The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-22
MARVELLOUS TASK
 IN TRANSPORTING
 ARMY BACK HOME

Headquarters S, Q. S.. A. E. F.. France, May @.-eSpeciaL L1-More than 1,6OoOoo soldiers sent across the sea to America from armistice day to July 1 is the splendid achievement of the embarkation section of the American expeditionary forces.
 Since the signing of the armistice the embarkation section has been one of the busiest units of the A. E. F. It has ac- complished task of Herculean propor- lions. Never in military history has the world witnessed such an immense move ment of troops in such a short space of t.me With orderly speed the members of the A. E. F. were gathered from all corners of France. from England. Ger many and Italy, equipped and cleaned, and sent westward across the Atlantic in fleet of ships that knew no rest.
 Like an endless chain the transports in the service of the United States army have moved back and forth along the sea lanes, speeding soldiers home, and re- turning for more.
 Authorizations have exceeded all expec- tations, for the staff of the embarkation section has tirelessly strived to keep the machinery of transportation working smoothly and at full capacity.
 One hundred and seventy-five vessels were in the great fleet that bore Ameri- cas army home and they sailed from Brest, Bordeaux, St. Nazaire, Marseilles, Havre, and from British and Italian ports. The largest among the transports were the Leviathan and the Imperator two of the biggest liners in the world.
 When the fighting ceased last Novem- Der there was in existence a nearly per- feet transport system to carry troops from the United States to France. The armistice caused this system to be re- versed in order to set the tide of moving troops flowing homeward
 Col J. B. Cavanaugh assistant chief of staff at the headquarters of services of supply. was the officer who set the ma chinery of the transportation system into reverse and started the big homeward movement of troops last November As the work of the embarkaation section rapidly increased he laid the foundation of an elaborate organization and turned over the direction of this organization to Lieut. Col George V. Strong of the gen. eral staff, U. S. A. This officer was later called upon for other duty and Lieut. Col. l. P. Swift, general staff, succeeded him in charge of the authorization sec ton.
 Although the work of the embarkation section was centered at and directed from Tours, it's activities reached into every corner of the territory covered by the A D. F. All homeward bound troop movements were directed from Tours, and the organization and work of the con- centration centers and base ports were commanded from that point.
 The chief center for the concentration of troops was at Le Mans where an inn mense camp was constructed with ca pacity of 230,000 men. There were, in ad- lS !, troops were concentrated, deloused, equipped and made ready to sail.
 Few people in America realize the amount of work involved in the prepara- tion of troops for authorization. Before soldiers were sent from France, England or Italy they were inspected and exam ined for disease. Their colthing and blankets were deloused, new clothing and , equipment was issued when necessary, and all papers and records were com pleted and set straight. All men were paid and their accounts with the Amer ican expeditionary force balanced before they embarked on transports
 A large and efficient personnel was used to carry on this work, and when 1t is considered that more than one and half million men were sent through the concentration camps and base ports with in seven months. 1t will be realized what splendid work the authorization section accomplished
 Among the many features of the work of the authorization section that illus. trates it's characteristic efficiency is the cablegram it sent each night to Wash ington- This cablegram advised the wal department of the number and kind of troops that sailed during the day, the probable date of landing, and the geo. graphical distribution of these soldiers in the United States. The daily cable en- able the receiving organizations at the ports of the United States to efficiently handle the troops when they arrived.
 Of the transports carrying the A. E. F. home, f6 sail under the American flag Sixty of these are converted cargo ves- sells, 40 are regular troop transports, and 9 are battleships, cruisers and mine sweepers. These naval vessels provide l comfortable quarters for more than 1000 1 men each.
 The German ships in the transport service number 10, and the remainder of 1 the transport fleet are ships of British, | French, Dutch. Italian, and Spanish reg istry to the number of 4o
 All boats are provided with excellent | hospital facilities and the sick and wound l ed soldiers sent to America were we'll | cared for.
 Illustrative of the rapidity with which | troops are handled at the base ports are | the following facts concerning turnabouts l of a few of our transports:
 On April the Mount Vernon left the | United States. She arrived at Brest at 1 7:55 a. m.; on April II loaded 5773 troops, | Including BIO sick and wounded, and | sailed at o'clock in the afternoon. The | same vessel arrived at Brest on May g, | loaded 5S34 troops, including 635 sick and | wounded, and left port seven hours and | five minutes after arrival
 The Great Northern arrived in Brest l on May 2, loaded 291 troops, including | 706 sick and wounded, and left. port the | same day. The total time in port was | five hours and 45 minutes.
 The Cape May arrived at Bordeaux | May 16 and stayed in port only hour and | 1s minutes. during which time 1880 troops | were embarked
 The Maui arrived at Brest May r, and | within a period of three hours and 35 | minutes had loaded 3612 troops and sailed | for New York.
 As indicating the increased speed in | the embarkation of troops as the em- markation section daily improved and n- creased facilities for handling men at concentration camps and base ports. the following figures are interesting:
 Month No. troops en,harlxed | November Il to 30 .............. 25,50S | Deeciioci .....--..-....-........ 96,669 l Saiiudis ...-......-....... 1l5,O21 | February ............... ITO a2e March o14.5ea April ................... eaa 11.
 May contradictions exceeded the esti- mate of H5,000 and the authorizations in! June, according to estimates. will total