Evening star., 1945-04-01
War Theater Leaders
To Fix Requirements
For We Discharges
BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG.

after We day under the Armys
point system for partial demobiliza-
tion, a War Department spokesman
said last night.
The Army has announced there
would be point system, but is with
holding until after We day how
each factor - dependent children,
length of service. time of service
overseas, number Of battles, number
of medals or wounds - will be
weighed.
Once this has been announced, the
War Department official explained,
the individual soldier still will not
know where he stands until the
theater commander Is advised how
many men and of what types are
needed to continue the war against
Japan.
Commanders Will Set Figures.
Then the theater commander
will set figure, it was explained
Men whose Army careers and de-
pendents have earned them enough
points to be above that figure will
be classified for discharge-unless
they are specialists who cannot i'm
mediately be replaced.
Men below the point set by the
theater commander can figure on
seeing action in the Pacific.
The dividing point between dis
charge and continued combat, it
was explained, will be based on how
many men have earned a large
number of points and how many
have a small number. If the de-
mands in the Pacific are large, as
is expected, and the majority of the
men have high point rating, the
figure will be set high.
This sounds complicated and time
consuming, the War Department
official said, but most of the paper
work will be done by machines in a
very brief time The cards on which
the men list the number of their
children and the record of their
Army service have long since been
sent out to the field and it was an
nounced recently that theater COM
manders soon would be sent de-
tailed information on the opera
ton of the system so they can set
up their organizations.
To Reorganize Ground Forces.
The War Department official en-
phasized that all ground force units
will be reorganized before selec-
tions are made for the Pacific. Each
unit will be surveyed to see which
men have the highest rating for
discharge. This example was given
of how the system will work by
units:
Assume that in unit of 100 men,
10 had high enough ratings for dis
charge. Requirements would have
to be found for those men. If only
five requirements could be found,
five men would be tagged for dis
charge and the other five might go
with the unit to the Pacific. How
ever, as soon as requirements could
be found for them, they also would
be sent home.
Sooner or later" the War Depart
ment spokesman said, "the point
system would catch up with them
He stressed that military neces-
sity comes first. A man who had
three years in the service, half a
dozen combat engagements and a
large number of children, for ex-
ample, still might be shipped to the
Pacific, despite his high-point rating
because he had special skill.
Seen Best Fitted to Act.
All these decisions, he explained,
will be left to theater commanders
because they are in the best position
to know how War Department de-
mands can be met.
The War Department ofiicial en-
phasized that before each soldier
leaves his present theater of war, he
will know his status. If he is home
ward bound, he will know whether
he is coming home to stay or simply
to- rest and prepare for the war in
the Pacific.
Once he knows his status, he still
won't know when he can expect to
get home, it was explained. It is
quite likely, he added, that some men
eligible for discharge will come home
from the Pacific ahead of those from
the European theater because of
shipping.
Ships will be coming back empty
from the Pacific, while those in Eu-
rope may be going on to the Pacific.
vNnp T~
Another cause of delay may arise
from how the European war ends,
it was pointed out. If Germany
quits completely, the partial de-
mobilization and re-deployment sys-
tenn can start functioning imme-
diately but if pockets of resistance
remain to be cleaned out, a number
of men may be held up indefinitely.
The War Department official pre-
dicted that for the large majority
of men in the ground forces who
don't have high enough ratings for
discharge, six months will elapse be-
tween the last shot they fire in Ger
many and the first shot they fire
at the Japs.
Most of the Air Forces and service
troops, it was explained, probably
will 60 directly to the Pacific while
large part of the ground troops
will be delayed by the need for
rest and preparation in the tech
niques of fighting the Japs.
Knight Motion to Quosh