Evening star., 1947-09-23
Newspaper Publisher
Is Named Assistant
Secretary Of Army

president Truman today named
Gordon Gray, 3s, lawyer and pub
Usher Of winston Salem, N. c., to
be Assistant Secretary of the Army
in the new national defense setup.
Mr.. Gray, who Is now serving his
third term in the North Carolina
Senate, rose from private to cap
tain in World War II and served
In the European theater in the tao
tical headquarters with Gen. Omar
Brsdley's 18th Army Group.
The Army Department said "Mr.
Gray's principal duties will be to
handle relations between the De-
partment of the Army and other
departments of the Government"
The appointee was graduated from
the University of North Carolina
and received law degree from Yale.
He practiced five years in Winston
Salem and New York before the war.
Publisher Since 1887.
Since 1887 he has been president
and publisher of the Piedmont Pub
fishing Co., which publishes the
Winston Salem Journal and Twin
City Sentinel.
He'is married and has four sons.
Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense
Forrestal, in the midst of setting up
the Nations new unified military
establishment, faced a grave prob
lem in connection with rapidly
shrinking armed forces as world
conditions continue to deteriorate.
Despite Soviet propaganda to the
effect that the new super" secre-
tary actually is setting up a military
department uneQualed anywhere,
the United States armed might
stood today at one-eighth it's war
time peak and is still diminishing
Two years after VI Day, the Ma
ton cannot muster fighting force
Of "peacetime strength" as defined
by Congress
Army, Navy and Air Force officials
believe greater impetus will be given
the several recruiting drives after
Mr.. Forrestal and President Truman
have had an opportunity to discuss
the problem in detail. Mr.. Forrestal
saw Mr.. Truman yesterday for the
first time since he took the oath of
office as Defense Secretary.
1,541,3S2 in Services.
Mr.. Forrestals Office said today
that there are 1,541, 1892 officers and
men in the armed forces divided as
follows:
Army, $4,000; Navy, 476, ,4o6; Air
Force, $4,000, and Marines, 91,976
The authorized complement of
the Army as announced by the
Army-Air Force separation agree
nents last week is 668,638 officers
and men and the Air Force 40l SO
The authorized strength of the Navy
Is $4,000. The authorized strength
of the Marine Corps is 87O19
An Army Department spokesman
said today the recruiting rate for
that branch is now 80 per cent below
requirements.
The Air Force Department is
recruiting some 1000 officers and
men monthly as against a goal of
about 5000 monthly, to reach au-
thorized strength. A spokesman said
however it Is felt this rate is only
temporary and soon will drop con-
siderably below the 5000 figure. -
I'VE are now getting lot of men
who could not enroll in schools and
colleges, for instance, and it Is only
6 matter of time before this slack
has been taken up" he pointed out
Navy Recruiting Drops.
Rear Admiral Thomas L. Sprague,
chief of Navy personnel, reported
recently that August recruitment
for that branch dropped 20 per cent
below the $4,000 enIstments needed
to hold authorized strength.
While the present strength of the
Marine Corps is above authorization,
spokesman said normal attrition is
expected to bring the total down
TO around $4,000 by June 80.
Thus. with conscription gone and
voluntary enlistment the only man
source, every branch of the armed
forces either has fallen below au-
thorized peacetime strength or ex-
poets to. The vi Day total was
12,100.000.s