Evening star., 1912-11-18
|WERS IN DISPUTE E|PUT WITH REGULARS
ent of Waterways Commits Compliment Paid National
n Jurisdiction Questioned Guard of District.
AL POINT is BROUGHT UP NEW TACTICAL PLAN MADE
ended That Only Troops Of Country to Be Arranged
ntroversy May Be Considered. in Sixteen Divisions
TEST OVER DESIRED DAM LETTERS SENT TO GOVERNORS
Outlet Nam
Opposed Observation-Disclosures to Assist the
and Navigating State Officials
Compliment Paid National
Guard of District.
NEW TACTICAL PLAN MADE
Troops Of Country to Be Arranged
in Sixteen Divisions.
LETTERS SENT TO GOVERNORS
War Department Will Detail In
Observation-Disclosures to Assist the
State Officials.

In the new tactical arrangement of the
land forces of the United States the Ma
tional Guard of the District of Columbia
will be the only militia organization to
be regarded tactically as regular troops"
The War Department has divided the
United States into sixteen divisions
for tactical purposes. comprising every
National Guard organization in the va
rious states.
The first three of these divisions are ex-
clusively made up of regular army troops.
The fourth division comprises regular
troops and the National Guard of the Dis
tr.ct of Columbia. Officers of the local
brigade look on this as one of the highest
compliments ever paid to the National
Guard of the District of Columbia.
The plan to organize sixteen divisions.
making each division a tactical unit, Is
part of the general scheme to reorganize
the land forces of the United States.
and Is in keeping with the forward
movement of military experts in every
country. A general outline of this pan
was announced to the local brigade at
the dinner given by Company Is, I'd In
fantry, Saturday, November 8, in speech
by Capt. G. v. H. Mosely. U. S. "A.
w Ill nave nSduQ
Each Of the divisions will have for its
vital center headquarters and storage
depot, and the business of the entire unit
viii. be carried on there. The War De-
partment will communicate directly with
the headquarters of a division instead of
with many detached state org4niza uons
For instance, in the fifth division the
troops of New England will be massed
into four brigades. In the first brigade
the. e will be three Massachusetts regi-
ments; the second brigade will have two
Connecticut regiments and a Massachu-
setts regiment, the third brigade will
have regiment from each of the states
of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont
and the fourth brigade will be composed
of one regiment of Massachusetts troops
and two separate battalions from the
same state In addition. there are thir-
teen troops of cavalry in New England.
four signal corps companies, three field
hospitals. two ambulance companies and
few other excess organizatio
This viii be tactical unit, and the
troops of the District Of Columbia will
be placed and moved by the War De-
partment in just such an organization,
with the exception that the military COM
panions will be United States regulars.
Letters Sent to Governors.
secretary
to the governors Of all the states and ter
ritories, inviting cooperation in the
plans of the War College for the organi-
zation of the militia into the twelve tao
tical divisions.
1t is pointed out in the letters that if
the militia is to be used as a field force
effectively in time Of war it can only be
done by this system of divisions. To in
sure the proper working of the plan all
of the details should be worked out in
time of peace, leaving as little as pos
sible to be atten.ed to when the emer-
Sency is upon u.s.
By taking up this subject now Gen.
Oliver declares that not only will the
whole militia be put on better basis
as field force for employment under
the federal government, but the military
authorities of both the federal and state
governments will be enabled to gradually
balance the force in all arms and be
ready for orderly war mobilization.
No Place for Single Companies.
In the definition of the twelve divisions
no place is given to separate companies
of infantry, which, it is said, should be
absorbed into regiments or other larger
organizations. Field armies would be
formed by the grouping of two or more
divisions Of the militia, or by combining
one or two divisions of militia with one
of regu ar troops. These organizations
would form the fourth brigade of any di-
vision assigned to field army, for the
reason that the organized militia is To-
caliZed, while the regular army must go
anywhere upon call. If placed in divi-
sionS with the organized militia these
Withdrawals of the regular troops would
constantly be diSrupting divisions to which
they were assigned. Some money will be
available for the assistance of the state
unalloted portion of the funds appropri-
ated under the act of 1908.
The War Department also will detail
Observation-Disclosures to assist the state
and territorial officials. and war material
for the militia will be distributed and
stored in suitable depots. to be at hand
locally when mobilization is ordered. The
governors are invited to inform the de-
partment IL the arrangements proposed
are satisfactory to them, as 1t is desired
to proceed promptly with this important
work.
Composition Of Divisions.
The last twelve divisions will be COM
posed Of the following state militia Or
ganizations:
Fifth division headquarters, Boston
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont. Massa-
chusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
Sixth division. headquarters. Albany
New York Seventh division, headquar-
ters Harrisburg-Pennsylva Eighth
division. headquarters. Washington, ID. c.
New Jersey. Maryland. Delaware. Vir-
gina, West Virginia. Ninth division,
headquar4 ,rs, Atlanta-North Carolina,
South Carolina, Georgia. Florida. Tenth
division, headquarters, Nashville-Ten-
nessee, Kentucky, Alabama and Missis-
sippi. Eleventh division, headquarters.
Columbus-Ohio and Michigan. Twelfth
division headquarters. Chicago-Illinois
and Indiana. Thirteenth division, head
quarters, St Paul-Iowa, Wisconsin.
Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota.
Fourteenth division, headquarters, Kan
sas Cityt-Missouri. Kansas. Nebraska,
Wyoming, Colorado. Fifteenth division
| headquarters, San Antonio-New Mexico
Oklahoma Texas. Arkansas, Louisiana
Sixteenth division, headquarters. San
! Francisco-California, Oregon. Washing
| ton, Idaho, Montana, Utah. Nevada and
Arizona.
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