Skip to main content
Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

The Navy Department Library

Related Content
Sources

Bureau of Naval Personnel Circular Letters, Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical Center, Washington, D.C.

Acknowledgement

Definition: V-12 was College Training Program (US Naval Reserve classification)

Topic
  • People--African Americans
  • Ranks, Rates, and Ratings
Document Type
  • Primary Source Document
  • Letter
Wars & Conflicts
  • World War II 1939-1945
File Formats
Location of Archival Materials

Bureau of Naval Personnel Circular Letter 269-43:

Navy V-12 Program, Non-Discrimination in Selection of Personnel for training in, 15 December 1943

December 15 1943

From: The Chief of Naval Personnel
To: All ships and stations

1. It may be helpful to clarify the policies of the Bureau of Naval Personnel with regard to the selection of applicants to fill V-12 quotas by commands having jurisdiction over both white and Negro personnel.

2. The reason why this bureau has not attempted to establish separate quotas for any racial minority or for any activity containing exclusively members of a racial minority is because such a procedure would itself be discriminatory. For this reason also the Bureau has not asked any command, in distributing V-12 quotas, to allocate its quota so that anyone need be selected by virtue of their race.

3. It should be well understood that every candidate will be considered for Class V-12 under the quota assigned to the command in which he serves, without regard to his race, color, or creed. This will mean in the future, as it has meant in the past, that when Negro personnel are found to be among the best qualified V-12 candidates in competition with all other eligible candidates who compete under the same quota, they will be selected.

L. E. Denfeld
The Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel

Prepared 4 December 1943

 

[END]

Published: Tue Apr 28 08:09:31 EDT 2020