Evening star., 1935-04-07
- EFORE q distinguished gather
ing of United States and Dis

trict officials and friends Of
- the organization. the National
Guard of the District Of Co
lumbia will formally dedicate its new
buildings on the rifle range at Camp
Simms, Congress Heights, D. G. These
are buildings which the Guard was
able to obtain through funds allotted
to 1t by the Public Works Administra-
ton and furnish a long desired need
for the purpose Of providing sufficient
and proper storage for the thousands
Of dollars worth of equipment which
is loaned 1t for training purposes by
the War Department.
The dedication will be in the nature
Of a house warming and oyster roast.
The District Of Columbia Commits
sioners have been invited to attend, as
have Maj. Gen. Leach, chief of the
National Guard Bureau of the War
Department; Public Works Admin
istrator Harold Ickes, and Assistant
Secretary Of War and various officers
of the Army as well as many friends
Of the organization and former Of
flcers of the Guard.
Entertainment for the guests will
be provided by National Guard talent,
and, in addition, If the weather per-
mits, there will be military demon
stration outside Of the buildings, which
will be participated in by the bat
teries of the 260th Coast Artillery
under the direction of Maj. Walter w.
Burns.
Each unit of the Guard will have an
exhibit in the buildings to show some
particular feature of its training work
and its duties while in the field. The
officers and men have worked for
days in the preparation of these ex-
hibits and they are expected to prove
quite interesting to the guests, and
particularly to those who have had no
military training.
The buildings consist Of one large
storehouse, of brick and concrete. two
stories high. It consists of one large
room on each floor. There are also
two gun sheds and two one-story
StorehouSes Of brick. The gun sheds
will be used for the storage of surplus
guns and equipment of the Coast
Artillery, and each unit of the Guard
NA41SlA 4A0o A4lOIOA " III UC
assigned place to store it in one of
the buildings. The floors of the
buildings are paved with cobble stones
which were removed from Four r-and-a-
half street southwest when the street
was repaved. Col. Oehmann made
arrangements to get this material
when it was found that the funds
would not be sufficient to provide floor
ing for the buildings. He obtained it
without cost and 1t was laid by relief
labor.
Col. Oehmann hopes to have sufi-
cient training equipment allotted here,
together with motor vehicles so that
the local units will not have to de-
pend on other States when a large
movement Is planned. Under the
plans now being perfected for the
! divisional mobilization this Summer
for training purposes, 1t Is planned
to use motor transport, but there are
not sufficient vehicles to move the
local troops. The local officials will
have to borrow vehicles from the
23th National Guard Division in
Pennsylvania and in turn the local
division will lend its vehicles for the
| Pennsylvania troop movement. The
supply Of vehicles was materially cut
this year in accordance with an act
Of Congress which prohibited the ex-
penditure of any funds for the repair
and maintenance of any motor We
Aicle In the Army or National Guard
which was constructed prior to 1920,
and that was what most Of the or
ganizations had. Most of the vehicles
were equipment purchased during the
World War.
Target practice on the local range
will be inaugurated today when the
1st Battalion of Engineers will begin
their work. The unit reported on the
range last night and the shooting will
start early this morning after the
| troops have been given breakfast.
They also will be given their dinner
and will be dismissed in the after
noon.
The 1st Battalion also has been
assigned the range on April %. May
II, June 2 and June 16. The I'd
Battalion will inaugurate its practice
next Sunday and also will have ex-
elusive use Of the range May S, May
! 26, June and June %.
Those required to fire include off,
GERS with less than Is years service
who have not qualified with the rifle
| either in 1888 or 1884, except those
who have qualified as expert riflemen
at any time; all enlisted men of let
tered companies armed with the rifle
| or pistol and the Headquarters and
Service Company who have not quail
| flied with the rifle in either 1888 or
| 1884. Enlisted men armed with pistol
in the lettered companies will be re-
ouired to fire the rifle. Officers and
enlisted men of the lettered COM
panies and enlisted men of the Head
quarters and Service Company,
armed with the rifle, who qualified in
1888 or 1884 will not be permitted to
fire for republication, because no
ammunition allowance has been au-
thorized for this class. Requalifica-
tion, however, is required after a
lapse of two practice seasons, succeed
ing the last qualification.
Those required to fire the auto
matte rifle are officers of lettered
Companies who have less than Is
years service, except those who as OFF,
GERS have qualified at any time as
automatic rifle experts or as automatic
rifle sharpshooter over course c.;
eight enlisted men of each lettered
company who have qualified with the
service rifle and have not qualified
with the automatic rife in 1888 or
1884. Men assigned to the automatic
rifle must have qualified as marksmen
or better.
The order points out to unit COM
manders that the transfer Of men
from the National Guard of the United
States inactive to the active list after
June 1, 1885, where such men have not
qualified during the current or the
two preceding target seasons, should
be given careful consideration, for the
transfer of such unqualified men to
the active list. increases the units total
number Of men required to fire and
70 r,fS IiRoo ffay1