Page 233 - The interest of America in sea power, present and future

214 Preparedness for Naval War.

only by high individual fitness in the force,
undiluted by dependence upon a large, only
partly efficient, reserve element.

" One foot on sea and one on shore, to one thing constant
never,"
will not man the fleet. It can be but an imper-
fect palliative, and can be absorbed effectually
by the main body only in small proportions.
It is in torpedo-boats for coast defence, and in
commerce-destroying for deep-sea warfare, that
the true sphere for naval reserves will be found
;
for the duties in both cases are comparatively
simple, and the organization can be the same.
Every danger of a military character to
which the United States is exposed can be
met best outside her own territory— at sea.
Preparedness for naval war — preparedness
against naval attack and for naval offence — is
preparedness for anything that is likely to
occur.