The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-12-30
BY JOHN A. REICHMANN

Washington, Dec. 30-(UP)-ThC young man who joins the Army these days stands little chance ol remaining a simple, rifle-carryins infantryman if he knows radio, thu workings of a gasoline or diesel en. zine, or even if he can operate z typewriter with reasonable skill.
 Almost any skill is being wei. comed at centers where raw re. cruits are taken into the military machine and selected for the vari. ous branches of service. Every ef- fort is made to. avoid the wastefu, World War practices in which 6 good mechanic was turned into 6 cook, or typist into a blacksmith Every man taken into the service is carefully interviewed and all his past activities, including his hob bies, studied. His record is placed in a card index file for ready ref erence. He will, as far as possible be put into the work for which he IS most adapted or in which he is most interested.
 Soldering in the machine age at time resembles school days more than 1t does man-size occu. pations. Every school facility i, being used to the utmost and new schools are being created.
 Tank School at Fort Knox
 At Fort Knox, Ky, headquarters of the armored force, whole row of school buildings is being set LID In some classes, student soldiers many of them new to the ranks see tank motor taken apart anc assembled. It is not simple mat. ter of foxing parts, but of learning what makes the intricate machine go, and why.
 In another class motorcycles are repaired and rebuilt. At another young soldiers hammer away at typewriters. learning to become company clerks.
 One section devotes itself to the intricacies of radio of the various types used in the armored force Another works over the task ot learning to send and receive mes- SageS in code.
 While the army may lack the machines which these men are to operate, it is wasting no time in training soldiers to use them once they are available. Glasses are ex- banding rapidly and ultimately VIII instruct as many as 800 men at a time. The lessons will be ex- pounded by instructors talking to four claSsrooms at one time through a loudspeaker system.
 More Instructors Needed
 With their education completed the most adept will be sent h their organizations to act as in- structors. The others will return 10 their units to apply their train ing.
 Training of aviation mechanics IS proceeding at the same rapid pace at Chanute Field, III. a lone established school.
 E.c2cassOn is not confined to enlisted men. Even the generals are going to infantry, field artil- H-.- iery, cavalry and other schools for fre1resher" courses. Reserve off cers on active duty are pursuing the same course to fit them for the commands which they must some time occupy.
 In the 2d Armored Division at Fort Benning, Ga, reserve officers on duty in each company take weekly turns commanding their unit, under the supervision of the regular army officer who is in ac- tual command. They have months of actual training on their own responsibility in this way.
 When, next spring, the division IS divided to serve as the skeletons of new armored divisions, they will go to their commands fully imbued with the training needed to make efficient officers.
 The army believes that it will do a better job than it did genera ton ago in training officers and men for the, World War.