only such ships and other material being kept in full commission,
and only such a number of officers and enlisted men being actively
employed, as the appropriations allotted by the government permit.
Those ships and other material that are not actually in commission
are maintained in reserve, a condition of partial readiness, of
which several degrees are recognized, in which a reduced number of
officers and men are kept on board, and the various structures and
apparatus are kept in as high a degree of readiness as circumstances
will permit. In order to man in time of war these vessels in reserve,
and insure a sufficient personnel in the active fleet, a "naval
reserve" is organized in each country, composed of officers and men
who have had experience in the regular navy. They are compelled to
undergo a specific amount of training each year, to keep themselves
in readiness at all times to answer the call for active service on
short notice, and to maintain such communication with the government
as will make it easy to locate any man at any moment.

The act of getting ready, the passing from a state of peace to
a state of readiness for fighting, is called "mobilization."
Mobilization plans are an important element in war plans, but the
details of any mobilization plan are of such a confidential nature
that it would not be proper to discuss them in public print. There
can be no impropriety, however, in making the general statement
that in all navies the endeavor is made to keep the mobilization
plans continually up to date, and to have them prepared in such
detail that every officer and enlisted man in active service, the
retired list, the naval reserve, and the naval militia, will become
instantly available for a predetermined duty, and that every shore
station and every necessary vessel will be ready to take part. The
plans prescribe methods in very great detail whereby the ships