Evening star., 1940-09-12

Average Conscript
Will Enter Infantry;
Housing Under Way
Foot Soldier Will Ride
In Truck or Tank,
Moy Sleep in Tent
BY COL. FREDERICK PALMER,
Military Expert and Historian.

| WIlcGIlcT lie Will 1--WE III q COIu-
Portable barracks or turn the flaps
of a tent as his Army home. the
average draftee will be surprised to
find that he is more likely to be in
the nfantry-truck-b borne, mechan-
lied infantry which fights on its feet
in battle-than in the air or tank
corps.
Sound" and thorough" are the
words I Lave heard most often in
ruling Army circles-sound and thor
ough in plan and in the follow
through.
The Army recognizes that in start
ing from scratch to make a huge
Army 1t faces difficulties from which
the Navy is free, with its relatively
small personnel. 1t is always M-day
in the Navy, a vessel, once manned,
ever ready for action.
Navy Has More Time.
Increase of naval personnel can
be relatively more gradual in pre-
pairing to man the new ships as
they are being built. The naval
seaman's barrack is his ship. Soldier
recruits must be fed, housed and
uniformed on land as we'll as trained
and equipped.
The Army has insisted that regis
tration is a civil business and its
own strictly military business to re-
ceive and transform into soldiers
the men chosen by civil draft boards.
But the Army hopes no perennial
grouches will be included in the
selections.
Mother would be sure that her son
is well fed and he will not have to
sleep with chill rain drops falling
through the roof pattering on his
face and rolling off onto his Adams
apple, or snow drift forming over
his cot. We have food enough in
America If we have not enough
tanks and planes. The American
soldiers food is the best of any
soldiers in the world.
Draftees are to be utilized in the
expansion of the Regulars and Ma
tional Guard. A draftee, whose lot
is with the Regulars, may find he
has one of the places in the fine
new barracks for the fully authorized
strength of the Regulars, which is
short by some $4,000. If with the
Guard, he will have to share tent
life with those who get no housing.
Vary According to Climate.
In the South the tents will be
much the same as the canvas de-
lights of Boy Scouts and summer
campers. In colder regions there
will be concrete or board floors and
board walls. There will be no hard
ships which are not in the soldier
game in peace in contrast to the
real hardships of war. BY the time
the second draft contingent of 400
600 is called the Army aims to have
housing for all.
Equipment for training purposes?
! No drilling with broomsticks, and all
in uniform at once. We have an
ample supply of the accurate shoot
ing Springfield rifles until they are
replaced with the Garand semi
! automatic.
Guns? Quite sufficient World War
75s and 155s, which are accepted.
here and abroad, as presently ade-
quate when modernized with new
trails.
Tanks? For general training
enough medium tanks are already
in sight. Planes? That depends
partly upon how many we send to
Britain as well as speed of produc-
ton. So do the number of heavy
tanks, anti-tank and anti-aircraft
guns and other weapons depend
upon speed of production.
! I understand definite word has
been given to freeze orders on def
mite Army types. Our flying-fortress
bomberS are making good aboard
/ So ahead with them in numbers
now, also with tanks, to which few
new accessories may be added with
out halting production.
One dispute seems to be ended.
The .30-caliber bullet pierced the
obsolescent German bombers. But
| .50-caliber is necessary to pierce the
armor of the new German bombers,
and that is to be our caliber, along
with an anti-tank projectile to
pierce the armor of German tanks,
which the French ones failed to do.
Why Infantry Is Important.
Why so much infantry? Obvious
ly that is a result of the digest of
all the information that reaches the
Army from our military attaches
from abroad. 1t is known that 1t
was the German infantry which
stormed the Belgian Liege-Albert
Canal fortress line under the shield
of plane and artillery barrage, thus
opening the way for the smash
across Flanders.
But there is the evidence have
seen from quoted German staff
! officer. He says the main object
of infantry is to march and that
of every other arm to keep them
advancing. Tank and plane help
clear the way for the infantry which
makes the decision. Above all is the
coordination of all arms.
In an infantry division the
draftee will be supported by all the
latest divisional weapons once we
have them. Trucks will bear him up
to action on his feet. Or he may ride
into battle in our armored force
which will be raised from 1900 to
| 10000 If one armor- piercing pro-
iooti1o I,ite tho tomb he ic IL, he will