The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-01-03
UNIVERSAL MILITARY
 TRAINING


 What then must we do to re- main strong and still not bankrupt ourselves on military expenditures to maintain a prohibitively expen- sive professional army even If one could be recruited? President Washington answered that question in recommendations to the first Congress to convene under the United States Constitution. He pro- posed a program for the peacetime training of a citizen army. At that time the conception of large pro- fessional Regular Army was con- sidered dangerous to the liberties of the Nation. It is still so today But the determining factor in Solv- ing this problem will inevitably be the relation between the main tanence of military power and the cost in annual appropriations. NO system, even If actually adopted In the near future, can survive the political pressure to reduce tne military budget if the costs are high and professional armies are very costly.
 Tkere IS now another disadvan- tage to @ large professional stand ing army. Wars in the twentieth century are fought with the total resources, economic, scientific, and human of entire nations. Every specialized field of human knowl- edge is employed. Modern war requires the skius and Knowledge of the individuals of c nation.
 Obviously we cannot all put on uniforms and stand ready to repei invasion. The greatest energy in peacetime of any successful na- ton must be devoted to produc- tive and gainful labor But all Americans can, in the next gen. eration, prepare themselves to serve their country in maintaining the peace or against the tragic hour when peace is broken, If such a misfortune again overtakeS us. This is what is meant by Uni- versal Military Training. It Is not universal military Service-the actual induction of men into the combatant folces. Such forces would be composed during peace time of volunteers. The trainees would be in separate organizations maintained for training purposes only. Once trained, young men would be freed from further con- nection with the Army unless they chose. as they now may. to enroll in the National Guard or an organized reserve unit, or to volunteer for service in the small professional army. When the Na- ton is in jeopardy they could be called, just as men are now called by a committee of local neighbors, in an order of priority and under such conditions as directed at that time by the Congress
 Popular MisconeeptiOn
 The concept of universal miii- tary training is not founded, as some may believe. an the prin- cipIe of a mass Army. The Army has been accused of rigidly hold ing to this doctrine in the face of modern developments. Nothing, I think, could be farther from the fact, as the record of the mobiliza- ton for this war demonstrates. Out of our entire military mobili- zation of l4,OOO. 900 men, the num- Der of infantry troops was less than I.5OO.OOO Army and Marine
 The remainder of our armed forces, sea. air, and ground, was largely fighting a war of machin- cry. Counting those engaged in war production there were prob able 76 to B0.O00O00 Americans directly involved in prosecution of the war To technological warfare we devoted 90 per cent of our en- tire effort.
 Nor is 1t proposed now to aban- don this formula which has been SO amazingly successful. The har- messing of the basic power of the universe will further spur our ef- forts to use brain for brawn in safeguarding the United States of America.
 However. technology does not eliminate the need for men in war. The Air Forces, which were the highest developed technologicaily of any of our armed forces in this war, required millions of men to do their job Every B-2e that winged over Japan was dependent on the efforts Of ia officers and "a men In the immediate combat area alone.
 The number of men that were involved in the delivery of tnG atomic bomb on Hirozhima waF