Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 196, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1916 — NAVAL MILITIA LEARN ROPES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

NAVAL MILITIA LEARN ROPES

Men of the naval militia of Manhattan lined up on deck of the U. S. S. Kentucky shortly before she pulled up anchor and sailed for mobilization grounds near Block Island. Four thousand five hundred militia sailors sent from seventeen states are now participating In-naval maneuvers near the Block Island mobilization base. The battleships on board of which the navy’s civilian reserves have gone to sea are all units of the Atlantic reserve fleet, under command of Rear Admirat John M. Helm, U. S. N. During the cruise the militiamen will be paired with bluejackets of the regular service of corresponding grades and it will be the duty Of each bluejacket to instruct the civilian comrade in the duties that the militiamen would have to perform in the event the naval militia were called Into active service .in time of war. Target practice with the main as well as the secondary batteries of the ships will be a feature of the work during the next two weeks. Torpedo exercises have also been Included In the program, It Is said, as well as searchlight drills and landing exercises. A battle problem may bring the maneuvers to a close.