Seniors interested in aviation will have the opportunity this year of receiving flying instruction and training in the U. S. Naval Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve. All men taking their degrees in June are eligible for enrollment in the course. Applicants from this district, who must be between 20 and 27 years of age and single, after passing the required physical examination, are sent to the Naval Reserve Aviation Base at Squantum for one month's flight training, consisting of basic instruction in acronauties. Those who satisfactorily fulfill the requirements of the preliminary training period will be detailed to the Naval Air Station at Pensacola, Florida, for the complete flying course.
During the period of instruction at Pensacola the students are put through a rigid test lasting eight months. The work comprises all branches of the field, practical and theoretical. Together with approximately 225 hours of flying all types of planes, the students study construction of planes, aviation engines, navigation, radio, gunnery, and acorology, a thorough knowledge of which is necessary for a Naval Aviator. Students who successfully complete the course are given the designation "Naval Aviators" and receive commissions as Ensigns in the U. S. Naval Reserve or as Second Lieutenants in the Marine Corps Reserve, and may be ordered to active duty. Those in the Naval Reserve take their active duty with the Fleet, usually on an aircraft carrier, while the Marine Corps Reservists serve with the Marine Expeditionary Forces at Quantico, Virginia, or San Diego, California.
During the period of training at Squantum and at Pensacola the students receive board and room free and $54 a month; those commissioned and sent on active duty receive the pay and allowances of their rank during the time they are on active duty. Should, at any time, a student fail to meet the requirements of the course, he will receive transportation to his home and be given an honorable discharge from the Reserve.
Appointments for the flying training are made in the Navy Department in Washington, upon the recommendation of the commanding officer of the local Naval Reserve Aviation Base. Due to the fact that practically all this year's graduating class at Annapolis are receiving commissions in the line, there are about 30 vacancies for the aviation school. All interested in applying for enrollment should interview, as soon as possible, Lieut. J. J. Shea, U. S. N. R. at the Squantum Base, for although classes begin after July 1, it is advisable for those interested in receiving instruction to apply as soon as possible.
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