The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-06-03
c. s. Army Training Thousands of High School Students to Become Mechanics
Major Lease, Local Recruiting Director Explains Work
BY SHERMAN LONDON

Many high school students have heard a great deal concerning the technical training the Army offers, but very few of them have any idea how they can obtain this training or how this training can further their high school educations. Most enlistees fear that the numerous schools the Army publicizes are only for 30 year men" said Maj. Stanley F. Lease, commanding officer of the Waterbury Recruiting Station.
 Major Lease explained that Q good many schools in the Army are directly related to training men have received at Leavenworth or Wilby High Schools. He also stated that men who enlist for as short period as 18 months are eligible to go to many of them.
 There are seven steps open to any man who desires to, make the most of an enlistment in the Army. The first, naturally, is enlistment, the Major said. Next comes processing, where the man is issued his uni- form and examined physically and mentally to determine his qualifica- tions and aptitudes. This takes ap- proximately one week. Those with no previous military experience are then given basic training which lasts about seven weeks.
 Assignments Important
 The fourth step is assignment for technical training. Men who en- list for IS months. or two years are given their choice of the technical training for which they are qualified only as 1t coincides with the needs of the service, explained Major Lease. He-added that men who en- list for three years may normally choose any type of technical train ing for which they are qualified.
 To determine their qualifications, eniistees are given four tests which } any high school graduate should easily pass. They are the Army General Classification Test, which is a general intelligence test; Mech- anical Aptitude Test, which deter mines how easily a man can learn to do different kinds of skilled mechanical work; Army Radio Code Aptitude Test to determine how easily a man can learn the Inter- national Morse Code; and q eTech- nical Trade Test which determines a mans interest and knowledge in variety of of'stechnical trades.
 The enlistee Is then sent to a Technical School which gives the training to which he is assigned. At the end of the course the man is assigned to job where he puts this training to practical application. The final step is up to the man, said the recruiting officer. The more ef- fort the man puts into doing good job in the Army, the better qualified he will be when he returns to civil- ian life.
 Primary Cause Popular
 Among the most popular of the hundreds of schools offered by the Army is Q, primary course offered by the Air Fprces. The. course lasts for eight weeks ard is given ct Lowry Field, Colo. It is open to all men who have completed eight years of | grammar school and who will have at least one year of service remain | ing upon completion of the course. The major explained that any man who enlists for IS months is thus eligible to enter the course upon | completion of basic training. One | major requirement. of the course Is that students hold a motor vehicle operators license. t~,
 Major Lease said that the course l should be of particular interest to students at Leavenworth High | School. Among the subjects taught are automotive vehicles and pow cred ground equipment; automotive and powered ground equipment en- zines; automotive and powered ground equipment chassis; and shop and field maintenance and wrecker operation. Upon successfully com pleting this course, men are elig- lbie for an advanced course in auto- motive maintenance at Lowry Field. | Anyone applying for the advanced