Evening star., 1944-09-08
BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG,
Star StafT Correspondent

Star Stan Correspondent.
FORT DIX, N. j., Sept. 8.-The
Army is perfecting a system here
of demobilizing soldiers with as little
red tape and as much good advice
as possible.
While men are being released to
civilian life in one part of the
huge Fort Dix tract, the Army is
busy training hundreds of Army
counselors in another part of the
camp in preparation for partial de-
mobilization after Germany is de-
feated.
These counselors - officers and
enlisted men chosen for their back
ground in psychology and vocational
guidance-form the backbone of the
Army's plan to give every man an
individual send-off from the Army.
After five-week training courses,
the counselors are sent to the four
other separation centers now in
operation. Ultimately, the Army
plans to establish 18 of these cen
ters, including one at Fort Meade,
Md, for Washington area men,,
Model for Other Centers.
At Fort Dix, the model for the
other centers, the men get chance
to discuss their problems with the
counselors near the end of a
crowded 48 hours-the time it now
takes the Army to turn soldier
into a civilian.
The problems vary from jobs to
girls, counselors now on the job
report. Most of the men want to
know how they can blend their
former job experience with the
skills they learned in the Army to
get better job. One man asks
what the job chances are in the
town where his best girl lives. An
other, Just back from England.
wants to know where he goes to get
ration stamps for a suit of civilian
clothes.
One soldier, who slipped into the
Army when he was underage and is
being released, had just finished
elementary school when he volun-
teered three years ago. He wanted
to go back to school, but he was
afrald he was too big The coun-
sellor suggested night school, and
he's on the way.
The men want to know if they can
be drafted again, whether they
should keep up their Government
insurance, what to do about bills
they owed before they entered the
Army, what to do about their income
tax.
Officers Also Get Advice.
Some men have deeper worries.
Counsellors tell of soldiers who mar
ried just before they went over
seas, frequently on a very short
acquaintance. They're uneasy about
the future. Wives of some men have
told them somebody else" has come
into the picture. They want a di-
worse. These men are referred to
chaplains on the post or to a fam
lily welfare agency in their home
town.
Officers as we'll as enlisted men
and WACS go to the counselors
One lieutenant colonel wrote a let
ter to the center after he got home
commencing a lieutenant and
sergeant who had set him straight
on few things.
we steer away from telling the
men what to do. counselor ex-
planned to reporters who were shown
through the center yesterday. THAT
doesn't do man any good. On
something like jobs, we go over all
the possibilities and sort of lead
them along and before they're
through the men think the whole
thing was their idea"
These interviews average IS min
utes, but the men can come back for
more-and frequently do, the coun-
selors report.
Counselors also fill out the form
which the new veterans take with
them when they go job hunting or
back to their old employer. The
form reviews the veterans prewar
and Army jobs and his civilian and
military education. There's noth-
ing on this record that might harm
a veterans job chances. The form
is supposed to give employers a
quick idea of what they're hiring.
Stiff Physical Examination.
During the 48-hour transition
from military to civilian life, the
soldiers also are given an even stiff
fer physical examination than tho