East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1919-02-15
Major General George o. Squier,
Chief Signal Officer, Explains
What Tests Are Made.

in the development Of aircraft and net IN the
fiyer There was little regard for the special
fitness of the the day and hour he
drove his machine.
This was true not only in the United States
but also in the allied countries, The pilot was
not selected because of any peculiar fitness
for flying 1t simply question or
whether rot he had the nerve.
But about the time the United States en-
tered the war it became clear that the science
OF physiology could be applied with advantage
to the selection. classification and main
tenance OF the aviator Each of the countries
in the war now has a fully established ar
medical service as an integral Part OF the air
forces, In the British army there is
separate air medical service with a surgeon
general of aeronautics. In the American
army this work has been handled effectively
by a division of the surgeon generals office,
assigned as part of the air service.
The early view that any one who had the
nerve" could ny caused enormous avoidaoie
wastage Of life and material The lesson
learned from bitter experience was that it is
essential to obtain flyers who especially
fitted for particular work and keep them
in condition to perform their duties at all
tiGaSeS.
Far from Nature.
same s1--s that she did cot intend him for
saes in = aaSEIa-ine. Conditions unnatural
fr1sA TIA time he leaves the ground until he
returns There are many obstacles to over
come he flies IN an atmosphere deficient in
thA. oxygen which is the breath of life he
IN Aue3ected in war 70 the sheiis of antI-air-
craft guns and enemy aircraft: he travels
t.rvugh space a;gh above the ground at rates
well in excess OF 100 miles an hour. in attain
ing altitude and breathing rarified air the
flyer is defying nature
The pilot is the hear. and brain of the whole
flying apparatus. Parts of the airplane may
break without serious result. out when the
pilot breaks, even momentarily. nothing is
left to direct the flight. The man and the
machine come crashing to the earth.
All this the Air Medical Service had to con-
slider. The service had the advantage OF a
series of reports of the air medical services
of our allies. which enabled ii to attain self
footing in a remarkably brief time a medical
research laboratory fully equipped. was es-
tablshed by the Army Air Service at the fly
ing fields on Long Island n. \.
The keynote Of the American Air Medical
Service is the handling of the flyer as an in
dividual which naturally brings the work into
three main divisions
First, the selection of the flyer
second, the classification Of the flyer. and.
Third the maintenance OF the physical ell
cheney of the flyer.
the outset Of the war made it necessary TO
obtain a large number OF military aviators IN
the shortest possible space OF time The inedl-
cal protlsm consisted of selecting men who
were physically fit
1t is possible for men to fly in spite OF one
or more physical handicaps. such as having
only one leg or eye or even being cross
eyed but such men are not desirable flyers.
since men with complete endoWments natu-
rally have superior advantages The man in
the flying service would be called upon 10
negotiate critical emergencies in the air. In
slant decision and action, therefore, would De
essential for success. So it was seen that only
those men with exceptional mental and phYsi-
cal capa biues should be chosen
In order to accomplish the best results a
comprehensive programme was uhdertaheh
providing for the Standardization OF both tests
and examiners. Sixty-seven military units
were established, each examining from ten 10
sixty applicants a day The figures snow mat
20 7 ner cent OF the applicants were qualified.
The large number of applicants made IT pos
sIbie to maintain the highest standard IN
selecting men ~
states determined to supply the American air
fighters with planes as good as If not better
tlan. those used by the enemy. it was decided
mat the American aviators must be as good
as IL not better than, those of the enemy. The
outcome Of any encounter might easily depend
upon which cOmbatant possessed the better
vision and other special sensos the better ner-
vous system and the better mental al phy5i-
cal equipment in general
ia ch applicant received a complete physical
examinatioa, embracing ali lie features ord!-
narily rrgUtEes of rDs8 entering he military
seryioa ard. n addition. comprehensive and
extNusf7o tasLs sf the gpecia! senses Of VisloE'
hesrinx and ag,riaE: se2Sins.
II 10 frspSreALt % eISaxtfy tSS flyer fer the
Hnd Of work Be h IaIysicAliy' capable Of per-
farming SSme men ara not able 10 ny At
higher le1els than q fS-V thousand feet with
ont serious deAsta.fSEs effects. while others
may operate az u11cL higber attitudes. II is
necessary TO kn0E a 0ye-s limitations before
hts training 10 spseiz;izsd. t>r tile saving OF
tine and rsScsy snd. in fse'. the fiyr him
ses II woHi5 be an evident ~aS;s 20 sialn a
pho. for COMBAT work AID then find he vas
physically CAPABLE OF doing only bombing At
A relatively low level. To accomplish this
classification .sraneh medical research labora-
tories we're placed in the flying fields, which
~ appropriate tests she rebreather ma
chine developed at tne parent institution at
Nineola, classified the flyers.
Testing for Height.
The work of the laboratories demonstrated
that s3xty-one yer cent are capable Of flying
20 ao0o0 feet or more. twenty-five per cent
should not fly above 1900 feet and fourteen
per cent were unsafe above 1000 feet
The rebreather is used also to determine
temporary unfitness for attitudes. due to some
tntercurrent illness, dietary indiscretion and
staieness from prolonged flying.
The necessity for altitude classification is
readily understood from the fact that whereas
in 1915 flying rarely exceeded 5000 or looO
feat through improved design scouts OF to-
day climb to attitudes OF $500 feet within
very short time.
yIrht bombing is carried out at attitudes as
tow as 800 feet Day bombing. in order not to
reveal the objective Of the flight and TO guard
against concentrated anti-aircTaft fire, may
eaIl for flights at extremely high attitudes
Tleeonnoissanco machines rarely get TO high
oifituaes owing 10 the necessity for more or
lees ciose observation q the gnound' ana
,,,.r,,ines doing this work accomplish low
s1,-lnsr even In the face Of highly concentrated
soti-aircraft fire and other enemy activity
machines cooperating with the artllery max
- ,--t,s.e corrections for batteries do not