The Coolidge examiner., 1933-06-30
Our Government
How 1t Operates
NATIONAL DEFENSE
By William Bruckorf

nous strides have been taken among
nations to preserve the peace. The
movement has eXemplified itself in
many different ways and with vary
ing shades of opinion shown, from
the type of citizen desiring to lie
still and play dead on through the
list to those fostering the belief
that only the greatest army and the
greatest navy can be expected to
assure permanent peace for our
country.
Fortunately for the nation, there
is only negligible number of those
who are willing to chance the fu-
ture of their homeland without an
army or a navy. All of the advo.
Gates of peace contemplate a system
of national defense of some kind
and advocate it in a size according
to their light. But the point is that
desiring peace as we do, our de-
sires cannot govern what course or
policy some other government may
.
elect to follow.
| believe it is safe to say that now
as never before the average citi-
zen is acquainted with need for ma
tional defense and the way that
need is met. Programs have been
worked out since the World war
ended that are predicated on a more
general knowledge by every one of
what constitutes the needs of the
army and the navy in condition of
crisis. Although the two services
are skeletOnized now, should the
emergency arise it is correct TO
state that a million men can spring
to arms over night, and it seems
that the number probably would be
three times that if the carefully ar
ranged plans may be judged prop
erly by the layman.
While it is necessary that great
deal of the planning by the army
and navy is done in secret and must
remain so for the obvious reason
that any nation learning of them is
| able to map counter methods, ii
can be stated that officers of the
army and the navy constantly are
engaged in study of theoretical at
tackS and defense. The Army War
college and the Naval War college
are the higher institutions of learn
ing, so to speak, where the officers
delve into the more intricate prob
lens of war tactics.
These plans, of course, cannot be
said to represent our national de-
fense policy. That is a question
which the President, as command
er in chief of the army and navy,
works out Jointly with congress. The
! legislative branch obviously has the
final sayso whether we will have a
big navy or a small one, and wheth-
er the army will number 118,OOO en-
listed men and 1900 officers, or
more or less. From this it is seen
that the system of national defense
is one of fact and not of theory, for
it is, true to American tradition,
left in the hands of the representa-
tives of the people.
Aside from the determination of
policy, however, administration of
the army and the navy constitutes a
tremendous business. There is, of
course, an independent department
for each, and each has a cabinet
member at its head. But the cabi-
net members are civilians, more
often than not, without military or
naval training.
Consequently, one has to drop
down the ranks step to find the
men who actually command the reg
ular army and the navy, with its
marine corps arm.
SO we find in the War depart
ment, a general staff, and we find in
the Navy department, general
board. Each functions to greater
or less extent as a board of direc-
tors for the service it represents,
and each is dominant in its own baili-
wick, for it is from these two groups
that the actual direction issues for
the respective services. Under each
exists the individual control that is
necessary always in administration
and the number of those individuals
expands as the power exercised by
each one decreases.
In conjunction with the army, the
navy and marine corps, there is
that recently developed, but highly
necessary, aviation service. Avia-
tion has become so important in the
system of national defense that con-
gress has seen fit to create the post
of assistant secretary Of air in both
War and Navy departments. While
their primary function obviously is
that of promoting an efficient air
service in each branch, the air di-
vision does much more; it is con-
stantly fostering development of
civil aeronautics, and it is working
constantly with commercial inter.
ests engaged in production and use
of airplanes in commercial lines.
The air services of the army, the
navy and the marine corps, there
fore, are carrying a tremendous in
fuence into the field of air transpor-