Meanwhile, at 25 South Street, staff and seamen alike were making contributions to the war effort. Inoculation and vaccine stations were set up inside the building to prepare seamen for long trips abroad. U.S. Coast Guardsmen were given rooms while they waited for assignments on merchant vessels. In the auditorium, muster drills and calisthenics were held on a daily basis. On February 10, 1942 SCI was appointed the official receiving station of the first American Maritime Pool ever created. Young men entered the Pool after completing instruction at one of the maritime training stations along the east coast. Once the men had been trained, they were sent to 25 South Street to wait for orders to man merchant vessels. The great increase in ships needed to supply the war effort meant an increased demand in qualified seamen, and SCI became the midway point between training stations and outbound vessels headed for war. [see The Lookout 1942 April]