Evening star., 1921-10-02
OFFICERS RESERVE
| RULES Announced
War Department to Issue De-
tails to $500 Veterans,
| Members of Body.
CORPS HEADS GET POWER
Area Commanders Will Assign
Line Officers, Who Must Have
Training or Experience.


Training or Experience.
; Detailed regulations under which
thousands of world war veterans,
now members of the Officers Reserve
Corps, will be assigned for duty in
the reserve army framework contem-
plated by the national defense act
were made public yesterday by the
War Department. and will be dis
tributed Immediately to the $500
officers who now compose the corps
Assignment of reserve officers to the
twenty-seen divisions of organized
reseres throughout the country will
follow Immediately as the first step
in general staff plans under which an
army of more than 100000 could be
quickly modified at need.
The regulations are extensive and
cover every phase of the relationship
between the citizen officers and the
Regular Army. The same theory of
decentralizat ton of administrative au-
thority from the War Department to
corps area commanders is carried out
for the officers that was employed in
planning for the organized reserve
system
Many Second Lfeutenants.
There are now in the officers re-
serve two major generals, O'Ryan of
New York and Price of PENNSYLVANIA,
and seventeen brigadier generals, all
OF whom saw service in that RANK
during the war. There are also 322
colonels. but the great majority of
the reservists. 29.967 of them, are
second lieutenants.
In conformity with wartime prac-
tice the regulations provide that
only men with actual training or ex-
perience may be appointed reserve
officers OF the line. This includes ap-
pointments in the infantry, cavalry,
field or coast artillery and air service.
the combatant arms of the Army.
Special service appointments may be
made, however, where the civil train
ing or professional training Of a citi-
zen fits him for wartime service
with the Army. but not to lead troops
in battle. To accomplish this two
distinct classes of reserve officers are
created.
Assignment of line officers will be
by corps area commanders, and the
regulations provide for localization
of officers to units of the organized
reserve in the vicinities in which the
officers live. For this purpose more
officers than are required by organi-
cation tables may be- attachedsto such
units.
Three Groups Created.
Three groups of officers are created
for assignment purposes. These are
the general assignment group, to be
assigned By the War Department, and
including men regarded as eligible
for duty of a special character in
connection with the general staff; |;
the branch assignment group, COM
posed of specialists in the various
non-combatant branches Of the Army,
to be assigned by chiefs Of such
branches. and the territorial assign
ment group, including both classes
of reserve officers. to be assigned for
duty by corps area commanders.
Provision is made for promotion Of
reserve officers, even during peace
time. for merit, with the restriction
that advanced rank may be granted
only where there is a definite place
in the higher grade for the officer to
fill. It is also emphasized through
out the regulations that no reserve
officer may be called to active service
for training for more than fifteen
days in any year except with his con-
tsent. The regulations point out that
Limitation of funds available to the
War Department will further limit
sthe extent to which such officers may
sbe called to the colors except in event
of war.
, May Hold Guard Commlssions.
' A special section of the regulations
;covers the dual National Guard and
Reserve Corps commissions author
fzsd by the act. There is no conflict in
such commissions, it is stated, and
National Guard officers holding also
reserve commissions would pass into
the reserve group entirely in the
event of liberalization OF the guard
for war, retaining their assignment
in the guard, but available for duty
with any part of the Army. Where
3. guard officer in such dual status is
promoted his reserve rank will ad-
vance automatically without addi-
tional examination.
Provisions for assignment Of re-
serve officers to Army schools for
training are included. but 1t is noted
that here also availability of funds