The Key West Citizen

Landing Field For Aircraft Advocated by Many Officers
NEW COMMANDANT OF SEVENTH NAVAL DISTRICT TELLS OF OTHER IMPROVEMENTS

Capt. C. W. McNeely, the new commandant of the Seventh Naval District, who stepped into the position yesterday upon Capt. Clark D. Stearns' retirement said:

"It was the intention of the bureau of engineering when I left Washington, D. C., to fit out the naval station at Key West with some modern radio equipment so as to improve the radio communications here."

Captain McNeely said that Key West will be one of the few stations to be fitted out in the near future with more modern radio equipment. His last duty, before coming to Key West, was in the bureau of engineering, Washington—developing and supplying radio to the navy.

The new commandant said "the condition of the naval station at Key West under Captain Stearns and his officers, whom I have just relieved, appears to me to be very creditable and it will be my endeavor to keep the station up to the high standard of condition in which I have found it."

Captain McNeely said that he was not familiar with the intentions of the other bureaus of the navy department for improvement at the naval station.

Urge Landing Field

He was stationed at Pensacola for only two weeks, he said, and it was the general consensus of opinion of the officers there that it would be desirable to have a landing field for aircraft located at Key West, on account of the location of Key West in regards to planes flying between the east coast of the United States and the Caribbean area. "These matters no doubt have been brought to the attention of the navy department and congress. Their accomplishment depends on appropriations made by congress in furtherance of the general naval policy."

Captain McNeely said that he was glad to have command of the seventh naval district and to be located in such pleasant surroundings at Key West.

The last visit that he made to Key West was twenty-eight years ago on the U. S. S. Yankton during the Spanish American War. He had been here previously on the U. S. S. Raleigh. He entered the navy in 1890, and according to his story has had no thrilling experiences. He commanded the U. S. S. Ohio during the World War and after the war the U. S. S. Delaware.