United States Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School
| United States Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1940 - 1945 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Naval Reserve |
| Type | Training |
| Role | Post-college course for training U.S. Navy junior officers |
The United States Navy Reserve Midshipmen's School was an expedited auxiliary naval officer training program instituted in June, 1940. Its goal was to train a planned 36,000 Naval Reserve officers for commands in the vastly-expanding U.S. Navy fleet being built up in preparation for the United States' entry into World War II.
To achieve this, several new Naval Reserve Midshipmen's Schools were established mainly on college campuses around the country. Between 1940 and 1945 their junior officer candidates, many alumni of the Navy's V-12 training, completed a 30-day indoctrination course before entering the midshipman school's 90-day V-7 Navy College Training Program. After successful completion, graduates were commissioned as ensigns in the U.S. Naval Reserve. The majority entered into active duty with the U.S. fleet in the Pacific Theater during the war.
The first United States Naval Reserve Midshipman's school conducting V-7 training was established on board the converted battleship USS Illinois (BB-7) in New York City during the spring of 1940. Others followed at Columbia University, Cornell University, Northwestern University, University of Notre Dame, and Smith College. Enrollment closed in August 1945.
The V-7 program of voluntary training for officer candidates was announced on June 26, 1940 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Its goal was to rapidly train 36,000 young officers needed to meet the demands of a vastly expanding naval fleet being built up in preparation for U.S. entry into World War II. By March 1941, eighteen months into the global conflict and nine months before Pearl Harbor, the Navy had only 18,000 officers. Most were stationed in the Far East, where the U.S.' lack of an Army presence left the Navy to bear the full burden in the event of war.
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