Three Year Old Wants Navy Pay

Has the Navy lowered the minimum age requirement for officers?

That might well have been the question of numerous on-lookers recently as a uniformed three-years-old stepped along barking a "Hup, two, three" cadence for passing platoons of NTS (communications) officers.

Finally this military mite decided to cast his lot with platoon 4 of Company C. Giving Platoon Leader Carl King a hefty salute, he fell in with the group as they marched by on their way to be paid.

By stretching his tiny legs and occasionally breaking into a run, he was able to keep up with the platoon until they arrived at "Topside" to receive their pay. Here he felt slightly out of place, however as he was without the pay chit necessary to obtain funds.

This situation was soon remedied by an officer who improvised a pay chit out of an old envelope. With this slip in hand, the half-pint "officer" waited his turn in line and then strode up and presented it to an amazed disbursing officer.

Though no Navy pay was "on the books" for youngster, he netted 43 cents from amused officers.