Evening star., 1948-10-03
Army Reserves
Get Vital Role
NJ Day Assignments Due
for 100000 o. R. c..
Men Next June
By Rowland Evons, Jr.

For the first time in our history
the Army plans to give reserve
forces a vital role on mobilization
day-if 1t should come.
1t plans to give M day assign
ments to 100000 members of the
Organized Reserve Corps (ORC) by
next June 80 That is the date by
which Gen. Omar. N. Bradley. Chief
Of Staff, hopes to have an 1S-divi-
sion Army, made up of II Regular
Army divisions and six National
Guard divisions. He says an 18-
division Army is our minimum
security requirement"
The 100000 ORC members slated
for M day assignments will be used
in support Of the 1S divisions. The
ORC says that some of its members
already have their NJ day assign
ments, but that organization is mov-
ing so fast that it cannot estimate
how many.
Nldny veterans JON
More than 1000 ORC units have
been activated, about 5000 short of
the goal. Not all these units will
be ready to go on M day. but all
reservists receiving M day assign
ments will be members OF activated
units.
Field artillery battalons, arm
ored cavalry units, signal compan-
les. medical construction outfits and
combat engineers are few types of
units slated for M day duty. In
the past Army Reserve forces have
headed for special wartime schools
and training outfits when the emer-
gency came.
The thing that makes the new
plan possible is that 4 great per-
centage of the 100000 members of
the ORC today have had wartime
training. Many have tasted combat.
Top ORC people call their organi-
zation a strength in being" They
say that modern warfare will never
again allow us the important time
element. They say that an already
trained Reserve must be triggered
for M day before 1t ever comes.
All over the country ORC units
are being made ready to start the
methodical training they'll need to
prepare them for M day. Unit COM
manders are securing their towns
and cities for storage space in which
to put their equipment. ORC says
M day units will have the full
equipment needed for use in the
field.
Five events have readied the ORC
for its new role. They are:
1. A law passed by the last Con-
gress which for the first time pro-
vides inactive duty training pay for
ofhcers and enlisted members of the
ORC. Members of organized units
will get training and drill pay on
a par with the National Guard.
Training includes an annual two
week period In the field.
2. Another new law providing
nondisability retirement pay for
active ORC members who become go
years old and have completed 20
years Of satisfactory Federal serv-
ice"
3. A new promotion plan for ORC
officers.
Fits in With Draft
4. An overhauled correspondence
course setup. Free courses are
offered ORC members in a wide
variety of military and civilian
subjects.
S. A plan to issue Identification
cards to ORC members. This may
seem a small innovation, but ac-
tually 1t removes an irritating sore
point. Reserves had felt left out"
without them.
The Selective Service Act fits right
in with long-range ORC plans.
After 81 months Of draft duty, men
who are inducted must sign up with
an ORC Cor National Guard unit
for three years or with an unorgan-
lied unit for five years unless they
are willing to serve a full year more
in the Regular Army.
Thus in 81 months the ORC ex-
poets to get steady flow of pre-
trained men, flow which will con-
tinue for two years, the effective
period of the draft.
BY the time ex-draftees start
coming in the ORC wants to add
10000 veterans to its roles, bring
ing its total strength to almost
1000 900.
Distributed By the Associated Press.)