Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-23
SCORED BY GREELY
PRESENT SYSTEM OF COMMANDS
NOT SATISFACTORY.

Maj. Gen. A. w. Greely, commanding the
Pacific Division at San Francisco, in his
first annual report submitted to the War
Department today. takes occasion to con-
denim the present system of division and
department commands. His remarks are
inspired, he says. by the extraor binary du-
ties required of the troops in his division by
the earthquake and fire in San Francisco.
The division and department commands. he
says, cover the same territory, and one in
cludes the other. In regard to many duties
the department commander takes his Or
ders direct from the War Department, leav-
ing the division commander, in a measure,
ignorant of military operations within his
division.
An attempt has been made in the reguisl-
tions to prescribe specifically the duties of
each," says Gen. Greely, land for ordinary
routine work that appears to work fairly
well, but in an emergency, especially where
prompt action is necessary, the system
causes unnecessary delays and there re-
suits a lack of coordination altogether op-
posed to efficient action.
1t is believed to be an erroneous military
principle to have the same territory cover
ed by two commanders. 1t has been recog-
nized in all military history that the most
successful results are attained under a sim
gle head, and without entering into details,
IL Is 10 Dc Sdlu tldt the recent experience Ill
San Francisco developed large numbers of
instances to show that such a dual COM
mand is not the most efficient.
1t is believed that in case any general
officers are on duty within the limits of a
territoriai division their commands should
be primarily tactical ones, and that but one
official of a territorial command should take
his orders direct from the War Department,
all others to take their orders from him.
This may also be accomplished, it is be-
hxyr or ri,cr he stow M +.
ments, doing away with divisions, and es-
tablishing brigade posts.
Harmony Important.
'It is believed that 1t is of the utmost i'm
portance that no department or bureau of
the army Should be permitted to become so
Independent as to practically divorce itself,
either in it's outlying branches or in its
head at Washington, from proper control
by the officers who must command in time
of emergency, and under whose control
these various departments must be placed
In such emergency. Under the present re-
gime this can only be accomplished with
difficulty. However efficient may be the
services of such Independent officers in re-
stricted operations they must generally fall
to reach the highest efficiency in their half
hearted or divided service with the COM
mand as whole. 1t is impossible to have
perfect coordination of work in any emer-
gency, unless such coordination exists be-
fore the emergency arises. Experiences in
San Francisco lead to the conclusion that
every department whose duty it Is to IN
any manner furnish supplies to the troops
of command should be locally under the
immediate supervision of the territorial
commander; no absolutely Independent bu-
reau, or branch bureau, should be permit
ted within the territorial limits of a mill
tary command, when the duties of such bu-
reau, or branch Of bureau, pertain to the
supply of that command.
THE relief operations I'm San Francisco
were marked by some of that spirit OF di-
vided interests, which while not going to
the extent of embarrassing the division
commander yet failed, in several instances,
to insure that degree OF perfect unity
which should obtain in every military COM
mand" I>!ff