Evening star., 1945-11-30
Navy Disi||usiioned,
Altered Merger View,
Sherman Declares
BY ROBERT BRUSKIN.

Transfer Of control of al
Army resources except air in the
Pacific to Gen. Macarthur ano
establishment of the goth All
Force in the Marianas, will,
headquarters in the Pentagon
caused Navy officers to change
their minds on the adyisability
of a merger of the Army and
Navy, Rear Admiral Forrest P
Sherman said today,
Admiral Sherman, now command
er of a carrier division, told the
Senate Military Affairs Committee
he had agreed to the merger pro-
posal last year, but now is opposed
to it as detrimental to the security
of the country.
Admiral Chester w. Nimitz, new
Chief of Naval Operations, under
whom Admiral Sherman was deputy
chief of staff, accompanied Admiral
Sherman to the hearing.
The opinions for a merger "re-
f1ected the common enthusiasm of
officers of all services in the Pacific
for any proposal which offered a
way to greater unity of purpose
and greater harmony between the
fighting services in the combat
areas" Admiral Sherman said.
However, subsequent events dis
rupted unified command in the Pa
icic and disillusioned naval officers,
who had given support to the
theories of a single department, "
he added.
The first disillusionment was the
establishment of the Goth Air Force
in the Marianas under War De-
partment control with headquarters
of that air force in the Fentagon
Building, $500 miles away. The Sec
ond instance, he said, was the trans
fer of control to Gen. Macarthur of
all Army resources, except air, in
Admiral Nimitz's area.
Macarthur Quoted.
Soon after the decision to remove
troops from control of Admiral
Ninitz, Admiral Sherman said, Gen.
Macarthur sent his chief of staff
TO Guam. with word that never
again would any Army troops be
commanded by any admiral.
Admiral Sherman added that in
September, 1914, he was told in
Washington by Gen. George C.
Marshall, then chief of staff, that
he would not tolerate further COM
mand of Army troops by Marine
officers"
TermIng the intensity of the pres
ent drive for merger as of de
structively critical nature" Admiral
Sherman called for quick deter
alination of the postwar organiza-
tion so that the Navy could proceed
with internal problems.
Urges Speedy Decision.
THE unrest, uneasiness, and low
cred morale which are resulting
from the heat of the current discus
sions combined with the effects of
rapid rehabilitation add to the
need for the earliest decisions con-
sistent with thorough considerar
tion," he added. 7
He declared that unifcation of
operational command for the ArmT
Navy and Air Forces in each theater
sis conducive to the most effective
conduct of war;" and is essential for
the defense of key positions in time
Of peace. He called for joint train
ing of all the: forces, but added that
unif1cation or Capitalization of ad-
hlinistration of all the forces under
a single head sis usually prejudicial
10 its effectiveness in the conduct
of war" -
Praises Carriers Work. E
Admiral Sherman declared that
although unified command in the
field had been strongly urged, "it
has not been as strongly supported
in practice, particularly by the
Army Air Forces"
He asserted that functional dupli-
cation should be progressively elimi-
mated and that overlapping activ-
fces of the services should be trans
ferred to civilian enterprise. One
such recommendation was for the
transfer of the military air trans
port activities over permanent
routes to civilian authorities.
Admiral Sherman, an aviator
since 1922, declared that he feared
merger of the three services would
result in the loss to the Navy Of
its own aviation component.
Without our carriers, Japan
would not have been forced to
surrender in l945," he said, adding
that the success of nearly every
important amphibious landing in
the Pacific was dependent on carrier