New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-12
War Department
Plans Wholesale
Army Promotions
Will SoonAnnounce Sweep
ing Advance for Thou
sands of Officers

WASHINGTON. Aug. 11.-Sweeping
! promotions in the army that will bring
| advance in rank to thousands of Off
{ GERS will be announced by the War
Department within the next few days
At the outset in making these pro-
motions Secretary Baker has accepted
the advice Of the General staff that
/ seniority be the guiding principle
This finally disposes Of the suggestion
made by General Pershing and other
officers that the younger men be pro-
NOTED to the ranks of general officers
/ 70 command the armies sent TO France.
The promotions will advance all the
/ present brigadier generals and the
ranking colonies to the grade OF major
4 general. Extending down the line
there will be a general advancement of
/ practically all officers at least one
grade, and some will advance two
grades.
Selection of commanding officers and
/ instructors for the second officers
training camps is held up until the
promotion question is settled.
Adjutant General Mccain has before
( him a list of all officers at present
assigned to training camps. He will
prepare his list of commanders and
instructors in a few days.
Ten Armies Planned
There will be sixty-one divisions of
the army when the National Guard and
National Army divisions are organized
within the next few weeks. This will
call for sixty-one major generals. In
addition, there will be about twenty
major generals for the staff depart
ments of the enlarged army.
The War Department has announced
the plan Of forming the divisions into
corps and the corps into armies. If
the siXty-one divisions are thus organ
lied there will be twenty army corps
and ten armies. 1t is planned to assign
major generals TO the staff positions
for each army, brigadier generals TO
the staff of the commanding officer of
the army corps and colonies TO the
staff Of the division commander. There
are eight staff positions each for the
army staff, the corps staff and the di-
vision staff, opening up another de-
mand for high ranking officers.
In addition TO the general advance
necessitated by the organization Of
Sixty -Onc divisions ana the consequent
staff appointments there will be an
entire new army of sixteen divisions
for which officers must be found.
Few To Be Passed Over
As a result, in addition TO advancing
all the brigadiers and a large number
of colonies 20 be brigadier gem
erals, there will be from $50 to 200
new brigadier generals, who will come
from the rank OF colonel, and some
probably from the ranks of lieutenant
colonel and major.
Some of the colonies and lieutenant
colonies who are advanced in years
and have married records will be passed
over in the promotion scheme, giving
an opening to younger officers, but
there will not be many such cases.
In addition 10 this promotion scheme
II is planned TO place scores Of cap
tains and majors of the regulars in
important places of command in the
National Army. The question of as
signing men 70 command Of the Ma
tional Army will be settled before the
first men go 10 camp, September /.
All promotions 10 be made will be
for the period of the war.