Evening star., 1937-03-21
GUARD PERSONNEL
TO Be INCREASED
War Department Author.
ICES Two New Units to Be
Formed Here.

organizations in the National Guard
of the District OF Columbia has been
allocated by the War Department,
1t was announced at headquarters.
This increase is being allowed out OF
the additional 5000 troops for the
country at large authorized by the
last Congress. With the new or
ganizati tions comes the increasing ne
cessity of recognition of the local
militia by allowing q brigadier gen.
eral here to command the various
units.
The new units authorized are the
1st Battalion of the l04th Quarter.
master Regiment, less Company A..
This means there will be organized
the headquarters detachment Of the
regiment and one quartermaster COM
pany, the whole consisting Of ON
GERS and 48 enlisted men.
The other unit authorized Is the
Headquarters Battery of the 260th
Regiment, Coast Artillery, which will
add officers and 66 enlisted men,
However, even with the addition Of
these new troops, the regiment will
still be incomplete, as there remains
to be formed the service battery. Bat
terry D. which is gun battery, and
Batteries G. and H, which are ma
chine gun units.
With the authorizations already re-
ceived, steps we're launched imme-
diately to recruit the men necessary
to form the two units. In addition
to the recruiting, there will be off,
GERS to be commissioned and others
promoted but 1t was not known at
headquarters whether the commands
would be promotion or transfer from
units now in existence. Junior officers
will be taken from the ranks and
there is already in existence an eligi-
bility list of enlisted men who have
taken the educational examinations
and are ready for promotion by COM
mission as soon as they take and pass
the tests for the particular branch to
which they are to be sent. 1t is
probable orders will be issued within
a short time for the meeting of boards
OF examination to conduct the branch
tests for the candidates so that these
men who will have charge of the COM
panies can be commissioned and assist
in the preliminary work of organiza-
ton.
Time is important, as the notice
authorizing the formation of these
new units provides that they be pre-
Sented for Federal recognition on
April l, or as soon thereafter as
practical BILE. The National Guard Bu-
reau has stipulated unless these units
are organized prior to As days before
the time fixed for the training camp
this Summer and the acquisitions for
property and equipment in the Ma
tional Guard Bureau, they will not
be permitted to go to camp
Recruiting efforts will be instituted
Immediately. Orders already have
gone out to the commander of the
260th Coast Artillery and the COM
mander of the l04th Quartermaster
Regiment to begin the enlisting of
recruits forthwith.
With the increase in troops and
the possibility Congress may provide
for further increases Of the militia
during the current session, those IA
miliar with military affairs point out
it should be followed by the naming
OF brigadier general to command
the organization. This appointment,
1t was said, will not require any ad-
ditional legislation On the other
hand, it was added, the organic act
for the local militia makes it manda-
tory on the President of the United
States to name brigadier general
to command the troops.
The local forces have been with
out general officer since the death
OF Maj. Gen. Anton Stephan more
than two years ago Although ef-
forts were made by local trade bodies
and civic organizations to have the
vacancy filed, they we're in vain.
and it was unofficially understood
the appointment was opposed in the
War Department because there was
no regiment of any particular arm
OF the service here. However. the
military experts point out this is not
necessary, as the Army frequently
assigns general officer to command
a special provisional regiment made
up OF various units for special duty.
AS a matter of fact, they point out
that all Of the Regular troops in this
city and vicinity have been formed
INTO a provisional regiment and the
whole placed in command of a Regu-
lar brigadier general They point out
that if the Army finds it necessary
to make such an appointment for its
Regular troops, the local militia
should be recognized and given the
prestige due it by appointment of a
brigadier general. Such an officer
it was said, would be able to co-ordi-
nate the activities of the various
arms assigned here, and would be
able to give his entire time to direct
ing the destinies of the units as
whole. Under the present system,
which has been in operation since
the death of Gen. Stephan, the pres
ent commanding officer of the local
militia has the duty of commanding
and looking after the affairs of a
regiment
When the local militia turns out
for the Army day parade on April g.,
the public will see them in their best
uniforms. Heretofore when on parade
here the troops have worn their field
equipment, including the steel helmets,
This year they will wear caps and
serge uniforms.
Changes in personnel in the 26Oth
Coast Artillery Regiment have been
announced as follows: Pvt. John A..
Donohue to be sergeant in Battery c
and Pvt. Joseph L. Callan to be a
corporal in Battery A; Pvt. Francis
H. Smith to be corporal in Battery A;
Sergt. William B. Gates, Battery C.,
to be private, and the following trans
U1,fc d