Evening star., 1942-05-19
D. {. Draft Unit
Quota Filled on
Officer Schools
Forty Family Men
Already Available,
Boards Are Told

Bourds Are Told
With approximately 40 men with
dependents already available, local
draft boards we're instructed today
to send no more registrants to quail
ify for induction into the Army as
volunteer officer candidates.
The men already qualified, the
first of whom will 60 into the Army
later this month, in an order to be
determined by lottery, are said to
be suficient to fill the Districts
quota until November. In addition,
more than 100 other ga men have
applied to their draft boards and
will be considered before any other
men are sent to qualify.
Local boards were permitted under
the instructions to continue to ac-
cept applications for registrants who
want to compete for volunteer officer
candidate training but each reg
istrant must be clearly advised that
unless and until the quota for the
District is raised, it is not likely that
any applicant will be forwarded for
physical examination and qualifica-
tion test by a volunteer oficer can
didate board for the next five or six
months"
Seven q Menth Quota.
Although it was hoped the Dis
tricts quota of men with dependents
who would be allowed to qualify
would be raised, the quota has re-
manned at seven men a month.
There had also been some expecta-
tion that despite its late start, due
to delays in getting the forms, the
District would be allowed to use its
April quota. This hope also was
ended on the ground that there are
limited facilities for taking care of
these men.
A lottery will be held later this
week to determine the order in
which the men already processed
will be sent to fill the Districts
quota. The lottery has awaited the
return Of the mems papers from the
Bird Corps Area, but if all papers are
not returned later this week, it was
thought likely that local headquar-
tiers would also put the names of
the men whose papers have not been
returned into the receptacle from
which the names will be drawn. If
these men have failed to qualify,
they will be dropped and the men
behind them will be moved up.
Two Drawings Planned.
According to present plans. there
will be two drawings, one for the
man qualified in April the other
for those qualified in May before
issuance of this order. BY that |
procedure. the early birds will be
the first to 60 to camp for their
basic training.
A total of SIS men have been sent
to Fort Belvoir for processing-a
physical examination and a quail
flcation test Out of the 36 whose
papers have been returned, rs have
been accepted. It was thought
likely that 40 to AZ men would be
qualified when all the papers are
returned. judging from the high
rate of acceptance.
AS Of May II, an additional 13l
applicants had filled out the forms
but have not been processed and
won't be until the present pool is
exhausted. Under the present quota,
If 100 out of the 131 are found ac-
ceptable, as much as 18 months will
elapse before they all are inducted
Curtailment Regretted"
Explaining that processing had
been halted because of the pool of
men now aavilable, local headquar-
tiers told its draft boards that I'VE
deeply regret the curtailment of this
program but see no wisdom in for
warding additional applicants at
this time"
After going through basic train
ing, If the men are found accept
able, they go on to volunteer officer
candidate school and, if they pass.
are commissioned. If they fail
along the line, they are given their
choice of remaining in the Army as
enlisted men or returning home as
members of the enlisted reserve to
await the time their class is called
up for induction
The fact that men in the waiting
group have applied to compete for
volunteer officer candidate training
will not prevent their reclassifica-
ton if the basis for deferment in
ga is changed, it was made clear,
since at the time of induction the
men have to be properly classified
in ga.