Evening star., 1947-01-17
ServiiceMerger
Single
Cabinet Officer
Subordinate Status
PIunned for Heads
Of Three Units
(Terts ON Page A-5.)
By Joseph A. Fox

A single cabinet officer will
direct Army, Navy and air arms
under the new plan for unifying
the three services in Depart
ment of National Defense, it was
announced at the White House
today.
The individual secretaries for the
three units will have subcabinet
status.
/ The character of the machinery
to handle the new grouping was out
lined by Press Secretary Charles
G. Ross at seminar for news
men this morning at which the
heads of the armed services pledged
their support to the program an
nounced last night and gave some
additional details as to its work
ings.
Cooperation Promised.
They also promised cooperation
and greater efficiency under the new
Setup.
In the original White House an
nouncement last night that the
Army and Navy had agreed on a
uniflcaticn plan, some confusion
arose over the explanation that the
Department of National Defense
would be headed by a secretary, as
would the Army, Navy and Air Force
Departments.
Mr.. Ross told the seminar he had
checked on this point with the
President, who advised him that
there will be one cabinet officer
namely, the Secretary OF National
Defense" but that the other three
secretaries may at any time be
called into cabinet meetings as
are other agency heads"
Mr.. Ross told other questioners
that the chief of the proposed new
setup-which must be approved by
Congress-would be a civilian, but
he said that did not preclude the
appointment of a man who is now
wearing the uniform"
Mr.. Ross said also there had been
no ar-and-cents estimate of the
savings that would be effected, but
Army and Navy officers expressed
the view that ultimately economies
would result through increased ef-
ficiency in operation. Il:
Those at Seminar.
Attending the seminar were Secre-
tary of War Patterson, Secretary of
the Navy Forrestal, Gen. Eisen-
hover, Army chief of staff; Admiral
Nimitz, chief of naval operations;
Admiral william D. Leahy, the
Presidents personal chief of staff !;
Maj. Gen. Lauris B. Norstad, War
Department planning chief, and
Vice Admiral F. P. Sherman, deputy
chief Of naval operations. The
Army Air Forces was not directly
represented.
+ At the outset of the session,
Secretary Patterson, long an ad-
vocate of unification, described the
proposed plan as sound and work.
able" and said the War Department
would give it wholehearted support.
"It provides the needed single
NhCCUlOll, Uut dlSO ICGdlllo lOCdl
autonomy for the three branches" :"
Secretary Patterson said.
Secretary Forrestal, who has op-
posed the merger, chimed in with a
jocular, me, too"
Gen. Eisenhower, paying tribute
to the Navy, Marine Corps and Air
Forces, and expressing his admira-
ton for the way in which it had
been possible for all forces to work
together during the war, said he
felt it was a matter for regret"
that the unification plan ever be-
came an issue of service disagree
ment.
Program Sound, Says Nimitz.
He added his conviction that "the
United States will be a great gamer
by enactment of some bill of this
general nature"
Admiral Nimitz said the proposed
program was sound and that it rep
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