Evening star., 1919-05-04
Army and Navy News

! they for the most part received the
same class of training in special
SCHOOLS. Students in the training
| camps at the time the armistce was
signed were permitted to continue the
i course or to give up, and with the
| stimulus over, nearly all who were
not about to receive commissions quit.
! Win some saving in expense to the
government. but with a loss in officer
material for the future that was ap-
/ palling.
with the sudden expansion of the
war Department when war was de-
clared, the Of
Personnel Division fee of the ad-
Of Army Reviewed. su'ane ,1 mt sener ener
ness. Maj. Gen. McCaine, the head of
| this division, strove in every way to
meet new conditions, but officers and
men to manage the enormous amount
OF detail were not to be had, and in
consequence the personnel section en-
countered many difficulties in the per-
lornance OF it's, usual duties in the
assignment Of officers to the various
details. What should have been a
separate division as measured by it's
Importance. the training camp di-
rection, under Col. William T. John
ston, was mere section tucked away
IN corner of the Office. and yet it
was charged with the procurement
and training of 100000 line officers.
AT that time each bureau, corps or
department was working without re-
gard to one another with the result
that there was competition, instead
OF coordination. between them in
the effOrt to secure desirable person
mel. This duplication of effort with
held personnel that might have been
made available and involved the EN-
pioyment of vast clerical personnel
which could have been saved. Worse
than that, it encouraged bureaucracy
and patronage system. Shortly after
the advent of Gen. Peyton c. March as
chief of staff the Secretary of War
instisated an investigation of the per-
sonnel system in the Army The re-
suit was General Orders No. Sc, Sep
tember IS, 1918. creating a person
mel branch of the operations division
of the general staff to handle all mat
ters relating to the appointment, pro-
motion, transfer and assignment of
the commissioned personnel of the
Army. All routine assignments. not
requiring the concurrence Of another
bureau chief, camp commander, etc,
are ndNOl6O ulTeCtIy Win lHe duJu-
tant generals Office, but all other as
signments must be cleared through
this personnel branch. For the in
fantry and cavalry, arms which have
no chief the personnel branch handles
all this business.
The order provided that all staff
corps and departments should sub
NIT reouisitions for officers required
for its duties and for all recommends
tions for promotion. 1t abolished the
personnel branches of the Staff Corps
and departments and vested their
functions in t he personnel DIVISION
they only making acquisitions and
recommendations. AS matter Of fact.
the personnel division. which was
placed in charge Of Brig. Gen. Percy
B. Bishop, was not in full operation
when the armistice was signed. and.
therefore. had not taken over all it's
duties at the end of the war. Its
procurement division. however. did
take control of the selection of can
didates for the training camps for the
period of the second draft.
To quote from an article by Col
James Gordon Steese in the National
Service Magazine. THE experience of
this war has conclusively demonstrat-
ed the soundness Of the principle of
establishing personnel branch in
the general STAFF. Certainly
in the case of future war it
would be a vast gain over our pres
ent experience to have such policy
established and in being. Meanwhile
everything possible should be done
to follow up matters already au-
thorized. such as the Reserve Officers
Training Corps units in colleges, etc
It Is to be hoped that Congress will
promptly meet the requirements of
reorganized Regular Army. and
prolting by the experience of the
present war, will finally adopt a ra-
tional and comprehensive military
policy for the United States"