Evening star., 1946-05-22
By PouI BeIIomy

CollG1lpueC Jul 1ull pdIb III guar
anteeing a durable peace, and if
we are not going to do exactly that,
We ought to pull out our Army now
and let the chips fall where they
may
Personally, I think this would be
a horrible thing to do In the first
place, it would not be to our own
interest, because our withdrawal
from Europe would leave no power
there able to withstand the crush
ing demands of Russia for more and
more territory, for a larger sphere
of influence. and ultimately for the
hegemony of Europe. And the with
draWal of the American Army would
establish us as poltroons and slack
erS before the whole world.
Short Memory.
This great country of ours can
develop, under the goad of war,
the most tremendous military power
of any nation on earth. We have
proved this twice within 25 years.
But conversely, We have the shortest
memory of any great nation on
earth. AS soon as the shooting is
over we are prone to believe the
war is over, too.
The British know better than
that. They have seen wars come
and go and have stayed by, both
during the war and peace. They
are used to maintaining armies of
occupation in all the four corners
of the earth. We seem to get bored
with it. There comes all too soon
a point where, as the result of
minor veXations and irritations. we
say: To the devil with it, we are
going home"
But there is no safe haven from
atomic bombs or even from rocket
bombs. There is no safe asylum left
in the world for man who is not
willing to fight for his asylum.
FirmneSs Toward Russia.
AS TO the possibility of war with
Russia, I am convinced that there
IS no immediate danger provided
We are firm and not provocative.
! This nicely balanced attitude we
have not realized up to date. But
am forced to say this also, that if
Marshal Stain were inimically dis
posed toward American he could
not have hoped. in his widest
dream, that that would have hap
pened to our armed might which
has happened since We day.
Although I am not at liberty to
mention the detailed disposition of
our troops in Europe. I can and
Will say l believe We have spread
our Army too thin for safety, pos
sibly not too thin for governing a
docile, beaten enemy, but too thin
in case of any international involv-
ment
The peak strength of our Army,
including the air force, was g.
291 1886 on May 81. 1945. Its present
strength is about 00,0OO-less even
than that of the Army Air Force
at its greatest. 2,4l1.294 on March
81 of last year. Army Air Force
personnel as Of April l this year
numbered 500472 Demobilization
has reduced Navy strength from
its VI day peak of 3,4OO,9O8 to
l 1878 1874, and the Marines from
top figure of 435,OOO to 1876 500.
Still Declining.
Furthermore, the present outlook
Is that on July l, 1916, the Army
will be down to 1,55O0OO. the Navy
to $4,000 and the Marines to l08. 900.
and that on July !, 1947, the Army
will have been cut to 100000, the
Navy still at $4,000 and the Marines
at 100000.
If you remember these figures.
get out the map of the world and
spot the points which we have to
garrison, you will see what I mean
when I say the Army is spread out
| too thin.
| When you consider the plight of
an officer commanding an important
! American post in Germany, the
business is not less than tragic.
Not only have his enlisted men been
! depleted IN number, but ,he has
lost his most seasoned combat troops.
and they have been replaced by
Youngsters who have had only a few
months basic training.
The result of the demobilization
OF the officer personnel has been
even more devastating. because. say
what you will about the great and
decisive contribution of CT Joe in
winning the war, it has been the
officer corps which has done the
thinking and planning for CT Joe.
You could not have a victory with
out both. And it does take longer
TO train an officer than a private.
Furthermore the officer capable of
taking executive responsibility is
harder to find than a good private
Army to Be Proud of,
wish you could see that Army
OF ours in Germany. Despite the
excessive rate of demobiliza ton, YOU
would be proud of it, You would be
proud of the competence of the en-
listed men and you would be proud
of the generals.
You would not believe it possible
Tor f1rSt lleutenants and captains.
youngsters like your boy or mine.
VINO started out oftentimes as en-
llsted men and worked up, to do the
job they are doing in running Ger
man communities and often German
counties.
You would not believe that they
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