In the United States, a number of ships whose construction was authorized during World War I entered service at a time when the post-war cutbacks in funds and personnel seriously curtailed American peacetime naval operations. The Navy established the rotating reserve to maintain a force in readiness. In operation, the system required that one-third of a given force remain alongside, maintained by only the minimum number of officers and men, while another third was to be half-manned and berthed at a buoy in the harbor. The last third was fully manned and remained at buoys in the harbor but were for periodic operations underway at sea.
The original article can be found at Rotating Reserve and the edit history here.