Evening star., 1922-12-08

America must be prepared to take
the immediate defensive" in the air
in case of war. and to so expand Its
air strength that it eventually can
assume its offensive. Cen. Persh1ns
declared today in his annual report
as chief of staff of the Army.
This is the basis of our present
defense policies with all our arms
and should be considered a minimum.
the general of the armies continued.
"A very important part in such de-
fensive would be the operations OF an
effective air service"
Shortage OF Facilities.
Cen. PershinE said he desired 10
call attention to the condition OF the
air service today. and the fact that
there existed present shortage OF
facilities and personnel for COM
pletely balanced and adequate serF-
icc of this vital component of de-
fensc.'
No man can estimate Win prsseha ~.
certainty the value which can pc
ascribed in few years to the pos
session of an adequate resourcefuiness
in the air" he said. 1T is certa n.
however that the influence OF al.
power will become increasingly great
and that the nation cannot aHoro "
neglect this arm.
..Thc air service which we develop
should be capable of offensive appll-
cation This does not mean that we
must Immediately build an ar striI.
that could take the offensive against
any great power or group OF power
1t does mean. however. that we shouio
have a force that can take the I'M
mediate defensive. ana that can. uui
ing a reasonable period of opera t'ons. ms
expand TO the strength required 1or
AN offensive
Reserve Is Lacking.
The report said the reserve OF arr
planes for such policy and even Ia
cilties for personnel training were
lacking. and that Industries and the
a;rwavs of our country are not pre-
pared for an emergency.
Il earnestly hope. therefore. Cen
I'ershinS added. that early steps VIII
be taken TO bring about the eHectlHe
cooperation of states with the dsen
cies of the national government 70
the end tina: this vital need can "e
effeCtual!y filled.
Discussing the development OF the
Army aud postwar reorSanlzat!onS;
the general said he had Witnessed
with appreciation the accompllshmehts
Of the present administration IN at
tanning efficiency anu erono,ns ',ros of W
operation. and it has been a source OF
distinct pride to observe the response
of our military personnel. He point
ed out however. that he reeardea 1ne ne
Army at its present strength OF l2'VVo
cfticers and 1o5.Oo0 men as below the
minimum required for effective per-
formance of our various missions
10000 should Be Minimum.
cit is my conviction" he said. "that
our regular force is cut too much Tor
safety and that a strength of at least
10000 enlisted men and $4,000 off1-
GERS should be permanently hxed as
the minimum.
Outlining the plans of the depart
ment for future mobilization. Gen.
Pershing said:
I'm our general plan for emer-
sency mobilization il is contemplated
that in a major eventuality our Regu-
lar Army would expand from us nm
ited peace strength to form nine m
fantry divisions; our National Guard.
also kept at very low peace loot
ing. would form eighteen infantry
divisions, and the organized reserves.
always a mere skeleton in time or
neace. would form twenty-seven in
fantry divisions, each to furnish
proportional strength in corps, Army
and general headquarters units.
Would Dismay Adversary.
For the organized reserves this
contempiates a total of three infan-
try and cavalry divisions and nine
groups of n-divisional units. These
are aIlocated to geographical areas
on the basis of density Of population
AS one looks back upon our eXpe-
rience at the beginning of the past
wear. it is easy to appreciate what
tremendous advantage this would
give us were our forces again re-