Ron L. Hubbard the founder of Scientology "
"Hubbard was commissioned as a
lieutenant junior grade in the
United States Naval Reserve on July 19, 1941. By November, he was posted to New York for training as an intelligence officer.
[65] On December 18, he was posted to the Philippines and set out for the posting via Australia. While in Melbourne awaiting transport to Manilla, Hubbard was sent back to the United States. The U.S. naval attaché reported, "This officer is not satisfactory for independent duty assignment. He is garrulous and tries to give impressions of his importance. He also seems to think he has unusual ability in most lines. These characteristics indicate that he will require close supervision for satisfactory performance of any intelligence duty."
[66]
After a brief stint censoring cables, Hubbard's request for sea duty was approved and he reported to a
Neponset, Massachusetts, shipyard which was converting a trawler into a gunboat to be classified as
USS YP-422. On September 25, 1942, the commandant of
Boston Navy Yard informed Washington that, in his view, Hubbard was "not temperamentally fitted for independent command."
[67] Days later, on October 1, Hubbard was summarily relieved of his command.
[66]
Hubbard was sent to submarine chaser training, and in 1943 was posted to Portland, Oregon, to take command of a submarine chaser, the
USS PC-815, which was under construction.
[68] On May 18,
PC-815 sailed on her shakedown cruise, bound for San Diego. Only five hours into the voyage, Hubbard believed he had detected an enemy submarine. Hubbard spent the next 68 hours engaged in combat, until finally receiving orders to return to Astoria. Admiral
Frank Jack Fletcher, commander of the
Northwest Sea Frontier, concluded: "An analysis of all reports convinces me that there was no submarine in the area."
[69] Fletcher suggested Hubbard had mistaken a "known magnetic deposit" for an enemy sub.
[66]
The following month, Hubbard unwittingly sailed
PC-815 into Mexican territorial waters and conducted gunnery practice off the
Coronado Islands, in the belief that they were uninhabited and belonged to the United States. The Mexican government complained and Hubbard was relieved of command. A report written after the incident rated Hubbard as unsuitable for independent duties and "lacking in the essential qualities of judgment, leadership and cooperation".
[70] The report recommended he be assigned "duty on a large vessel where he can be properly supervised".
[71]
Hospitalizations and "discovery" of sabotage attempt
USS PC-815, Hubbard's second and final command
After being relieved of command of
PC-815, Hubbard began reporting sick, citing a variety of ailments, including ulcers, malaria, and back pains. Hubbard was admitted to the San Diego naval hospital for observation—he would remain there for nearly three months.
[66] Years later, Hubbard would privately write to himself: "Your stomach trouble you used as an excuse to keep the Navy from punishing you. You are free of the Navy."
[21]
In 1944, Hubbard was posted to Portland where
USS Algol was under construction. The ship was commissioned in July and Hubbard served as the navigation and training officer. Hubbard requested, and was granted, a transfer to the School of Military Government in Princeton. The night before his departure, the ship's log reports that "The Navigating Officer [Hubbard] reported to the OOD [Officer On Duty] that an attempt at sabatage [sic] had been made sometime between 1530–1600. A coke bottle filled with gasoline with a cloth wick inserted had been concealed among cargo which was to be hoisted aboard and stored in No 1 hold. It was discovered before being taken on board. ONI, FBI and NSD authorities reported on the scene and investigations were started."
[72][66]
Hubbard attended school in Princeton until January 1945, when he was assigned to
Monterey, California. In April, he again reported sick and was re-admitted to
Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, Oakland.
[66] His complaints included "headaches, rheumatism, conjunctivitis, pains in his side, stomach aches, pains in his shoulder, arthritis, hemorrhoids".
[73] An October 1945 naval board found that Hubbard was "considered physically qualified to perform duty ashore, preferably within the continental United States".
[74] He was discharged from the hospital on December 4, 1945, and transferred to inactive duty on February 17, 1946.
[75] Hubbard would ultimately resign his commission after the publication of
Dianetics, with effect from October 30, 1950.
[76]
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