Evening star., 1945-08-18
Criticism of Nays Discharge
Plan No Surprise to Admiral
By MIRIAM OTTENBERG.

BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG.
Vice Admiral Randall Jacobs, chief
Of naval personnel, admitted today
that the Navy knew it would get
lot of criticism" of its new point
discharge system mo matter what
we did" and expressed surprise that
the criticism has not been stronger,
particularly from civilians.
The interview with Admiral Jacobs
was prompted by reports from Guam
that Navy men in the Pacific were
incensed because no points were al
lowed for combat action. In addi-
tion. letter to The Star from a
naval officer charged:
"Obviously, this is plan for shore
personnel who have had the leisure
to find a wife and get married
This letter declared that no un-
married officer on active duty since
the beginning of Selective Service,
has enough points for release un-
less he is 40 years old.
Under the system that went into
effect earlier this week a half point
is allowed for each year of age,
a half point for each full month OF
active duty since September l, 1899,
and 10 points for dependent.
Credit is given for only one depend
ent. To be released an enlisted man
must have A points and an officer
49 points.
Asked why no credit Is given for
overseas service for which both the
Army and the Marine Corps give
additional credit, Admiral Jacobs
said that except for those in train
ing and 125,o00 disqualified for over
seas duty SO per cent of all officer
and enlisted personnel have been
overseas. If overseas credit had
been allowed, he said, it would have
made earlier release possible for not
more than 10000 to $4,000 additional
men.
Some Records Lost.
AS for battle credits. Admiral
Jacobs said thousands of records
have been lost through ship sinkings
and other records don't show combat
action.
"a sea battle may rage over 200
to 1000 square miles" the admiral
declared There may be ships on
the edge Of the area which never
fire a shell. yet the men on those
would get battle stars"
He said the records were not COM
plete in regard to those entitled to
battle stars and added that if COM
bat action was counted, I'VE would
have gotten into more trouble"
Veterans of battle in the Pacific,
however, are protesting that if they
could figure their points under the
Army or Marine point system, they
would be eligible for discharge.
Admiral Jacobs said the goal of
the Navy's system was to let the
men who had been in longest get
out first, but he conceded that they
wouldn't get out unless they were
older men. The average age of en-
listed men in the Navy is 23.6 years.
Want to Retain Young Men.
The personnel chief, defending the
use of age as one of the three fac
tors for discharge. pointed out that
in the armies OF other countries
men are called up for service and
discharged by age. Then he added ::
1--WE want the young men in the
Navy. That's why age was included.
The younger men are the ones the
Navy of the future has to be built
around"
Asked why the Navy counts only
one dependent while the Army and
Marine Corps each count up to
three, Admiral Jacobs said that de-
pendency, as a whole, was a matter
of record and added that the Army
recognized only parenthood while
the Navy was recognizing any de-
pendent to whom family allow
ance had been given.
When he was asked whether he
thought man with a dependent
mother should be given the same
number of points for dependents as
a man with children-which is the
way the system works now-Admiral
Jacobs responded that those with
children get more money for their
care than a dependent mother Of
a sailor.
Navy System Defended.
He defended the present system
on the basis of its simplicity and
speed, pointing out that command
ing officer could easily determine a
mans points by looking at his serv-
ice record to get his age and length
of service and by checking his pay
account to see if deductions are
being made for dependents.
I'VE evolved a system most easily
workable for the people in the field
and yet one that did not penalize
any one group" he declared.
So far, according to the Guam re-
ports and the complaints aired to
The Star, groups which feel they
have been penalized are composed
of younger men who have seen years
of combat service and unmarried
officers under 40.
The naval officer who wrote The
Star declared that 40 points out
of A for being married is grossly
out of proportion to any rules of
fairness" And single men on Guam
we're quoted as asking, How can we
get wives and families unless we
come home?"
Some Want to Stay In.
Admiral Jacobs said, however.
that a "lot of people" already are
saying they don't want to get out.
He reported he had had inquiries
from four naval districts asking If
men who had enough points had
to be discharged If they wanted to
stay in. The men who want to, he
said, can stay in as long as they are
needed.
The Navy announcement Of the