The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1917-11-23
STATE GUARD IS
ELIMINATED IN
new ARMY PLAN
Identity of State Organizations Is
Lost While This War
Lasts.
SUGGESTED .PERSHING
Reorganization Wipes Out Identity of
Some Famou State Regiments
National Defense Act May
Restore Ii After Conflict.

Washington.-War department off
Gals, general staff officers and arm,
officers generally frankly admit tina
the National Guard, as 1t was befor
the United States entered the war, il
being gradually eliminated, certainl,
as far as this war is concerned.
The fact is that since Gen. Johl
J. Pershing was sent to France a de
cisiOn has been reached to %reorganiz,
the regular army and National Guar(
from top to bottom. This decision was
made on General Pershing's urgen'
recommendation.
General ~Pershing's recommendations
were the result of conferences in Paris
between the American and allied com.
manders, and h new organization fol.
lows closely the lines of the present
french organization, built up after
three years of active fighting.
The recommendations of General
Pershing were an entire surprise to
war department officials and the gen.
eral staff. The latter baked at first,
but ultimately followed the plan rec
commended by the American field com
manders on the theory that Pershing
was on the ground and in q position
to know what the British and French
have found most effective in battering
their way through the German lines.
That is the whole story. 1t is hard
on National Guard organizations, es-
pecially the crack regiments, whose
members have always taken great
pride in them and striven to improve
and perfect them.
Fol Keeping Identity
At the outset the general staff plan
provided for mastering into the fed
eral service state units as such, each
of them to be given q new regular
army number, but to retain its iden-
t1ty.
When General Pershing urgently rec
commended that regiments be increased
from 1900 to more than 5000, ever
crack National Guard infantry regi-
ments, which had been recruited to
full war strength were far below the
required number. AS finally perfect
ed, the new organization provides for
a regimental maximum strength of 1O3
officers and 1852 enlisted men.
This explains why it has been neces-
airy to merge one National Guard reg
iment with another. 1t has been stated
repeatedly that the National Guard
would next go to France. By
combining two Guard units the gen.
r staff figured the war department
would have q maximum of men in the
enlarged regiment who had had some
military training and experience.
On the other hand, if the recon-
mendatiOns of governors, senators and
representatives and National Guard
officers were followed and the, ranks
of Guard units filled up with drafted
from the same states, the ma
jOrity of every regiment, with a few
exceptions, would be composed of
wholly unframed men. This would
mean a much longer training period.
AS ~reOrganized, army experts are con-
fident the National Guard troops will
be ready for service after a minimum
period in this country.
Superior Fighting Machine.
However disappointing the new or
ganization may be to either National
Guard or regular army troops, Off
feel that there can be no doubt
hat every officer and man in both
branches, as we'll as those now in the
National army camps, want to see the
most efficient fighting machine pos
,ible. Army experts devoted most |
study and thought to the reor-
,anization. They think they have per- !
ected an organization which has no {
uperior as a fighting machine. 9
In the reorganization New York's L
have suffered disintegra- =
ion. For instance, the men of the
'irst New York Cavalry and Squadron =
find themselves today mere dough I
as in the past they termed the u
They are bidding final fare
5ell to their horses, n the parting
a sad one, for many of the former
avalrymen have had the same mounts
Or several years.
The officers and men of the old First
avalry are being split up among
lree units. The One Hundred and
ixth Machine Gun battalion will claim
80 of the enlisted personnel and the
hundred and Second Trench Nor
II battery, the first of it's kind to be
gained in this country, takes One
and Eighty One. The One
and Second Ammunition
rain will also claim a number of off
and men of the old regiment.
luadron A, too, has lost its mounts
ID the organization is now the One
1ndred and Fifth Machine Gun bat
ion.
In the Spartanburg camp of the
yelfth and S~eventy-frst regiments,
ere are not enough men left to make
decent sized company. The historic
mmands have been drained of
cir men that more fortunate regi-