Evening star., 1936-09-20
GENERAL OFFICER
URGEDFOR GUARD
Militia Has as Many Troops
as Regulars in This
Area.

tIlUULcQ 70 tIlC wa ASfSsSASA
not complying with the organic law
Of the National Guard Of the District
Of Columbia by appointing a brigadier
general to command the local troops
is that there is not brigade Of one
arm of troops here, it was announced
this week that the department had
assembled all of the troops into
provisional brigade here and assigned
Q brigadier general to command 1t.
It was announced that the move
was made for administrative purposes.
And that, incidentally, is what Is
needed in the case of the National
Guard here. it was said. Better ad-
ministration Of the varied units here
would result, it was pointed out, If
q general officer was assigned to
command the local citizen troops
rather than have an officer who COM
mands regiment also serve as acting
commander Of the various other units
now in this city.
The provisional brigade idea adopted
by the Army for the formation Of the
troops serving in Washington and
vicinity is what those urging the
appointment of a brigadier general
for the militia here have been sug-
gesting. 1t has been pointed out in
this column that the Army does not
stick hardfastly to its tables Of
organization and only assign brigadier
generals to brigades Of particular
arms of the service, such as Infantry.
Artillery, etc. But it frequently finds
It expedient to assign brigadier gen.
erals to command provisional brigades
for special service. such as has just
been done with the regular troops in
this area. These brigades are COM
post units made up for special serv-
ice. The provisional brigade Of regular
troops just formed by the War De-
partment here Is made up Of troops
Of various arms, but it lends to
dignity and better administration to
have a general officer at the National
Capital in command Of these troops.
With the additional troops that
have been allocated to the District Of
Columbia under the increases in COM
plement allowed by Congress, there
are as many militiamen in the Dis
trict of Columbia as there are regular
troops. As the militia is a local
organization, those familiar with the
citizens military unit point out that
the pride in the organization would
be materially increased if the law
was complied with and q brigadier
general appointed to I'LL the vacancy
which has existed since the death Of
Maj. Gen. Anton Stephan more than
two years ago. It was added that If
the Regular Army finds it expedient
from an administrative standpoint to
have a general officer in charge Of the
various units here, then the National
Guard should have a general officer.
and his appointment should be made
Immediately.
There are many problems in the
Guard which need the attention of
q general officer who is freed from the
routine details of training troops, and
among the most important of these
Is the formulation of plans for OBJ
tanning new armory here to properly
house the local troops and provide
for them a proper place in which to
obtain their training. It is likely that
this matter will come before the in
coming Congress and that much time
will be required before committees in
pressing the needs of the local citizen
En1diars for prOpor ho,,cip0
The law under which the local
citizen troops operates has a manda-
tory provision directing the President
of the United States to appoint a
brigadier general here. However, until
the matter is brought to his attention
with a recommendation from the War
Department, the Chief Executive would
not be expected to take any action
in the matter. Although the late COM
mandlng general was major general,
he obtained this rank as commander
of the 29th National Guard Division,
which comprises the citizen troops of
this city, Maryland and Virginia and
. small portion Of the troops in Penn
sylvania. Upon the death of Gen.
Stephan that vacancy was Immediately
filled by the appointment of Maj. Gen.
Milton A. Reckord of Maryland. Gen.
Stephan, in addition to commanding
the division, also had the dual position
OF commanding the local troops. But
this command has never been filed,
and the command devolved on the
senior ofdcer, Col. John w. Oehmann,
who Is commander Of he 121st Regi-
ment OF Engineers and the division
Engineer officer
The field inspection reports by Regu-
lar Army officers of their observation
of the local troops who participated
in the divisional mobilization at In
diantown Gap, Pa, indicates that the
local troops performed their duties well
during the field operations. Some of
the items follow:
An attendance at camp of 100 per
cent Of the officer personnel and Of the
band, Medical Department detachment
and Company D is commendable.
Second Lieut.. william j. Conlyn, jr.,
was specially commended for attending
camp while suffering from a broken
finger joint of his right hand. He
carried out his assigned duties
throughout the entire period in spite
o. his handicap, the report says.
Regimental headquarters was COM
mended for its excellent functioning.
The work Of the map section under
Technical Sergt. Frank B. Kaye in
preparation Of maps for the division
was excellent. The band was rated
as exceptional, both in playing for
military ceremonies and at concerts.
Each battalion commander con-
Quoted in an excellent manner o night
troop leading problem for officers
and senior commissioned officers
Of their units.
In the two divisional tactical ex-
ercises, the regiment performed its
assigned duties in very Satisfactory
manner. In the second exercise, in
volving an attack and river cross
ing, the regiment built six footbridges
d.