Evening star., 1949-03-07
To Make the Merger Work

President Truman summed up SucclncCly
the case for revision of the National Sc
curity Act of 1947 when he told Congress
that the paramount question today Is not
whether unification is advisable Can issue
in 1947) but how to make it more effective.
More than year and half of experience
with the merger has shown beyond doubt
that the idea underlying the plan is sound.
At the same time, this trial-and-error
period has revealed that the act directing
the consolidation of the Army, Navy and
Air Force has serious shortcomings.
The nature of these shortcomings has
been explained clearly by Defense Secre-
tary Forrestal in his report on the first
fifteen months of unified operation. The
Hoover Commission has lent strong sup
port to Mr.. Forrestals contention that
the unifcation program has gone about
as far as 1t can go under the limitations
imposed on the Defense Secretary by the
original law. And now President Truman
has made unanimous the plea to Congress
for better law, based on lessons of the
past twenty months.
There is unanimous agreement, for ex
ample, that the National Military Estab-
lishment is too loosely unif1ed-a condi-
ton resulting from the understandable
desire of Congress to give each of the
armed services as much independence OF
action as possible in an integrated organi-
zation. Mr. Truman agrees with Mr.. For
restal and the Hoover Commission that
true unification cannot be attained If the
head of the establishment is to be re-
strained by law from exercising real lead
ership. He agrees also that the present
leaderless system under which the Joint
Chiefs of Staff operates is wholly un-
satisfactory.
The only disagreements among those
who have studied the defense organization
relate to methods for strengthening the
leadership both at the top of the establish
ment and at it's vital nerve center, the
Joint Chiefs of staff. Actually these diff
ferences are of relatively minor signif1-
canoe. On the major point of the urgency
of giving the Defense Secretary more
direct and specific, rather than general"
authority over the three services than he
now has, President Truman is in thorough
agreement with the other critics of the
setup. However, he apparently sides with
a minority of the Hoover Commission,
headed by Herbert Hoover himself, in
preferring to retain the present titles OF
the Secretaries of the Army, the Navy
and the Air Force. The majority of the
commission recommended that the title
Of each be changed to undersecretary.
On the question of Joint Chiefs of Staff
reorganization, Mr.. Truman joins with
majority of the Hoover Commission In
advocating appointment of chairman
with superior rank and prestige.
In view of the convincing arguments
made by the President, the Defense Sec
retary and the Hoover Commission, Con-
gress should have little trouble in making
up its mind on the need for revision OF
the 1947 statute. The methods, however,
for bringing about the strengthening OF
the defense organization undoubtedly will
be debated fully-as they should be- The
prospects for beneficial changes in the
merger law at this session are good. And
while Congress is about it, it should adopt
Mr.. Truman's sensible suggestion that the
National Military Establishment be re-
named the Department of Defense-to
accord with the title of it's head.