The Coolidge examiner., 1933-07-14
Our Government
How 1t Operates
BY William Bruckart
ARMY AND NAVY
DEPARTMENTS
BY William, Bruckare

THROUGH all history, people
l. have enjoyed, even have been
thrilled by the sight of marching
men. 1t reflects an inbred love for
perfection. The deft execution Of
orders, the snap of obedience to COM
mands, excites admiration every
where.
To accomplish this perfection,
however. requires Imagination as
well as skill, knowledge as well as
discipline. There has to be some
thing done besides handing a man
the drab uniform of the army or the
blue of the navy to make a soldier
or a sailor.
All of this is headed up in divi-
sions of the War department for the
army and In the Navy department
for the navy and the marine corps
Somebody has to accept responsible
ity as we'll as exercise authority. SO
the general staff of the army and
the general board of the navy oper
ate to maintain the standard of the
services under their jurisdiction.
1t is obvious that the administra-
ton of the national defense arms
requires more than the training of
men to march, to click their heels.
to salute, to fire their small arms or
their machine guns or their greater
weapons. They have to have sup
plies, food, munitions and material,
transport for the army, unexcelled
ships for the navy, airplanes for
each. Records have to be kept, le-
gal questions have to be answered,
and engineering problems have to
be solved. And so there is in each
department offices in general control
Of each whose job is to see that all
! operations are co-Ordinated within
that service and that there is uni
form development in accordance
with policies promulgated by con-
gress and within the supply of
money which congress appropriates
for the work. They have duties so
many and so varied that an enumer-
alton of them is impossible in these
columns, but they may be accurately
summarized in the one phrase that
they are designed to provide prOtec-
tion for the nation on an efficient ba-
| sis.
The army and navy look after
the welfare of their respective per
sonnel to far greater extent than
ever has obtained in the manage
ment of civilian organization. The
men who make up the army. the
navy, and the marine corps receive
most complete medical attention
from men of standing in the medical
professions but who have made the
service career.
There Is probably no more COM
plete general hospitals than those
and, since the World war. for the
use of veterans. The Naval hos
pital and Walter Reed General hos
pital, both in the Capital city, are
examples, and it is the belief of pro-
fessional men that treatment in
these service hospitals is hardly ex-
celled except in a very limited num-
Der of institutions in all the world.
And that limited number, be it
said, are institutions directing their
efforts along specific. as distin-
guished from general, lines.
While thorough consideration and
precision of action is being dis
cussed, 1t is well to call attention
to the high degree of excellence
which the services demand in the
supplies they buy. AS an instance
of this. the War department buys it's
annual stock of pneumatic and solid
automobile tires on contract. Before
that contract is awarded, the utmost
in testing is done. That is not all
after the contract is awarded. repre-
sentatives of the army are stationed
in the plant where those tires are
made, and any variation from the
original specifications will not be
tolerated.
1t Is the same with the navy and
the marine corps. When specitica
tions are drawn even for the small
est piece of machinery the require
ments are specific and they are
rigidly enforced. Certainly, the gov
ernment gets its moneys worth in
purchases by the military services.
Turn to the corps of engineers of
the army: 1t Is conceded everywhere
that when those officers make a
survey or draw plans, the results
are about as bombproof as it is pos
sible to make them. The insignia
of the corps Of engineers on bridge
always makes me feel that the job
was done on a basis of perpetual
life, for flimsy construction is not
known in their training.
The corps of engineers probably
is closer to the average section or
community during peace time than
is any other phase of the army or
the navy except as the services en-
brace enlisted men or officers from
every part of the country. For when