Evening star., 1941-03-23
Hangar Problem
Appears Delaying
Guard Air Squad
Recruiting of Personnel
Is Being Pushed
To Perfect Formation

To Perfect Formation
Delays in providing hangar and
other flying facilities for the pro-
posed 12lst Airplane Squadron here
is having its effect on the efforts
to obtain personnel for the forma-
tion of the new organization, ac-
cording to officers at brigade head
quarters of the District National
Guard. 1t was pointed out that the
organization had more than enough
personnel on a waiting list some
time ago, but owing to the construc-
ton delays as we'll as a site the
prospects have been reduced consid-
erably, as men have gotten tired
waiting and have either entered
other branches of the service or have
been taken by the selective service.
At brigade headquarters it was
said enlistment prospects names are
being taken. 1t is said that one of
the primary conditions, precedent
to the War Department accepting
such an organization, is that it have
a hangar available for the equip
ment. While it was said that the
organization would very likely be
modified and inducted soon after
Its formal Federal recognition, Off
GERS are at loss to understand why
the War Department is placing such
a condition down. If called into the
service, it is not likely that they
would be left at their home training
field, but would be sent to the divi-
sion to which they would be at
tached in time of real emergency.
While the organization has been
Rllocated to the District of Colum-
bla, it was pointed out that the pros
pectlve location of the hangar, at
Beltsville, Md, is much farther in
that State than several of the COM
panies of the Maryland National
Guard. 1t is understood that the
ALLEGATION was made to the District
contingent on condition that it
would provide facilities in the way
OF construction of hangar, furnish
a landing field and maintenance
But the District of Columbia Com
mlSsloners baked on the situation,
and those In charge of the organ
ization had to look elsewhere for
funds with which to provide the site.
There appears to be some uncer-
talnty at the local brigade head
quarters as to how the hangar is to
be provided, but it was suggested
that w. P. A. funds might be found
10 finance the project, and that the
site was to be on Federal Govern
ment land at Beltsville, Md.
The officer personnel, it was in
olcated at the local brigade head
quarters. is largely selected, and is
composed of officers who hold COM
missions in the Army Reserve Corps,
but whose status would be changed
to that of National Guard officers.
just as soon as the organiza ton is
lnducted into that branch of the
service. A number of these officers,
1t was said further, have been at
tending some of the air service
schools in preparation for their ex-
pected field service as soon as their
outfit is taken into the National
Guard, under its Federal recognition.
In order to gain Federal recogni-
ton, 1t was said that consideration
is being given to means of providing
a temporary hangar to comply with
the requirements, and with the un-
derstanding that permanent facili-
ties would be provided, and these
might be allowed to deyelope while
the unit was taking its year or more
of field training.
Officers here are firmly of the
opinion that the service of the
militia in the field will not be COM
pleted in year, and that the troops
will not be returned to their home
stations as soon as they have put
this amount of time in training.
Whether that goes for the selective
service men is unknown, but it was
said that many of the Guard units
will not reach their full field training
strength for some time after they
have been in the Federal service, and
If an efficient war machine is to be
worked out of the combination of
and the selective service
men who are being assigned to Ma
tlonal Guard units, then all will have
to stay in the service and then re-
turned to their home stations as
units.
On the other hand, it was said,
when 1t comes time to return all
of the units, the question has been
raised as to whether the selective
service men would be kept with the
National Guard units with which
they had been serving in the field.
All of the militiamen are serving
under voluntary enliStments for a
period of three years, but the selec-
tive service men are supposed to
serve for only one year, so it appears
that there is nothing to hold them
beyond the years training period,
unless, of course, there is the de-
velopment of real emergency, the
United States enters the war, or
there is additional legislation which
might be forced by the emergency.
Reports coming to the local bri-
gade headquarters from the local
units in the field, it was said, indi-
Gates that they had high per-
centage of physical stability among
the enlisted personnel. So far, it
was said, the local brigade head
quarters has received notice of only
81 discharges for physical disability
since the men left for the field. This
was for the 121st Regiment of engi-
neers, but the 260th Coast Artillery,
now in training at Fort Bliss, Tex,
has reported 113 discharges. But
even this was held to be small.