The Washington herald., 1918-09-21
Army and Navy News

There is no established legal defini-
tion OF what constitutes the line and
what the stan OF the army, said the
Judge Advocate Generals OF the army
in an opinion. As a matter of COM
mon law, military, the distinction be-
tween line and staff organizations de-
pends upon whether or not they are
designed primarily for actual combat;
and except where bound by statute.
the War Department is at liberty to
determine whether organizations
should properly be considered as be-
longing to the line or the staff, being
| governed by this distinction. The
Signal Corps was formerly stafr de-
partment. Its duties were staf duties
as distinguished from combat duties.
But the recent development OF the air
| service as a combatant service, with
the placing OF that service under the
Signal Corps, has changed the organ
ic character OF that corps by adding
to its long established functions duties
and functions which did not exist
in the old scheme Of organization. The
| Signal Corps act of July II, 1917 40
Stat. 24S). contemplates organizations
and units in the Signal Cors which are
designed primarily. and perhaps sole
| ly, for fighting. Therefore, such or
ganlzations OF the Signal Corps as are
designed for actual combat are prop
erly to be classified as organizations
OF the line OF the army as distin-
guished from the stan.
| Orders have been issued that all
work is to be stopped in connection
with the converting of any of the
I t..
ments. Additional information received
| shows that the cost OF converting
these tent camps into semi-perman-
ent cantonments would necessitate an
expense and the use of labor that can
be avoided at this time. This order
applies to Camp Shelby. the authori-
zation for which has already been
issued and other National Guard
camps, the converting OF which into
cantonments had been contemplated
Additions to the National Guard
/ camps not in the sense of converting
them into cantonments as authorized
is to proceed as announced.
| In connection with the DEVELOPMENT
OF the new plan of the Air Service fol
| thorough training OF our flyers before
| they are sent overseas, experienced
flying officers are being returned from
abroad to act as special instruc tors in
the more advanced courses of avia-
tion training. Recent practice III ..le-
mental training now gives the candi.
date more time in the air with his in
structor than heretofore. The new
plan is known as the Gosport system
or "All Thru" as it is popularity called
in the American Air Service. and in
| sures a closer contact between tht
cadet and the Instructor. When the
cadets arrive at a flying field from
! the ground school, where they hav,
learned much of the theory Of flight
engine control and repair, radio. sig
mailing and other kindred subjects
several of them are assigned to an in
structor who stays with them unit
they have qualified in elemental fly
ing. They are then sent to the spe.
cial schools for final work and train
ing in their particular line as pursuit
reconnaissance. artillery-control, o,
bombing pilots. The old practice o.
giving a cadet so much time in the all
under instruction and then tlrnint
him loose for his first sola fight, in a
"sink-or-swim" fashion, Is being die
continued and what is believed to b,
a more safe and sane system Is being
adopted.
The medical department Of the arm,