The Washington herald., 1916-06-16
The Herald's Army and Navy Department
Latest and Most Complete News Service and Personnel Published
in Washington.
IN Washington.

A group OF officers at the War Depart
nent are deeply interested in a plan
recently proposed to increase the arrnys 5
officer corps to the point required under
the reorganization. The plan is to
have every army officer write g postal
card to two Of his best friends. calling
their attention TO the possibilities Of
entering the army as second lieutenats
and also to the advancement which will
probably result from the operation Of the
new law.
These officers believe that the public
has not yet awakened to the fact that
the wave Of preparedness and the re-
sultant demand for an increase in the
national defense forces, will make the
army an extremely desirable career for
young men OF the proper mental and
physical qualifications.
A sample note or card to this effect
should call attention, the officers say, to
the fact that great increases are 70 be
made in the regular army within the next
FIVE years, one-hfthS Of this increase to be
made on July !, OF each Of the five years.
1t should also point out that those who
come in at the top Of the nst-the first
increment-to which admissions will
probably be made by examination can
reasonably hope to become first lieuten-
ants within year or two.
A new twist to the citizen-training
idea has been given by the Noncom-
missioned Officers Volunteer League
of America, which was recently incor-
porated at Albany, N. Y. The league
plans to carry the message of military
training for citizens to thousands of
workers in New York, who have not
the opportunity to take such a course.
In exchange for small fee, the
league plans to rent a building in
New York. where young men employ
ed at small salaries may make their
home and at the same time receive
the advantages Of military training.
The whole idea, of course, will be
based upon the plan of training citi-
zens in their home town. after office
hours. A similar plan, it is said, has
been successfully operated in Cali
fornia-
oficials of the War Department have
been remarking, recently. upon the chang
ing of military nomenclature by the Eu-
ropean war, and there is a tendency to
criticise the too-lioeral use Of some words
which should be more restricted in their
meaning. The artillery forces abroad
have been particularly influential in in
jectipg a new jarson into battle termin-
ology.
The curtain Of FIRE" and barrier FIRE, -
which appear SO frequently in the ac-
counts of actions in Europe, are said to
be very often misapplied. In the use OF
the phrase curtain Of fire." officers point
out such that phraseology should only be
applied to defensive artillery fire rained
down upon a certain area over which
enemy troops are trying to advance.
The phrase is very often used synony-
nously, they say, with barrier fire." a
term used to denote artillery fire center
ed on an area to prevent the bringing
up of reserves to reinforce an attack
To storm" a position. in correct mill
tary language, means to capture it. Aft
er a position has been won, It is organ
ized,r that is its defensive system is
organized to prevent a successful at.
tempt at recapture
The National School Camp Association
] which is planning to start a boys mill.
tary training camp at Fort Hamilton,