Evening star., 1926-05-16
Army andNavy News

cialistS imposed upon the department
by recent budgetary reductions For
the next fiscal year, at least. the pres.
ent orga nization of the band will re-
main intact, but the hope has been
expressed in the War Department that
the year following the Army Band,
which has reached q point in popular
esteem second to no other band in the
country, may enlarge its activities as
above proposed.
E,ccentricitN among Army officers is
the subject of an interesting supple
mental report made to the surgeon
general of the Army by Mai. T.. s. Lin
thicum on conditions in the Regular
Army affecting the morale of both
officers and enlisted men. Maj. Ber-
tram r. Duckwall, another medical
officer. has also drawn some interest
ing deductions on this subject.
1t was contended by Maj. Linthi-
cum that Army officers had gone be-
yond the limit of endurance. physical
and mental. while Maj. Duckwall
pointed out that ''it is really not SO
much the amount of actual work that
breaks down morale and makes for
difficulties. but it is the atmosphere in
which such work is performed" The
latter in his paper finds that the easi-
est possible situation may become the
most difficult by reason of hard-driv-
ing tactics. antagonism and the cur
tailment of privileges to no purpose
by those in authority. The conclusion
is reached by Maj. Duckwall that &C.
centricity among officers may be de-
fined as that form of behavior be-
yond the limits of individual variation
in the reaction 10 unconscious COM
pleXes."
AS a result of his observations. Maj.
Duckwall has selected six types of
eccentricity which. in his estimation,
are undermining morale among their
associates and subordinates in the
Regular Army. He describes them as
follows: The busybody. the inattentive
type. the explosive type, the hypo-
critical type, the stereotype and the
mixed types. 1t is brought out in his
paper that more and more study of
the psychology of officers will be made
in the future.
with the selection Of appropriate
positions for the various types" Mat.
Duckwall said in concluding his paper,
"or by extended psycho-analysis so as
to lay bare to the officers concerned
their complexes. much higher stand
ard Of morale is bound to follow.
IL
must fall on the Medical Department.
as in that branch are to be found the
men qualified to conduit such a study.
Careful Judgment and tact, coupled
with professional ability, are prereQui-
sites for those who should be charged
with this important duty
NAVY.
The annual board of general officers
~ hn n ttVN xr-;lI IN
rine Corps headquarters on or about
May 20 for the purpose of preparing
a list Of those officers who are consid-
cred eligible for appointment as heads
OF the staff departments of the corps.
In addition to Maj. Gen. John A. Le-
jeune, commandant, U. s. Marine
Corps, who heads the board. it is COM
posed of the following brigadier gen.
erals: George Richards, paymaster;
Charles L. McCawley. quartermaster;
Rufus H. Lane. adjutant and inspec-
tor. and the two additional members.
who are Brig. Gems. Ben II. Fuller and
Dion Williams. Of the latter two ad-
ditional members one will serve on
the board as a permanent member.
while the other will serve in place Of
the present staff department heads
while consideration is made Of those
eligible for their respective depart
ments.
Early in June a board Of Marine
Corps officers will meet for the pur-
pose Of preparing q list Of officers who
are considered eligible for appointment
as brigadier generals In the line Of
the corps. The law prescribes that
the absence Of the name Of any officer
holding the rank Of colonel. which
does not appear on one or the other
of the eligible lists in any year, and
who has attained or will attain during
the year the age of Sc years, will be
placed upon the retired list.
Maj. Randolph Coyle. who is the
captain of the 1926 Marine Corps rifle
and pistol teams, will have four as
sistants, three of whom have already
been designated. They are Capts.
Allen H. Turnage, executive officer;
Joseph Jackson, coach, and Eugene L..
Mullaly, assistant coach. The fourth
assistant, who will be designated in
the near future. will be an assistant
coach for pistols.
Notwithstanding the fact that flying