of SPAR recruiting personnel. Their absence resulted from the agreement between the Navy and the USCG, whereby the SPARS would receive its first personnel by transfer from the WAVES. A total of 15 WAVE officers and 153 WAVE enlisted women requested and were discharged from the WAVES to become the first SPARS. Eventually, SPAR officers were assigned to most of the Naval Officer Procurement offices. The recruiting information about SPARS was disseminated with WAVES publicity materials and it was also done separately. But it became apparent that the job of selling the SPARS included selling the USCG as well. By June 1943, it was clear to the USCG that the recruiting process in place did not favor the SPARS, so it withdrew from the joint agreement effective 1 July 1943. Hence, all women applicants for SPARS would be interviewed and enlisted at USCG district recruiting stations. The change was met with increased enthusiasm by the recruiters and it proved positive overall. Still, the competition remained keen with the other, better known, women services. Some recruiters referred to themselves as peddlers of patriotism, but their lot was not an easy one. In their book, Three Years Behind the Mast, the authors Mary Lyne and Kay Arthur, both officers in SPARS, described the realities of recruiting in this way: During the day, we made speeches, distributed posters, decorated windows, led parades, manned information booths, interviewed applicants, appeared on radio programs, and gave aptitude tests. By night, we made more speeches; prayed women would be drafted, and went to bed dreaming about our quotas. The main recruiting effort had ended. During the 25-month recruitment period, about 11,000 women signed enlistment contracts to serve in the SPARS. Yeoman Third Class Dorothy Tuttle was the first woman to enlist in the SPARS at a recruiting station on 7 December 1942. In late 1942, recruiting requirements were such that both enlisted and officer candidates had to be American citizens; have no children under 18 years of age; present three character references; pass a physical examination; and submit a record of occupation after leaving school. Enlisted applicants were also required to have completed at least two years of high school and be between the ages of 20 and 36 years. Officer candidates were expected to be college graduates, or to have completed two years of college, and have at least two years of acceptable business or professional