The Nome nugget., 1942-02-18
NEW DRAFT TO FIT
 MEN TO WAR JOBS
Total of 50 OO0 900 Will Be Available For Services Brig General Lewis B. Hershey, Director of Selective
 Service Is Calling All Men "Fit to Fight"

Washington A major move toward increasing the Army to the wartime size necessary to execute PreS1 dent RooseVes program of hitting the enemy at any world point where he can be reached started on Feb. l6 when about 9,000000 men between the ages of 20 and A inclusive will register for possible military service They will add their names to the approximate ly 17500000 male citizens and aliens between 2l '2 and 3712 who had registered under thepeaceme draft program Later, 2500000 of 18 and 19 years will be registered for non-mtary service as will about 20000000 more from 45 to 64 inclusiV
 Need For Workers
 There must be trained men to operate the arplanes tanks and modern ordnance which have been proved to be essential to the wagng of successful warfare day Trained also essential to produce these armaments. Thus of the chief jobs of the govern ment now is to obtain an army of the size needed without unnecessarily disturbing production or tear ing apart the basic social fabric of the nation Wether on the or the home front, the plan is to have sackcrs n this war. Each person. and particularly each man. must do his part whatever the direction his effort may take No one physically able to work is to be allowed to be obeSs Women will be called upon to help.
 The War Department is not encouraging talk about the size of the Army it is planniny to evolve from the present base of about 000 900 The general opn ion in Washington to be, however that the Army will be increased to 4000 900 fairly rapidly And fighting army of 10,000000 men eventually to aid in crushing Germany, Japan and Italy is not deem ed impossible The bulk of the fighting will from the 20-to-37-year-O group because these men obviously are better able to stand the rigors of than their elders, And in the nature of things - be- cause they at their prime fighting material, be- cause they have less responsibilities and because few er of them indispensable in production jobs-nOre soldiers will come from the 20-to-28 group than from those 29to37 inclusive Some also will be taken from the 37-to-44 inclusive span although there will be fewer of these for the same reason.
 Elders for Civilian Defense
 Men 45 to 64 inclusive will after classification, be called upon to take civilian defense jobs and to work in industry Even though they may have retired from the latter at 56 or 60 years of age As yet however there no law as there is in Britain to make it man. datory for these nOncOmbaantS to serve Everything but actual induction into military service be compished by officials with the 18 and 19 year old group. The selectVe process can be completed with regard 10 this group though its members are not indueted into service until they 20.
 What is the best age for modern soldiers The War Department is still arguing about that, and expert opinion differs None of paratroops is 23 years of age and mechanical forces are composed largely of men not than 28 years old Youth and quick reactions seem to be essential for maximum performance in such arms of service. The consensus appears to be that males under 21 lack sufficient sense of responsibility and tire more quickly than most in the Zl-2o year range.
 Tasks After 28
 It appears to be agreed that, after 28 some quick ness in execution is lost and stamina is somewhat less. On the other hand in combat tasks like engn- eerlng artillery service, where judgement may be more important that hartrgger decisions, some what older do better than younger But as Brig. Gen. Lewis Hershey, director of the Selective Service, points out the considerations of last year in dlcated unmarried, healthy young as the type especially desired and they available in quan- titles sufficient to meet the need Since Dec T. the picture has changed "A basic principle of Selective Service" said General Hershey, who has studied the subject since the last war, lis to procure men for the land and naval forces (ncludng air) without unnecessarily disturbing vital industry and other agencies and facilities which contribute materially to the stability of national life The degree to which wo nterefere with the normal life of nation is measured by the need for for several functions which contribute directly to the successful prosecu-