The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-12-20
President Urges Merger
WAr71y-Nauy Personnel
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as IN other parts of the world"
Under his proposal, air power
would enjoy equal status for the
1lrst time with land and sea power,
put the Navy would retain all but
It's land-based air arm. The Ma
rlne Corps would remain as part of
the Navy.
10 avert the military and diplo-
matte omissions which led to the
Pearl Harbor disaster, milit ry
and foreign policy would work as
hand maidens and outlying U. S.
bases would be under a single
commander who would be held &C.
countable for the security of his
base and who would get his orders
from a single authority in Wash
ington. .4..-s V
MIR. Truman warned that another
war would strike more suddenly
and directly at the United States
and added:
I'VE cannot expect to be given the
opportunity again to experiment in
organization and in ways of team
work while the fighting proceeds.
True preparedness now means pre-
paredness not alone in ornaments
and numbers of men, but prepar-
edness in organization. It means
establishing in peacetime the kind
OF military organization which will
be able to meet the test of sudden
attack quickly and without having
to improvise radical readjustment
in structure and habits"
He therefore recommended re-
organization of the armed services
along the following broad lines:
Establishment of a single de-
partment of national defense,
merging the. armed and civilian
forces now included within the
War and Navy Departments. The
new department would be charged
with full responsibility for armed
national security. ~ q
2-The Department woulc. be
headed by a Secretary of National
Defense-a civilian-and he en-
phasized "civilian''-with cabinet
status. Under him would be civil
ian undersecretary and several
civilian assistant secretaries.
3-The department would consist
OF three coordinated branches
one each for the land, naval and
air forces, which would enjoy CO.
equal status. Each would be under
an assistant secretary. The Navy
would retain its own air arm and
the Marine Corps would be retain.
ed as an integral part of the Navy.
1.-The Department would have a
chief of staff as well as com.
mander for each of the three com.
ponent branches-Army, Navy ane
Air. They would constitute an adj
visory body to the.President6 and
the Secretary of National Defense
Mr.. Truman also proposed thai
the post of Chief of Staff be 70.
tated among the various services
every two or three years. Key staff
positions in the department also
would be filled with officers drawn
from all the services $50 that the
thinking of the department would
not be dominated by any one or
two Of the services
These recommendations together
with his suggestion that the Navy
retain its air arm, were seen as
answers to Navy arguments that
the sea arm would be swallowed
up by the Army in a consolidation.
The President fatty rejected an
other Navy argument that such an
organization would vest too much
power in a single individual-the
Secretary OF National Defense
and that it would lead to militar-
ism st'
He also turned down Forrestaps
recent proposal that he appoint a
civilian commission to Investigate
the ACCESSIBILITY of the merger.
Further studies of the general
problem would serve no useful
purpose" Mr.. Truman said. 'There
is enough evidence now at hand
to demonstrate beyond question the
need for unified department"
There had been reports that he
might soften the blow to the Navy
by setting forth only a general
statement of preference. Instead,
he made complete and specific
recommendations, even down to
the role of assistant secretaries.
He listed what he described as
the nine "most important reasons"
for amalgamation:
1-Integrated stategic plans and
unified military program and
budget are necessary, primarily
because this nations manpower
and raw materials resources are
not unlimited. The nation cannot
afford to have it's sea, land and
air forces working at what may
turn out to be cross purposes.
2-Extensive savings can be ac-
complished through unified con-
troll of supply and service func-
tons. Waste through duplication
will be largely eliminated.
Qualification will foster coordi-
nation between the military and
NEST