facilities to be constructed at the Receiving Station, Naval Repair Base, New Orleans.

The Complement Officer was responsible for the preparation of fitness reports on the commanding officers of all vessels to be commissioned in the district, the Commandant being the reporting senior on such officers. The commanding officer was given a blank fitness report and instructed to deliver it to the activity which had the closest scrutiny over him while he was in the district, such as a Supervisor of Shipbuilding. When its cognizance over the officer

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ended, the activity filled out the work sheet and forwarded it together with the fitness report to the District Complement Officer. The report on the work sheet, after editing, was generally used on the final form. Such fitness reports were submitted to the District Operations Officer for checking. The Director of Distribution completed the reports by direction of the Commandant. The Complement Officer also kept a check on the fitness reports of all officers under the Commandant, such as members of the district headquarters staff and the commanding officers of activities under the Commandant's cognizance. He also prepared and distributed activity maps of the Eighth Naval District.

The Officer Distribution Officer served the Director of Distribution by determining the specific assignment of such officers as were ordered to the district for assignment. There were a great many assignments of this kind to be made at the beginning of the war, before the Bureau of Personnel was sufficiently staffed to handle detailed assignments within the districts. All officers reporting to the Commandant, Eighth Naval District, reported to the Officer Distribution Office. It wrote all temporary additional duty orders, for officers in the district, whether they were stationed at headquarters or at outlying activities. Prior to V-J Day it handled the demobilization of all officers released by the Navy within the district. Another service that it performed was the recording and checking of leave to district staff officers and the commanding officers of activities under the Commandant.

All correspondence of officers assigned to the district which

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requested change of duty, release to inactive duty, or the like, came through the Officer Distribution Office, which made recommendations on each case. Another function which required a great deal of time was answering questions on officer-personnel matters; a kind of "information bureau" was maintained on the interpretation of AlNavs, orders, and other such matters.

The Enlisted Distribution Officer made assignments of enlisted personnel within the district. His office maintained records of enlisted personnel at district headquarters and at activities in the district which did not keep personnel records. It wrote all temporary additional duty orders for enlisted personnel in the district.

The Enlisted Distribution Officer assisted in coordinating the administration of the District receiving stations. He worked in cooperation with the Service Force Commands in supplying the fleet with enlisted personnel. His office continually screened personnel and made surveys in order to supply the Bureau with statistics requested. Extensive surveys were made in connection with the replacement programs involving the use of Waves, Negroes, and personnel assigned to limited shore duty.

The Classification Control Officer administered technical and advisory services in classification matters to the Director of Distribution and to subordinate activities. He provided information service to officers seeking data on classification and billet problems and to commanding officers needing assistance on qualifications of officer and enlisted personnel assigned in command.

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His office maintained decentralized qualification records through which it was possible to discover officers and men possessing special qualifications or skills. Like other offices under the Director of Distribution, it conducted various surveys. During the first nine months of 1945, for instance, this office conducted thirty-eight surveys for the Commandant, Eighth Naval District, for men possessing special qualifications and screened nominees for these billets. During the same period it performed comparable services in twenty-two instances for the Bureau of Personnel, for which it acted as district representative on classification billet analysis and other technical procedure. It gathered statistics and made reports on such matters as officers qualified to speak and read Russian, officers qualified to speak Cajun French who possessed a knowledge of the Louisiana bayous, Waves who desired overseas assignments, and possible storekeeper trainees.

All officers reporting to the Commandant, Eighth Naval District, under the Port of Entry Program were interviewed by the staff of the Classification Office, which granted the amount of leave due and forwarded recommendations to the Bureau concerning future assignments to duty. When an officer who was the subject of medical survey reported to district headquarters for further assignment by the Bureau, the Classification Office forwarded a recommendation on permanent assignment to the Bureau and assigned temporary duty in accordance with District needs and the officer's qualifications.

