US Marine Corps - The Black Vault

Ten Years of Big Ship Gunnery 67
not submitted until after the 1924 Selection Board for commander had
completed its chores, stored its ditty box, and dispersed.
SELECTION TO COMMANDER
Commander Scouting Fleet, in the Wyoming (flagship) together with
Arkansas, New York, and Texas made the 1924 summer practice cruise with
the midshipmen of the Naval Academy embarked, visiting ports in England,
France, ~Netherlands, as well as Gibraltar and the Azores. Without much
notice, Lieutenant Commander Turner learned he was not to make this very
pleasant cruise, and on 28 May 1924 was ordered out of the flagship to the
Florida to await detachment to other duty.25
Being dropped from the Scouting Fleet Staff just before he was to come
up for selection to commander was a distinct blow to Lieutenant Commander
Turner, but it was softened by his being ordered in command of a ship,
the destroyer Meruine.
Normally, in 1924, all lieutenant commanders of the Line, including naval
aviators, would have had a full command cruise under their belts by the
time they reached the zone where they would actually be considered for
selection to the grade of commander.
An examination of the annual Nawd llegi.rierJ from 1920 to 1925 shows
that during these years, the Bureau of Navigation was working steadily
through the appropriate Naval Academy classes, seeing to it that one and
all had a chance to qualify themselves for selection to command rank by
demonstrating their capabilities in command of aircraft squadrons, destroy-
ers, submarines, minecraft, gunboats, seaplane tenders, or other small
auxiliaries.
Lieutenant Commander Turner had had just the briefest sort of command
cruise-two months in the USS Stewart from 7 July 1913 until 14 September
1913, when he was a junior lieutenant. It was obvious that his record
needed bolstering in the “exercise of command area. ”
The 1 January 1925 NaVal Regis~er shows 12 officers in the Class of 1908
getting in a late lieutenant commander destroyer command cruise, including
the class’s two future four star admirals, Kinkaid and Turner.
In those benighted days, selection lists came out in late May or early June.
During early June 1924, in fact just before Lieutenant Commander Turner
= COMSCOFLT to RKT, orders, 28 May 1924.