Commissioned as if it were a normal vessel of the U.S. Navy and manned by a crew of trainee sailors, Recruit was located in Union Square from 1917 until the end of the war.

[1] The accommodations aboard Recruit included fore and aft examination rooms, full officer's quarters, a wireless station, a heating and ventilation system that was capable of changing the temperature of the air inside the ship ten times within the span of an hour, and cabins for the accommodation of the sailors of its crew.

[1] Two high cage masts, a conning tower, and a single dummy smokestack matched Recruit's silhouette to the layout of seagoing U.S. battleships of the time.

Three twin turrets contained a total of six wooden versions of 14-inch (360 mm) guns, providing the ship's 'main battery'.

[1] Following its completion and commissioning, the Landship Recruit hosted a variety of different events and receptions intended to bring civilians aboard the ship, the first of which took place on the afternoon of 8 September 1917.