thumb|250x250px|[[Robert F. Kennedy (second from left) while completing his V-12 studies at Bates College; in the background is a snow replica of a naval ship.]]
The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, more than 125,000 participants were enrolled in 131 colleges and universities in the United States. Numerous participants attended classes and lectures at their respective colleges and earned completion degrees for their studies. Some even returned from their naval obligations to earn a degree from the colleges where they were previously stationed.
The V-12 program's goal was to produce officers, not unlike the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP), which sought to turn out more than 200,000 technically trained personnel in such fields as engineering, foreign languages, and medicine. Running from 1942 to 1944, the ASTP recruits were expected but not required to become officers at the end of their training.
History
The V-12 program was founded to generate a large number of officers for both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps to meet the demands of World War II, in excess of the number that was turned out annually by the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and the U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School. Once enrollees completed their V-12-subsidized bachelor's degree programs, their next step toward obtaining a commission depended on the service branch:
Marines
- Marine Corps candidates reported directly to boot camp and were later enrolled in a three-month officer candidate course. Once complete, participants were commissioned as second lieutenants in the Marine Corps. The V-12 program found more favor with college administrators than did the ASTP. Unlike the ASTP, V-12 students were allowed to attend classes with civilian students and participate in athletics. The majority of the basic curriculum consisted of classes already taught by civilian instructors. Depending on the V-12 enrollees' past college curriculum, they were enrolled in three school terms, or semesters, which lasted four months each.
Captain Arthur S. Adams, from the Training Division of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, was the officer-in-charge of the V-12 program.