The District Passenger Transportation Officer administered and

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arranged transportation for Naval personnel of the district headquarters staff and their dependents. He served in an advisory capacity to passenger transportation officers at activities throughout the district. He supervised the administration of Naval railway reservation bureaus in New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Houston, and Pensacola, and of railway booths in New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Houston, and Dallas. Until the Central Accounts Disbursing Office took over the function on its establishment on 1 July 1945, the Passenger Transportation Office paid travel claims for headquarters personnel.

National planning for the readjustment of returning veterans was initiated as far back as 1942, and in April 1944 the Navy put its Civil Readjustment Program into operation.1 At that time a District Civil Readjustment Officer reported for duty under the Commandant, Eighth Naval District, and the establishment of Civil Readjustment Offices at activities throughout the district was begun. in July 1944 the Bureau of Personnel placed the offices at the Air Commands activities under the cognizance of the district headquarters office.2

There were twenty-seven offices operating in the district in 1944, with one or two officers assigned to each; these offices processed the comparatively few men released on the grounds of medical survey, unsuitability to Naval service, and the like. The number of offices was found to be excessive, however, and was reduced to twelve in June 1945; it remained so until after V-J Day. When the separation centers were

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established and a Civil Readjustment Office was set up at each, there were offices at the following eighteen district activities:

The District Civil Readjustment Officer was responsible for the effective functioning of the civil readjustment program within the district, and for insuring uniformity in operation of all the district offices. In connection with this responsibility, and the submitting of monthly reports to the Bureau of Personnel, he or one of his staff inspected each office in the district on an average of every six weeks. He also maintained a working liaison with all government and civilian agencies that provided post-discharge services to veterans. In each of the eight states in the district he maintained relationship, on the state level, with offices of the Veterans Administration, the U. S. Employment Service, the Selective Service, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and the Unemployment Compensation Commission. He kept in touch with the three regional offices of the U. S. Civil Service Commission

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in the district. Liaison with the offices of the Smaller War Plant Corporation became increasingly important, as this agency issued priorities to veterans on the purchase of surplus property.

In the routine of being released from the Navy, a dischargee was given a one-hour interview by a General Interviewer, the key man in the civil readjustment process. The General Interviewer was either an officer or an enlisted man who had been specially selected and trained for the work. It was his job to help the dischargees review his past training and experience, consider his abilities and ambitions, and think objectively in terms of the future. The aim was to have this interview personal, private, and unhurried.

There were nine special consultants to handle problems beyond the scope and ability of the General Interviewer. The four Navy consultants were the Educational Services Officer, the Benefits and Insurance Officer, the Legal Assistance Officer, and the Chaplain, These officers provided the same kind of services they provided when stationed with other Naval units. There were also five special consultants from government and civilian agencies: Veterans Administration, American Red Cross, U. S. Employment Service, U. S. Civil Service Commission, and Selective Service Commission.

The District Civil Readjustment Officer, who maintained records (beginning April 1944) of all ex-Naval personnel residing in the district, gave continuing service through a follow-up letter to the dischargees, informing them that his office would be glad to answer any inquiries pertaining to Naval matters. The letter pointed out that,

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although this office was ready to give any aid possible, the most convenient source for complete information on civilian problems were the Veterans Information Centers, Veterans Administration Representatives, or the veterans organizations in or near one's community. It was the requests from veterans that caused the District Civil Readjustment Office to maintain active liaison with government and civilian agencies. Rating Descriptions, official documents of the Navy, were issued to dischargees by the District Civil Readjustment Office. These documents described the duties that the dischargees had performed in the Navy and specified the kind of civilian occupation for which their skills might fit them. They were used to good effect with employers and prospective employers.

For the performance of its various functions, the District Civil Readjustment Office in October 1945 had on board a total of fifty-three personnel who worked in two shifts, keeping the office open until midnight.

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FOOTNOTES

1. BuPers directive P106-FS/P-16-1/00, dtd. 6 Apr. 1944.
2. BuPers directive P-540-FC/P16-1/00, dtd. 19 Jul. 1944.

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