Evening star., 1942-11-02
Urges OfficioI Policy
Of Utter Frunkness
MiIitory Writer Says Lock
Of Confidence in Reports
Of Services Is Liability
BIZ Maj. George Fielding Eliot.

vi SSINlSSS - AtOUilIly
By Maj. George Fielding Eliot.
1t is profoundly to be hoped that the
senior officers of our armed services,
particularly those charged in greater
or less degree with control over public
relations, are beginning to understand
that public confidence in the services Is
not only vital ingredient of victory
in war, but also that it is not inde-
structible.
In this war in particular, since the
beginning of it was Pearl Harbor, the
services should have seen to it from
there on that there was no cause for
any further impairment of the publics
confidence in them. Pearl Harbor was
rude blow to that confidence, but by
no means fatal blow. After such a
beginning, however, nothing but policy
of utter frankness should ever have been
thought Of Unfortunately this has not
been the case The limits of military
security" have been widely interpreted,
and the public has not been receiving
the facts to which it is entitled, nor the
explanations and interpretations to
which it is likewise entitled.
There has instead been tendency
to insist that the public should leave
the conduct of the war, on which all
its future depends, to the care of those
officers who happen to be charged with
its direction, and should wait with trust
full patience for such information as
they may see fit to hand out to it from
time to time
This will not work any longer, and
continuation of this policy can lead
only to deplorable, If not disastrous,
results.
Officers of high rank, even of the
highest rank, must understand that in
time of war the mere possession of a
commission and certain number of
silver stars on their shoulder straps no
longer entities them to the unquestion-
ing confidence of every man, woman
and child in the country. In time of
peace a commission in the armed serv-
ices is, as a matter of course, a pass
port to any society; it marks an hon.
orabe gentleman whose word is as good
as his bond and who is everywhere
respected and trusted. But in time of
war the criteria Of public judgment are
quite different. Then the Nation must
cash in on it's investment in the train
ing and education of it's officers. 1t
must demand of them efficient leader
ship in war, and nothing else counts.
Tho ttojy of ,inI, o,,l> iy,
time of peace is not a guaranty Of
ability to command in war, and the
public instinctively knows that this is
true. War itself Is the only test.
Many fine peace-time reputation has
been blasted by the terrific exigencies of
high command under war conditions;
and it is not only the command of forces
at sea or in the field which test the
commanders right to command A gen.
eral or an admiral must likewise be able
to convince his political superiors of the
worth of his judgments, which is one of
the criteria of good generalship as laid
down by Sir Archibald Wavell.
In these modern times this means
something rather more than it did in the
Civil War. We have the radio today, we
have motion pictures, we have the far
flung tentacles of the great press services,
we have intelligent editorial criticism
based on great deal of>first-hand infor-
nation. The high ranking commander
must-if he is to serve his country we'll
be able to retain not only the confidence
of his immediate political superiors but
also that of the country at large. He
cannot do this by any artificial means.
He can do it only by deserving that con-
fidence, not only in matters of strictly
professional ability but also in his atti-
tude toward the public and his clear
realization that he is and must continue
to be the servant of the people.
1t is true, and great pity, that peace
time training does not tend to impress
this fact upon the services. The at
tainment of high rank in time of peace
is an index to ability in war only to the
extent that promotion is competitive, and
to the extent to which the criteria for
promotion approximate the qualities de-
manded of the war leader. There are
few tests in time of peace which can be
applied as yardstick. Always there will
be dead wood and misfits in the upper
brackets which have to be cleared away
when war begins to apply its own merci-
less but just system of selection. This
will particularly apply to failures in the
field of public relations, in which there
is little opportunity for the acquiring of
experience by peace-time officers.
Only few years ago, officers ex-
perienced and able in the public rela-
tions field were so scarce in the Regular
Army that the few who did have some
competence in that speciality were
treasured like jewels by commanding
generals, and because of their ability
in that respect had very little chance Of
getting the troop duty they needed. But
in war it is the generals themselves, and
the admirals, who must acquire some
understanding of the need for main
tanning public relations on the basis Of
utter frankness, of confidence given and
received. 1t is they who make policy;
their public relations staffs can only
obey orders. A failure in this field may
be as disastrous as failure on the field
of battle. 1t is new and crucial test
of ability to exercise high command.
The conditions today are not healthy.
They must be corrected. At present we
possess one very great asset in this re-
spect, the complete confidence of the
Nlhlic in the director of fhe Of8ce of