68 Dahlgren 



There was something new coming along continually, and I was getting differ- 

 ent assignments. When I came in, I was working mostly in armor and bombs. 

 Then I got into instrumentation, and working with instrumentation got me into 

 everything. What got me into instrumentation originally was in the bombing 

 work. I just said, "The instrumentation is deplorable. Something has got to be 

 done about it." I started doing something about it. Other instrumentation was 

 also deplorable, and they wanted me to do something about that. The first thing 

 I knew, we werejust busy doing more and more instrumentation to take care of 

 more and more things that just had to have something better. 



I stayed in instrumentation for many years until I got back to what we called 

 W Department, Weapons Development Evaluation, which included the in- 

 strumentation development and range operation — everything except the Ter- 

 minal Range, which was under Terminal Ballistics. Then when they went 

 through the last reorganization which changed the Dahlgren structure from 

 three labs to five departments, I had the Engineering and Evaluation Depart- 

 ment. For awhile, I also had the Cartridge Division. I was a great guy for picking 

 up new business. Then I'd get too much and had to give some of it to somebody 

 else. That's what made the place grow and amount to what it is — being ready to 

 do things, picking up new business, and following through. 



It's nice to have new business that will improve the scientific prestige of the 

 Laboratory, but we also had to make sure that the new business was going to be 

 of a direct and clear-cut service to the Fleet, not just something to entertain 

 scientists interested in research. I used to tell my people, "There's only one 

 excuse for being at Dahlgren. You're here to serve the Fleet, and any day that 

 you do a day's work and don't serve the Fleet, you don't do what you're here 

 for." Dahlgren has got to keep this in mind. It is not a place for scientists to walk 

 around in their caps and gowns and conduct nothing but very interesting 

 investigations. If they want to do that, they belong in a university. But Dahlgren 

 is for the Navy, and it's to support the Fleet. You've got to continually keep that 

 in mind. 



