Evening star., 1927-09-11
QUARTER OF MILLION
TRAINED In ARMY CAMPS
Officers Anticipate Summers Work Will
Set Record as Greatest Peace-time
Effort of United States.

| new ming into the War Department
and final figures will be available
when all corps areas report and the
mass is tabulated 'rhe department. S
plan of decentralization leaves largely
In the hands of corps area command
ers the task of arranging for the va
rious. camps.
1000 Naval Trainees.
Naval estimates place the number
| or ReservistS trained in that branch
| OF the service this Summer at 1000
AS an index of the situation. officers
quote last years figures. showing that
900 officers and 5000 men too; the IT,
day training period at sea. In this
| figure is included the District of Co.
| lumbia unit. Two hundred and twenty.
| five officers and 105 men took training
| in aviation and 98 officers and SO men
were trained at shore stations. A 10
| to Is per cent higher number Is an
| ticipated for this season.
Thus both Army and Navy are
marching forward in the plan for ma
that these civilians who turn to the
service for brief training span dur
ing the Summer are benefited immeas-
urably In health. returning to their
manifold pursuits in private life
bronzed and hardened by the workout.
Army officers do not anticipate that
more than $4,000 will be trained in
next years Citizens Military Training
Camps, as funds will not permit work
far above that figure. Congress is
known by its liberality in appropri.
ating funds in this direction to be in
favor of this work. realizing 1t to be
popular movement. Among the prob
lens yet to be solved in this branch
Of hn aY@ly jC
tributing the trainees more evenly
among the various occupations. for as
it Is now students occupy most of the
camps. With the benevolent attitude
adopted by many of the country's
leadi~~ business houses. such AZ the
American Railway Express Co. and
the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey,
officers hope to be able to obtain
greater representation of the occupa-
tions in the camps of 1928 and sue.
ceeding years.
Training OF Girls.
The training of girls in the military
service is receiving some attention
among certain officers Of the Army,
with a view, at some future date. of
inaugurating q Female Citizens Mill
tary Training Camp. This. however.
is conceded to be beyond the pale of
proDaDillty Tor the present.
The question of giving training in
aeronautics to the c. NJ. T. c. men is
held. at the present time, to be Of
doubtful value, as officers emphasize
that the airplane is too dangerous a
piece of machinery to have young men
devote but 80 days a year to it. Po-
tential fatalities, which might give
black eye to the whole c. NJ, T. c.
movement. are feared.
Members Of the Reserve Officers
Training Corps are given Air Corps
training at Langley Field, Va: Max
well Field, Ala; Chanute Field. ILL.,;
Fort Crockett, Tex, and Crissy Field,
Calf. The Organized Reserves are
schooled in aeronautics at Boston,
Mass; Mitchell Field. N. z: Aberdeen
tests are held; Boiling Field and Lang
ley Field, Va: Shepards Field. w. Va;
Camp Albert c. Ritchie, Md: Maxwell
Field, Ala, for observation, pursuit,
attack and bombing work; Selfridge
Field, Mich, in pursuit and observa-
ton groups; Fort Riley, Kans.: Fort
Sam Houston. Tex; Fort Crockett,
Tex; Scott Field, ILL.,. for the balloon
group, and at Clover and Crissy Fields,
Calf.
National Guard aviators get their |
training at camp DeyenS, Mitchell |
Field, Langley Field. Shepards Field, |
w. Va: Camp Albert c. Ritchie, Nd; |
Maxwell Field, for Photographic work: |
Wright Field. Fairfield, Ohio; Void. |
Chamberlain Field, Minn.; Air Inter
mediate Depot, Little Rock. Ark; An
gium, Mo-; Lowry Field, Colo: Pala-
clos, Tex, and Camp Lewis, Wash.
Variety of Cailings.
What a wide variety of cauings is
represented in this quarter of a mil.
lion men Quartered under canvas or in
barracks during the Summer just
passed. Their civilian avocations lose
their identity, in many cases, as the
military becomes dominant. While in
the service they are radio operators,
linemen, engineers, tank repairmen,
meterologists, members of a pigeon
company, laundrymen, ammunition ex-
perts and host Of others. These are
often far different from their actual
work as civilians.
The tremendous task Of training
this quarter Of a million of various
likes and ages fell to the lot Of the
Regular Army, which now numbers
$4,000 officers and lie. 900 enlisted men.
Confidence is expressed that when the
final figures are tabulated, showing
the extent of the Summers work, it
will be found to be the greatest eace-
time training that has occurred in
American history.